Friday, February 18, 2011

German Chocolate Cake

This really didn’t need to be so complicated. I asked Kurt what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, and he didn’t say “you can decide” or “give me some options.” His answer was “German chocolate.” Easy enough, but then I proceeded to pull out every book I have with cakes in it and compare and contrast every recipe I could find for this type of cake. Then, I recalled that Bobby Flay had prepared a delectable-looking German chocolate cake on an episode of Throwdown. I found that recipe online too. So, let me explain my decision-making process for how I ended up with the cake you see here. Classic German chocolate cake frosting is what the cake is all about, but in Bobby Flay’s version, it became a coconut-pecan-cajeta frosting. I had to try that. However, the actual cake in his recipe was a little rich. His cake was also coated with a chocolate ganache and served with coconut whipped cream, and that seemed like too much to me. Then, there was the one in the Baked book. Again, the cake itself was a little rich with lots of butter, it had a more traditional coconut and pecan frosting, but it was also decorated with a ruffle of milk chocolate buttercream around the top. Last, I looked to The Greyston Bakery Cookbook where I found the layers were made from nice, airy chocolate chiffon, and the frosting was straightforward and traditional. Here’s what happened: I baked the chocolate chiffon layers from Greyston Bakery, I attempted Bobby Flay’s cajeta frosting and ended up changing it, and I coated the sides of the cake in the milk chocolate buttercream from Baked.

Making the cake layers was simple, and they turned out lovely. The cake ingredients were whisked together, egg whites were whipped to soft peaks, and the whites were folded into the batter. No problems there. Then, I just knew by looking at Bobby’s cajeta frosting recipe there were going to be issues. I seem to lack the ability to make a mixture of caramel and milk thicken, but I foolishly moved forward anyway. You start by caramelizing sugar and then adding whole milk, coconut milk, goat milk, seeds from a vanilla bean, and some light corn syrup, and then you let that simmer and reduce for about an hour. I shouldn’t have turned away from the stove while milk was coming to a boil, and so that was exactly what I did at exactly the wrong moment. Of course, it did boil over, and I caught it a second too late. I moved the saucepan to another burner and continued. The mixture eventually reduced, but it didn’t seem to be thickening. After more than an hour of simmering, I turned off the heat and added the butter, vanilla extract, and rum and poured the milk mixture into a bowl to cool. It didn’t thicken, but it was delicious. Since I wasn’t willing to waste all those ingredients and because it was in fact quite delicious, I decided to wing it in an attempt to save the frosting. I poured the cooled mixture back into a clean saucepan and added two egg yolks and a another couple of tablespoons of butter. As it came back up to a simmer, it thickened and the frosting was saved. Back into a bowl it went to cool again, and then shredded coconut and chopped pecans were added. The version of the cake in the Baked book with the milk chocolate buttercream on top was calling to me. I made the buttercream. I pulled out a piping bag. I set one cake layer on a platter and piped a circle of buttercream around the perimeter to hold in the other frosting. The now cooled and thickened coconut pecan frosting was added inside the buttercream ring, and the second layer was set on top. Then, I realized that I have no business using a piping bag especially at the end of a long baking day. So I smoothed the chocolate frosting around the sides of the cake, added the remaining coconut pecan frosting on top, and decorated with a trail of finely chopped pecans around the base and top edge of the cake.

I know, I completely over-complicated the process, but I learned something from it. The flavors in the Bobby Flay frosting were so fantastic I’m glad I attempted it. In fact, when Kurt tasted it, he even asked how it was made because it was so good, and he’s never before asked about how anything is actually made. Next time though, I’ll simplify the process by keeping the combination of whole milk, coconut milk, and goat milk, but I’ll make it the more traditional way from the beginning with egg yolks and more butter. The chocolate chiffon layers were a very good choice, and I’ll definitely make those again. And, the milk chocolate buttercream was delicious on the cake and dressed it up a little even though it wasn’t piped into a pretty ruffle. Most importantly, Kurt really liked his birthday cake.



28 comments:

  1. That is just beautiful! I'm so glad you posted your process of choosing the recipe components and trying something challenging, as well as the 'fix it' process. Helpful.

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  2. Beautiful beautiful cake! Kurt is one lucky man. My husband's birthday is on sunday and I haven't even thought about what to bake him yet! I still have a couple days to go though, so that's plenty of time right Lisa?

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  3. My husband's favorite birthday cake is German Chocolate, so I'll be doing the same in a couple of months. I have found that Betty Crocker's GC Frosting recipe is the absolute best (I think I eat the cake just to eat the coconut-pecan topping). Love how moist and dark your cake looks -- delicious!

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  4. OMG, that cake loos to die for! I want a slice!!!!!!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. they look absolutely gorgeous! i love german chocolate cake!! this cake is making me crave for some right now:) thanks for sharing this.

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  6. Oh my gosh! This cakes sooo good! I remember eating the german chocolate frosting straight out of the betty crocker container as a child. :-p Heck, I could probably do it still now as a grown woman. LOL. But your homemade version looks to die for! I would love a slice for afternoon tea! LOL

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  7. Wow- great looking cake. When I first started baking I made Eric a German Chocolate birthday cake but it was a train wreck. Cakes are my nemesis. And aren't you glad you didn't pipe it? It looks spectacular as is!

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  8. Holy crow, Lisa, this belongs in a museum. You've inspired me once again to try something that scares me. Thanks! :)

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  9. Very pretty and uber chocolatey cake, Lisa! I'm inviting myself over for a slice!

    Nisrine

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  10. Never heard of this cake before but it sounds amazing, luscious and decadent as a chocolate cake should be :)

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  11. This cake looks good, I think I have tried it backin my country, but Im sure made at home it's even better.. Looks amazing, you did a great job :)

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  12. Damn you and this cake!! I just know this would be my husband's end all be all birthday cake - and his birthday is coming up! I can guarantee you though - there's not a snowball's chance in hell of mine turning out this beautiful. Despite some ups and downs in the making - it is one gorgeous, gorgeous creation!

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  13. Awesome job on this cake. It looks just sinfully good.

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  14. Such a beautiful cake Lisa. Absolutely mouth watering.

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  15. You sound like me, i like to research recipes from all corners before zeroing on one; this one looks wonderful, I love chiffon cakes and this ganache is just too yummy!

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  16. The cake looks so moist and chocolaty! My mouth is watering!

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  17. Mmmm good for you for sticking it out despite a few bumps on the road. This cake looks tender, oh so chocolatey, and absolutely delicious! Worth the effort in my opinion :).

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  18. Stunning cake! Looks really decadent and well worth the research and effort you put into it! Gorgeous.

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  19. I have a theme going with my comments here - yum that Kurt is one lucky guy. German chocolate cake has to be one of my top favorite cakes, just love it, always have, always will. I'm going to have to try your version now.

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  20. Happy birthday to Kurt! And you are incredible for going to such lengths to make him a special cake. ;)

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  21. It looks like all of those steps paid off, because this cake looks AMAZING!

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  22. this looks absolutely decadent! love love love it~ well done after all the massive effort :)

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  23. that's one awesomely dark cake! for me, the best part about german chocolate cake is the frosting, and bobby's version sounds delectable! i'm glad kurt liked his cake. :)

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  24. wow Lisa., sometimes it really, really pays to put that research in, your cake is super beautiful. Glad the birthday boy was a happy fella :)

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  25. Happy Belated Birthday! i have been reading about your updates in twitter and i am still late to come. This is to die for.. so luxurious and elegant. I am sure you made him happy:-)

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  26. It looks delicious, and like it was worth all the work. German chocolate is hands down my husbands favorite cake ever. It's also one item I've never made from scratch. I may just have to attempt it. :)

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