German Chocolate Cake

I made this cake for my sister-in-law's birthday. She had just finished her goal of running a marathon before her 40th birthday and she got it in just under the wire! Congrats and Happy Birthday Amy! One of her favorite cakes is a German Chocolate Cake so I took the opportunity to make this one. This recipe comes from the Baked Cookbook and is another winning recipe from this fabulous cookbook.  I was planning to frost the entire cake, but then decided to leave the sides bare as they showed in the book. I didn't miss the extra icing at all. The only thing I did differently from theirs is to make a "well" around each cake layer with fudge icing and then filled that well with the coconut mixture. The authors only used the coconut icing between cake layers. I used the recipe for instant fudge icing from the Sky High cookbook for the sake of time, since that recipe is quick and delicious. I made a 1/2 recipe of icing and had quite a bit left over.  



German Chocolate Cake

from Baked, New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
Yield: 1 (8-INCH) CAKE

Ingredients
For the german chocolate cake layers:
2¼ cups cake flour
¾ cup dark, unsweetened cocoa powder, like Valrhona
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup hot coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1¼ cups (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2¼ cups sugar
5 large eggs
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled

For the coconut pecan filling:
1 1/3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
1 1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped coarsely

For the fudge frosting:
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons half-and-half
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


MAKE THE CHOCOLATE CAKE LAYERS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.
Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the coffee and buttermilk.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate. The mixture will look light and fluffy.
Add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee/buttermilk mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the melted chocolate.
Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack and remove the pans and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.

MAKE THE COCONUT PECAN FILLING
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Spread half of the coconut evenly across the pan and place in the oven for 5 minutes or until the coconut begins to brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, butter, evaporated milk, vanilla, and egg yolks. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. After the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the toasted coconut, regular coconut, and pecans.
Place the pan over an ice bath (a large bowl filled with ice) and stir the mixture until cool.

MAKE THE FUDGE FROSTING
Make only half this recipe for this cake.   Place all of the frosting ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate. Then process until the frosting is smooth. 

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface and evenly spread one third of the filling on top. Add the next layer, trim and frost with one third of the filling, then add the third layer. Trim the top, and frost with the remaining filling. The cake will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 2 days.