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German Chocolate Cake--America's Test Kitchen
Michelle Dear
www.americastestkitchen.com/videos/1388-german-chocolate-...
Ingredients
  • subheading: CAKE:
  • 4 ouces bittersweet chocolate (don't use German's Sweet Chcolate--like Bakers Brand German's)
  •  
  • ¼ cup packed Dutch processed cocoa (like Hershey's Dutch Processed at the store or Callebaut via online)
  •  
  • ½ cup boiling water
  •  
  • Vegetable Oil Spray
  •  
  • Parchment Paper
  •  
  • Bit of AP Flour (for cake pans)
  •  
  • 4 eggs
  •  
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  •  
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  •  
  • 1 ½ sticks butter, room temp (about 68 degrees)
  •  
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  •  
  • ⅔ cup light brown sugar, packed
  •  
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  •  
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  •  
  • 1 cup sour cream
  •  
  • subheading: FILLING:
  • 1 ½ cups toasted pecans (instructions below)
  •  
  • 4 eggs (yolks)
  •  
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  •  
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  •  
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  •  
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  •  
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  •  
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  •  
  • 2 ⅓ cups sweetened shredded coconut (not toasted)
Steps
  1. subheading: FILLING (make first):
  2. subheading: Toast Pecans:
  3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put 1 ½ cups pecans (whole) on baking sheet and toast for 8 to 10 minutes, shaking pan every couple of minutes. Toast whole to ensure best taste overall (will chop later.)
  4. subheading: Put the following in a saucepan:
  5. 4 egg yolks
  6. Evaporated milk: slowly whisk into the eggs
  7. Add 6 TBSP of unsalted butter
  8. ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
  9. 1 cup granulated sugar
  10. ⅛ tsp salt
  11. Using medium heat to keep eggs from cooking, cook until thick. Perimeter should be bubbling and frothing. Can take about 6 minutes or so.
  12. Remove from heat, add to mixing bowl.
  13. Add 2 tsp vanilla extract and 2 ⅓ cup sweetened shredded coconut. Mix with spatula.
  14. Let cool until room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap, put in fridge until firm and well-chilled, about 2 hours.
  15. subheading: CAKE:
  16. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  17. In a mixing bowl, place dutch processed cocoa and bittersweet chocolate. Add ½ cup boiling water. Do not mix or stir. Let sit to bloom anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.  Cover with plastic. After blooming complete, whisk together.
  18. Prepare cake pans (2). Spray with vegetable spray. Place a round of parchment paper in the bottom of the pans, then spray the parchment round with spray. Sprinkle AP flour in the bottom, and shake to cover bottom and sides of cake pans. Clang the excess out.
  19. Break 4 eggs into a bowl.
  20. In separate bowl, measure out and whisk together 2 cups AP flour and ¾ tsp baking soda.
  21. Using sifter, sift back into bowl.
  22. In mixer bowl, add butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and salt.
  23. Mix on low until combined. Then turn speed up  for about 4 to 5 minutes until very creamy and aerated.
  24. Add eggs one at a time. Add 1 tsp vanilla.  If you haven't already done so, whisk chocolate mixture together.
  25. Turn mixer on low and add chocolate mixer. Ensure to scrape down the bowl and the paddle to remove pockets of air.
  26. Once mixed, add ⅓ flour mixture slowly.
  27. Once completely mixed in, add ½ of the sour cream (½ cup) until well mixed.
  28. Add another ⅓ of the flour mixture.
  29. Then add the other ½ of the sour cream mixture until well mixed.
  30. Add the last ⅓ of the flour mixture until well mixed.
  31. Pour batter evenly into to cake pans. Batter will be thick and will need to be smoothed into place. And offset spatula is a good tool to use.
  32. Place pans on middle rack in oven for about 30 minutes. Spin halfway through to ensure even cooking.
  33. Remove from oven when finished baking (cake should spring back when pressed.) Let stand for five minutes.
  34. Spray cooling racks with vegetable spray. Turn cakes out onto cooling racks. Remove parchment paper. Let cool for an hour or so.
  35. subheading: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:
  36. Chop pecans. Remove filling from refrigerator (it should have thickened in the fridge). Mix pecans into filling.
  37. Cut one cake into 2 layers. Using ¼ of cake filling (about a cup), spread onto the top of layer 1. Repeat for layer 2.
  38. Cut second cake into layers 3 and 4. Use filling for the top of the layers. Wipe away any heavy drips of filling from the outside of the cake.
Notes
  • Cake turned out really well. Tastes great. Chocolate cake is a great as standard chocolate cake. I had to use my Cacao powder as I couldn't find dutch processed cocoa powder. I thought it tasted pretty good.
  • Bring all ingredients to room temperature (68 degrees), including eggs.
  • Always weigh your ingredients.
  • Use 2" high pans, straight sides, not flared.
  • Found that roasting pecans tastes considerably better than not.
  • Note on chocolate: Dutch processed cocoa wins out. Hersheys makes a good Dutch processed that you can buy at the store, and you can mail order Callebaut for $20 for a kilo.
  • Mixing nuts into filling at end keeps them from getting soggy.
 

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