Mama's German Chocolate Cake

  

Getting started ...

Mama loved to bake and was known for her delicious cakes.  With her German Chocolate Cake she always used the recipe from the back of the Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate … below is a photo of the original package that she saved … I copied and pasted it into the family cookbook I made several years ago because this cake was such a part of our lives growing up.  Though now the packaging looks much different, it’s still the same chocolate I use today.  I changed up the recipe just slightly but it doesn’t change the taste … this is an awesome cake and well worth the effort it takes to make it.  This time making it though I used Organic Sugar, Organic Flour, Organic Eggs and Organic Butter … making it a cleaner version but still fattening and delectable.

Mama’s German Chocolate Cake

1 pkg (4 oz) Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate

½ cup Water

2 cups Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Salt

1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened

2 cups Sugar

4 Eggs, separated

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cover bottoms of 4 (9 inch) round cake pans with parchment paper, grease sides of pans. 

Microwave Chocolate and Water in large microwavable bowl on HIGH for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes or until Chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minute.  Stir until Chocolate is completely melted.  Set aside.

Mix Flour, Baking Soda and Salt; set aside. 

Beat Butter and Sugar in large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add Egg Yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Blend in melted Chocolate and the Vanilla. 

Add Flour mixture alternately with the Buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition. 

Beat Egg Whites in small bowl on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Gently stir (or fold) into batter. 

Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Immediately run small metal spatula around cake layers.  Cool in pans 15 minutes; remove layers from pans to wire racks.  NOTE: I do not have wire racks so I place them on parchment paper to cool.  Discard wax paper.  Cool cake layers completely. 

Beating the Egg Whites

Folding the beaten Egg Whites into the batter

While layers are cooling ... on to the Frosting

Mama always used her mother’s Coconut Pecan Frosting ~ my Nanny. To cover a four layer cake you really need to make 1 and a half recipes of the Frosting … I failed to do that this time … forgetting … but have since made a notation in my cookbook so I do not forget next time; however, the cake is pretty dang awesome even with just using 1 recipe of the Frosting.  But to make a seriously pretty cake and be able to cover it completely with Frosting you really need to make at least 1.5 recipes.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

1 cup Evaporated Milk

1 cup Sugar

3 Egg Yolks

½ cup Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Chopped Pecans

1 pkg Baker’s Coconut

Combine Milk, Sugar, Egg Yolks, Butter and Vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 12 minutes. 

Remove from heat, add Pecans and Coconut.  Cool.  Makes enough for tops of three layers.  NOTE: Make 1.5 to 2 recipes of Frosting to cover entire cake.

NOTE: For reference “1 Package Baker’s Coconut” is the smaller package as it comes in two sizes.

First step of Frosting prep

Completed Frosting

Completed Cake

Doesn't this close up just make your mouth water?