Incredibly Moist German Chocolate Cake

Whenever I make this cake, I think of my dear sister (in-law) Esther as this is one of her favs. Next time we’re together, Esther, I’m making this cake for you. It was everything and more a German Chocolate Cake should be. Rich, moist, delicious, with tons of goopy coconut pecan filling.

Filling the first layer.

As you can see it’s divided into two sections. I made this cake for our Canasta group’s monthly birthday celebration and one of our gang cannot eat nuts, so half the cake is German Chocolate and the other half is super rich and moist chocolate cake with a chocolate buttercream frosting.

Once they were joined I wanted to make sure of which was which so decorated the top with chocolate chips on the plain side and more luscious coconut pecan filling on the German side.

I don’t really think of myself as a baker, but lately I have been baking a lot and it seems I have become the designated cake baker for our monthly birthday celebrations. I love doing it and finding out what the birthday girl(s) favorite cake is.

This is a 3-layer cake using 9 inch cake pans. For such an intensely delicious cake it was relatively simple to put together. I used the same chocolate cake mixture for both sides and just filled and frosted differently.

I think one of the things that made this cake so moist and rich was the use of 1/2 cup of coffee (I used Folger’s instant coffee reminiscent of growing up in Alstead, NH), and both the Greek style yogurt and buttermilk didn’t hurt!

Prepare your pans in advance by greasing with butter and then placing parchment paper in the bottom. Lightly grease the top of the parchment paper, too once in the pan. Cut around the edge of the pan. The last thing I wanted was for these cakes to stick.

Next, I made the Coconut pecan filling so it would have plenty of time to cool.

Combine butter, brown sugar, egg yolks and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk occasionally as the mixture begins to boil. Once boiling, whisk constantly until the mixture thickens–about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla, toasted pecans and coconut. Allow to cool on the counter completely before you begin layering the cake. It gets even thicker as it cools.

ON TO THE CAKE…

This is not yet completely mixed. You want to make sure there are no chunks of cocoa powder in the mixture.

Cafe Molido comes from the Dominican Republic. The arabica beans have a subtle, but distinctive nutty, chocolaty, vanilla flavor perfect for this chocolate cake.

Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix the oil, eggs, Greek style yogurt (or sour cream), buttermilk, and vanilla together until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the hot coffee and whisk or beat until the batter is completely combined.

Divide the batter evenly between 3, 9 inch cake pans. You could get super-precise and weight each pan to make sure they are exactly even. I used the eye-ball method. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely in the pan and then invert onto the rack and remove the parchment paper.

ASSEMBLE AND FROST…

First, make sure your cakes are level. If they are not, using a serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Fortunately mine were pretty level.

Because I was making a bifurcated cake I put all three layers on top of each other and carefully cut directly down the middle. Evenly cover the top of one half with the coconut pecan filling and the other with chocolate buttercream frosting. Keep filling until all three layers are covered. If you are making just the German Chocolate cover the entire top with the coconut pecan filling. I covered the whole cake with chocolate buttercream, making it seem like it was one cake and the used the topping to make the distinction.

My friend, Bonnie really loved this cake! It was fun making two cakes seem like one. This birthday celebrated Jan (second from the left) and Marina (third from the right).

Another fun and festive event! Next birthday is Joyce’s and her request always is Pina Colada Tres Leches. I have blogged this cake in the past, but it is part of the old blog so you won’t be able to jump to the recipe and copy, but you still can copy, paste and print it.

I can’t believe Thanksgiving (and our 30th wedding anniversary!) is 2 days away. I will blog my menu, as we are doing a very untraditional Thanksgiving this year featuring Duck with Cherry Bourbon sauce.

Print Pin

German Chocolate Cake and More!

Rich, very moist and chocolaty. The twist is that I made two cakes out of one.

Ingredients

Ingredients For The Cake

• 1 3/4 cups White Flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder I used half 100% Hershey's cacao and half Hershey's dark cacao.
• 1 3/4 cups White granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. Baking soda
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Espresso Powder I used Fress Cafe Molida from the Dominican Republic.
• 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 lge. Eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup Greek style yogurt or full fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup Buttermilk If you don't have buttermilk, just add 1 tsp. of fresh lemon juice to 1/2 cup of milk.
• 2 tp. Vanilla
• 1/2 cup Strong coffee

For the Coconut Pecan Filling

• 1/2 cup Butter, that is 1 stick. I used salted butter.
• 1 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
• 3 lge. Egg yolks
• 1 can Evaporated Milk, 8 oz.
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups Sweetened Coconut
• 1 cup Chopped Pecans, toasted

For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1 1/4 cups Butter, that's 2 1/2 sticks, softened to room temp
• 3 1/2 cups Confectioners sugar, sifted
• 3/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa Again, I used half dark and half regular Hershey's cocoa.
• 3-5 Tbsp. Half and Half
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Vanilla

Instructions

To Make the Coconut Pecan Filling

• This makes almost twice as much filling as needed, but having leftovers is not a problem!
• Toast the pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Stir the nuts as they brown so they don't get burned.
• I made the filling first so it could cool to room temperature. Combine butter, brown sugar, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
• Whisk occasionally as the mixture comes to a boil. Once boiling, whisk constantly until the mixture thickens--about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla, toasted pecans and coconut. Allow to cool completely before filling the cake. It will also thicken as it cools.

To Make the German Chocolate Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9 inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment. cut around the edge of the cake pans so you have a flat round of parchment in the bottom of the pan.
• Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or you can just use a whisk) mix the oil, eggs, yogurt (or sour cream), buttermilk and vanilla together until combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the hot coffee, and whisk or beat it all until the batter is completely combined.
• Divide the batter evenly between the 3 pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan.

To Make the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• Make the frosting while the cakes are cooling. Again, this will make more frosting then you need. With a hand held or stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until very creamy--about 2 minutes. Add confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, 3 Tbsp. cream, salt and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for a full minute. Do not over-whip.
• Add 1/4 cup more of confectioners sugar if the frosting is too thin. Conversely add 1 to 2 more Tbsp. cream if it is too thick. Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed.

To Assemble the Cake

• Remove the cooled cakes from the pans and also remove the parchment paper. Because I was making two cakes in one, stack the layers on top of each other and carefully cut right down the middle.
• Start filling each layer either with the Coconut Pecan filling or the Chocolate Buttercream frosting.
• I garnished the top of the cakes with chocolate chips for the Buttercream half and dollops of the Coconut Pecan filling for the German Chocolate half.
• Chill the cake for 30 to 60 minutes which makes it easier to cut. If you try to cut it warm, it may fall apart.