Feeling nostalgic? Whip up a Classic German Chocolate Cake topped with a mountain of rich chocolate curls. In 1852, Sam German developed sweet baking chocolate, but it didn’t become well known until the 1950’s – Baker’s “German’s Sweet Chocolate”.
Toasted pecans ready to be chopped using a Dexas Cutting Board and Japanese Chef Knife.
Cream Filled Chocolate Cake on my Ateco Cast Iron Cake Stand. I need to film this recipe!
Not all recipes for German Chocolate Icing suggest toasting the pecans, but I think it’s a must. To toast pecans, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecan halves onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Gently toast for about 8 to 10 minutes. All ovens are different, so keep a close eye on them. As soon as they start to darken slightly and smell fragrant and toasty, remove them from the oven. Cool, and then chop finely. Do not chop your nuts before toasting. This can result in small burnt pieces of nuts. It’s best to toast the pecan halves, cool, and then chop. The cutting boards and pastry board I use in all of my videos, and for everyday use: Dexas Cutting Board, and Dexas Pastry Board. They’re also good for kneading bread dough. The dough doesn’t stick to the boards and you end up using a little less flour. Perfect for hand kneading artisan breads.
If you love making cakes, you’ll love the Ateco Cast Iron Cake Stand. It’s a smooth spinner…perfect for decorating cakes in a flash! It feels heavy duty, old school, and will last a lifetime. I’m really happy with mine. Whether you’re simply frosting a cake with a spatula, or going all out with piping decorations, you’ll see just how nice it is. It’s a nice way to display a cake too. It gives a little height to your cake and looks like its straight from a retro diner or bakery. You can see the cake stand in the picture of the cream filled chocolate cake.
Looking for more chocolate recipes? See below for some of my favorites. Try my Chocolate Pecan Pie. It’s made with cocoa and melted dark chocolate. If you’d like a lighter chocolate flavor, switch the dark chocolate with milk chocolate. Craving a soft and chewy frosted brownie with as big scoop of vanilla ice cream? Make some Herhsey’s Honeybear Brownies. My Mom made these back in the 70’s, and I was so happy to find the recipe and give them a try now. They’re so good! Another rich chocolate dessert: my version of Costco’s famous Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie. I had fun recreating this one at home. It tastes like a giant peanut butter cup! If you’re needing a bakery style chocolate frosting recipe, I have just what you’re looking for. It’s delicious on top of chocolate cupcakes, slathered on brownies, and holds up well for piping too. Enjoy!
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Hershey’s Honeybear Brownies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie
Bakery Style Chocolate Frosting
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German Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
CAKE LAYERS - Melt in double boiler:
- 4 oz German's Sweet Chocolate
- 1/2 cup water
In a mixing bowl, cream together:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 egg yolks (place egg 4 whites in separate bowl)
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Combine dry ingredients, sift, add alternately with buttermilk:
- 2 cups flour (8.5 ounces)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
In the separate bowl:
- 4 egg whites
GERMAN CHOCOLATE ICING:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, salted
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 7 oz. shredded coconut
- 1 1/2 cups pecans, finely chopped
CHOCOLATE CURLS
- 1 bar of your favorite chocolate, for chocolate curls to top cake.
Instructions
To make the cake layers:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 8in round cake pans.
- In a double boiler, melt chocolate and water. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and softened butter until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks and vanilla. Beat until combined.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix only until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into the cake batter.
- Divide batter between 3 greased and floured 8in. cake pans. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until cakes test done with a toothpick. Cool in pans for 20 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely. While cake cools, make the icing.
Icing:
- In a saucepan over, combine sugar, egg yolks, evaporated milk, and butter. Cook over medium heat for about 13 to 14 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and pecans, stir well, and let cool completely before frosting cake.
- Make chocolate curls using a carrot peeler.
I really want to see the video to know how to make those perfect edges! Where can I find the video?😃
Hello! I need to make a video for this one. It’s surprisingly easy to get smooth edges on this cake. Thanks for the message and video suggestion. I will add a German Chocolate Cake how-to to my to-do list!