Original German Chocolate Cake

Distinctive with its decadent topping of coconut and pecans, German Chocolate Cake became popular in the 1950’s, and continues to be a favorite today. Made with Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate and buttermilk, this cake is delicious to eat plain, topped with a chocolate frosting, or topped with sweetened whipped cream. However, add the classic coconut-pecan topping and this cake comes alive with a traditional flavor.

German chocolate cake isn't actually German and was instead named for Sam German, the creator of a sweet baking chocolate aptly called German's Chocolate. Even though the chocolate hit the market in 1852, it wasn't until 1957 that it became hugely popular — and German himself had nothing to do it with. The sudden run on German's mystified the General Foods district manager until he traced it to a newspaper recipe.

There are recipes for this cake from 1956 (see https://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcakes.html#germanchocolate), but the recipe for "German's Chocolate Cake" that seems to have started the craze was sent by a Dallas, Texas homemaker, Mrs. George Calay, to the Dallas Morning Star newspaper where it was published on June 13, 1957 as Recipe of the Day. The cake became quite popular and General Foods — which owned the brand at the time — distributed the recipe to other newspapers in the country, and sales of Baker's Chocolate are said to have increased by as much as 73%. The possessive form (German's) was dropped in subsequent publications, forming the "German Chocolate Cake" identity we know today.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 9-inch round layer cake pans; lightly grease the pans, line with parchment paper, and then lightly grease the top of the parchment paper and dust with flour.

Batter:

Combine chocolate and hot water in the top of a double boiler over hot water; stir and heat just until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Tip: Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bringing it to a simmer. Place a stainless steel, ceramic, or glass bowl on top of the simmering water, the upper pan should not touch the water.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk together to mix. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, stir the buttermilk and vanilla together. Set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Tip: To cream, start by placing the butter in the bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed begin by beating the butter about 1 minute until it is smooth and light in color. If creaming by hand with a wooden spoon, use the backside of the spoon and move your arm in a circular motion to spread the butter over the bottom and up the side of the bowl. Move your arm quickly to beat or “whip” the butter.

With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the sugar to the butter, either one tablespoon at a time, or in a very slow steady stream, taking from 4 to 8 minutes to add all of the sugar, and beating until the butter and sugar are fully incorporated and the mixture is a light, or pale yellow color, with a fluffy texture. While adding the sugar, stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the mixture off the paddle and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly.

Add egg yolks one at a time, beating until thoroughly mixed.

With the mixer on low speed, add about one third of the flour mixture, mix just until the flour is almost completely blended. Scrape the bowl down, and add about one half of the buttermilk mixture, blending just until mixed. Scrape the bowl down again and continue alternating with the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, ending with the last portion of the flour, and stirring just until blended.

Using a balloon type whisk or large rubber spatula, gently fold the melted chocolate into the batter.

In a medium mixing bowl and using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until the peaks hold their shape. Using a balloon type whisk or large rubber spatula gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Bake:
Spoon the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a long toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place pans on a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes then remove cake from the pans and place the cake on the wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Coconut-Pecan Topping:
In a medium heavy saucepan over low heat, combine egg yolks, evaporated milk, and vanilla; whisk together until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat just to a boil, stirring constantly so mixture does not burn. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans. Cool to room temperature.

Spread Coconut-Pecan Topping between cake layers and onto top of cake.

Tip: Serve cake using a pretty cake plate and cake server for a delightful presentation.