As my sister-in-law constantly reminds me, food is for the stomach but dessert is for the soul. This scrumptious cake is my version of the cake on the opening of Great British Bake Off or #GBBO as it is referred to by the greater social web world. You know the one. Is it just me or do you feel like it is just one raspberry short of being perfectly covered on the top layer of that cake?
This recipe came from http://www.yammiesnoshery.com a while back and it is still one of my favorite layered cake recipes. The moist and richness of the cake is almost unbeatable.
German Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 1 4 quart sauce pan
- 3 round cake pans 8” or 9” (also can be baked as a 9×13” or as cupcakes)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1¼ cups dark cocoa powder
- 1 cup brewed coffee can be hot or room temperature
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1½ cups brown sugar I always prefer dark brown sugar
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
Chocolate Frosting
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 5 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 3-6 tbsp whole milk
Coconut Frosting
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 3 egg yolks
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1½ cups salted and toasted pecans you can do this by baking in the oven on a cookie sheet at 375℉ for 8-10 minutes.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and place oven rack in center of oven.
- Grease and flour cake pans. I usually bake mine in three 9” pans but not because it is the magic size…because I don’t have any 8” pans.
- Melt the butter in saucepan over medium heat.
- Whisk in cocoa powder a bit at a time so it does not clump up.
- Add coffee and milk, whisking until incorporated.
- Add in both sugars, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until combined.
- Divide batter between pans and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the sponge comes out clean. About 20-22 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Chocolate Frosting
- Melt the chocolate chips and butter in a medium size saucepan.
- Stir in cocoa powder and vanilla extract.
- Stir in powdered sugar, a half a cup at a time, alternating with the milk until desired consistency is reached.
Coconut Frosting
- Combine the brown sugar, evaporated milk, butter and egg yolk in a medium size saucepan over medium heat whisking constantly until mixture has bubbled and thickened.
- Remove from heat and add in the vanilla, coconut, and pecans.
- Allow to cool before using.
Assembly
- Place one cooled cake round on a cake plate and top with ⅓ of the coconut frosting. Repeat with additional cake layers until the top layer is covered with the last remaining ⅓ of the coconut frosting.
- Frost the sides with the chocolate frosting.
- Enjoy!
Grease and flour cake pan/pans. I usually spray a bit of cooking oil in the bottom and around the edge of the pan and then coat with flour by placing a tablespoon of all-purpose flour in the middle of the pan and then rotating the pan in my hands until the bottom and sides are powdered. After that I take the pan and bang it upside down in the sink to release any flour that is not stuck to the pan. You are also welcome to use a bit of butter and rub it around the bottom and sides of the pan/pans until coated and then use the flour on top. I just usually do the cooking oil because it is quickest for me :).
Next, place the butter in a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, slowly whisk in the cocoa powder a bit at a time. If you do it all at once it gets clumpy and hard to combine. Add coffee and milk, whisking to combine.
Next, add the eggs, both sugars, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the batter in batches, whisking until combined (aka don’t just dump it all in at once).
The batter will be very runny but do not be alarmed. Now divide the batter evenly between the pans or pour it all into your large pan if you are baking a sheet cake and place in the oven. I usually have my oven rack set to about the middle of the oven so everything bakes evenly.
Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the middle comes out clean. Set the cake/cakes on a cooling rack to cool for about ten minutes. If you baked round cakes, remove from pan after 10 minutes and allow to cool completely.
Frosting options:
Now there are lots of ways to finish out this cake. I’ll show you a few I have tried but I would love to see what you guys come up with!
Chocolate Frosting:
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 3-6 tbsp. milk
Melt the chocolate chips until smooth. To do this you can use either your microwave or your stove top. I don’t own a microwave so obviously I melt mine in a pot on the stove but if you do decide to melt your chocolate chips in the microwave, make sure to turn the power down and only melt in 10-15 second increments so as not to scald the chocolate chips, stirring in between
