German Chocolate Cake With Coconut Pecan Filling Recipes

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
• Prepare three 8″x2″ cake pans with cake goop or another preferred pan spray.
• Melt your chocolate in a heatproof bowl in 15-second increments until just melted. Do not overheat or you could burn your chocolate.
• Then, add your warm water to the chocolate and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• Next, place the room temperature egg whites in a separate bowl with the whisk attachment and whip until you reach firm but moist peaks. They shouldn't look broken or crumbly. Set aside.
• Combine the room temperature buttermilk and the vegetable oil and then set aside.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt and then set aside.
• Then, in the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the room temperature butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy in color.
• Add in your egg yolks one at a time, letting each mix in fully before adding in the next.
• While mixing on low, add in your melted and cooled chocolate and vanilla and then mix until it's combined.
• Next, while mixing on low, add in 1/3 of the flour mixture, and then 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat two more times with the remaining flour and buttermilk.
• Gently fold in your egg whites until they are blended.
• Pour the batter into your prepared pans.
• Bake the cakes immediately at 350ºF (177ºC) for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out from the center clean.
• Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes inside of the pan before flipping them out.
• Flip the cake onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely. I chill my cakes before handling them, or you can wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them to trap moisture in the cake.
• Thaw the cake on the countertop while it's still wrapped before frosting.
• In a medium-sized saucepan, whisk together the evaporated milk, egg yolks, and vanilla over medium heat until blended.
• Add in your butter and sugar and continue to cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken (this will take about 12 minutes). Whisk continuously or you risk overcooking your eggs. The mixture will be thick and golden brown when it's ready.
• Remove the mixture from the heat and fold in your coconut and pecans.
• Transfer the filling to a heat-proof bowl and cool it completely. You can make this a day ahead and refrigerate it for up to 4 days.
• Bring 2″ of water to a boil in a medium saucepan then reduce the heat until it's just simmering.
• Next, place your metal or glass mixing bowl on top. The bowl should not be touching the water.
• Then, pour the egg whites and sugar in the bowl and whisk occasionally to dissolve the sugar and keep the egg whites from cooking. Once the mixture reaches 110ºF or you can no longer feel any granules of sugar in between your fingers, it's ready.
• Place the bowl on your stand mixer and whip on high speed (setting 4 on my Bosch Mixer, setting 8-10 on a KitchenAid) until you reach VERY stiff peaks. This can take between 10-15 minutes. The tips should stand straight up when you touch them and the meringue should feel very thick and dense.
• Pour your meringue out into a shallow dish and pop it into the fridge for about 10 minutes to cool the meringue. You can also put your entire bowl of meringue into the fridge, but it will take longer to cool. If you don't cool the meringue it will melt your butter. Then you'll have buttercream soup. You can also place a large bag of ice under the bowl as you're mixing to cool the meringue down faster.
• Reduce the speed to low, then slowly add in your butter in small chunks (remove this part about the salt, chocolate and vanilla) followed by your salt, melted and cooled chocolate, and vanilla extract.
• Whip it on high for 8 to 10 minutes until the color is light and fluffy. Give it a taste and if it still tastes buttery, keep whipping.
• Reduce the speed to low again and then drizzle in your cooled chocolate, salt, and vanilla and mix until it's smooth.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH COCONUT-PECAN FILLING

Steps:

• Make the pecan filling:.
• 1Whisk the yolks in a medium saucepan off the stove. Gradually whisk in the evaporated milk. Add the sugars, butter, and salt and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture is boiling, frothy, and slightly thickened, about 6 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl, whisk in the vanilla, then stir in the coconut. Let cool until room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. (Do not add the pecans now or they'll turn soggy. Have a little patience.).
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Toast the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet until fragrant and browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.
• Make the German chocolate cake:.
• Keep your oven at 350°F (175°C) and adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Combine the chocolate and cocoa in a small bowl and then add the boiling water over. Let stand to melt the chocolate, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth and let stand until room temperature.
• Meanwhile, spray two 9-inch-round by 2-inch-high straight-sided cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and then line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds cut to fit. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and tap out any excess flour. Sift the flour and baking soda into a medium bowl or onto a sheet of parchment or waxed paper.
• (Liner instructions: Tear off a piece of wax paper a couple of inches larger than your cake pan. Put your cake pan on the wax paper and with your scissors or a knife "draw" a line around the base of your cake pan. Next, cut your wax paper just slightly inside the line just drawn. This will make the wax paper liner slightly smaller than the base of your cake pan.).
• In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter, sugars, and salt at medium-low speed until the sugar is moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula halfway through. With the mixer running at medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl halfway through. Beat in the vanilla, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds. With the mixer running at low speed, add the chocolate mixture, then increase the speed to medium and beat until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl once. (The batter may appear broken; this is okay.) With the mixer running at low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat in each addition until barely combined. After adding the final flour addition, beat on low until just combined, then stir the batter by hand with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl. The batter will be thick. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans, spreading the batter to the edges of the pans with the rubber spatula and smoothing the surface.
• Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pans 10 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a greased wire rack; peel off and discard the paper rounds. Cool the cakes to room temperature before filling, about 1 hour. (The cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.).
• Assemble the German chocolate cake:.
• Stir the toasted pecans into the chilled filling. Set 1 cake layer on a serving platter or cardboard round that's cut slightly smaller than the cake. Place the second cake on a work surface or leave it on the wire rack. Hold a serrated knife held so the blade is parallel with the work surface and use a sawing motion to cut each cake into 2 equal layers. Carefully lift the top layer off each cake.
• Using an icing spatula, distribute about 1 cup filling evenly on the cake layer on the serving platter or cardboard round, spreading the filling to the very edge of the cake and evening the surface. Carefully place the upper cake layer on top of the filling. Repeat using the remaining filling and cake layers. Dust any crumbs from the platter and serve. (The cake may be refrigerated, covered loosely with foil, up to 4 hours. If the cake has been refrigerated longer than 2 hours, let it stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing and serving.).

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH COCONUT-PECAN CAJETA FROSTING

Steps:

• Make the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter two 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.
• Melt the 12 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the muscovado and granulated sugars and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Add the coffee, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract and continue whisking until smooth and just combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the wire rack and let cool at least 1 hour before frosting.
• Make the frosting: Combine the whole milk, coconut milk and goat's milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Keep warm while you prepare the caramel.
• Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over high heat and cook without stirring until a deep amber color, 8 to 10 minutes. Slowly and carefully whisk in the warm milk mixture and continue whisking until smooth. Add the vanilla seeds and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sauce is reduced by half and the consistency of a caramel sauce, about 55 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, vanilla extract, salt and rum (if using). Transfer the sauce to a medium bowl and stir in the pecans and shredded coconut. Let the frosting cool to room temperature, stirring it occasionally, before frosting the cake.
• To assemble the cake, slice each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 cake layer on a cake round and spread one-third of the frosting evenly over the top. Repeat to make 3 layers, then top with the remaining cake layer, top-side up.
• Make the ganache: Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl, add the hot cream and the corn syrup and let sit for 30 seconds. Gently whisk until smooth. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
• Set the cake on a wire rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake, letting the excess drip down the sides. Sprinkle the top with toasted coconut and pecans. Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours before slicing.
• Slice the cake and top with a dollop of Coconut Whipped Cream.

KAY'S GERMAN CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE WITH COCONUT-PECAN FILLING

Steps:

• CAKE.
• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position.
• Generously grease two 8" round cake pans and cover the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper. Grease the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Mix the cocoa, espresso (or coffee) powder and add boiling water. Mix until smooth.
• Cool the mixture to room temperature and stir in the buttermilk and vanilla.
• With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter until smooth and shiny (about 30 seconds).
• Gradually add the sugar and beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white (3-5 minutes).
• Add the eggs 1 at a time beating for 1 full minute after each egg.
• In another bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt.
• With the mixer at the lowest speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
• Add 1/3 of the cocoa mixture. Alternate until all ingredients are mixed in and batter appears satin-like.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean (23-30 minutes).
• Transfer the pans to wire racks and cool for 10 minutes.
• Invert the cakes onto another rack and peel off the paper liners. Cool completely before frosting.
• FILLING.
• Mix the egg yolks, sugar and salt.
• Beat in the butter.
• Gradually beat in the cream and vanilla.
• Pour mixture into a saucepan and cok over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is puffy and just begins to thicken (15-20 minutes).
• Pour the mixture into a bowl to cool to room temperature.
• Stir in pecans and coconut.
• TO ASSEMBLE.
• Cut each layer of cake in half horizontally so that each cake forms 2 layers.
• Place 1 of the cake halves on a serving platter and spread about 1 cup of filling over the cake half.
• Repeat the layers and frost the entire cake when done.

COCONUT-PECAN FILLING AND FROSTING

Steps:

• Whisk egg yolks and milk in large saucepan until blended.
• Add sugar and butter; cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown. Remove from heat.
• Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Cool to desired spreading consistency.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE FROSTING

Steps:

• In a large saucepan combine evaporated milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut. Let cool to room temperature before spreading on cake.