German Chocolate Layer Cake

 Wow!! You can't imagine how happy I am to be back in my kitchen, cooking and baking now that this exam is over. :) I have been meaning to share this cake with you for a while... I made it and brought it in to work for my co-workers. They LOVED it!! Despite having German grandparents, I never ever ate German Chocolate Cake growing up. Once I saw that this recipe was full of coconut and chocolate, I couldn't resist - I had to make it. One note that I have about this recipe - if I made it again, I would add far less liquid to the chocolate ganache - with the amount of liquid called for in the recipe, the ganache was more pourable than spreadable. Start with about 1/2 of the amount of liquid called for below. Other than that, recipe is delicious as is!!

 German Chocolate Layer Cake
Recipe adapted from Meals in Heels by Jennifer Joyce

Ingredients:

• 350g unsalted butter, chopped and softened, plus more for greasing the pans
• 350g cake flour, sifted
• 80g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 450g granulated sugar

Coconut Filling Ingredients:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 175g granulated sugar
• 170ml evaporated milk
• 60g unsalted butter, chopped
• 90g unsweetened coconut
• 120g chopped pecans, toasted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:

• 200ml double cream
• 200g milk chocolate, chopped

 Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 3 8 inch cake tins with parchment paper and grease the paper with butter.
2. Whisk the cocoa with 350ml boiling water in a bowl until smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature. When cool, transfer 75ml into a large bowl and whisk together with the eggs and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Please flour, 1 tsp salt, baking oda and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and remaining dissolved cocoa mixture and beat on low speed for 7-8 minutes or until well comined, then increase to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Add the egg mixture, in three batches, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Don't over-beat the mixture or the cake will be heavy. Divide amond cake tins and smooth the tops.
4. Position the oven racks so you can fit 2 cakes in the middle and one in the lower third of the oven. Rotate the cakes halfway through the baking time. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove from tins, peel off the baking paper and cool completely on wire racks. At this stage, you can wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days before frosting.
5. For the coconut filling: Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a saucepan. Add the milk and butter and whisk continuously over medium heat for 10 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon. Do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut, pecans and vanilla extract. Allow to cool completely.
6. For the chocolate ganache: Place cream in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water and heat the cream until just below boiling point. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate. Whisk until smooth and allow to cool for five minutes, then refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for one hour or until thickened.
7. Line a cake stand or serving platter with baking paper and place cake on top. Spread with half the coconut filling, top with another cake, spread with the remaining filling and top with the third cake. Using a large palette knife, spread the top and sides with the chocolate frosting in a swirling pattern. Carefully pull out the baking paper to serve.

Alright, so definitely not an easy or quick recipe, but sure was delicious. Soooo welcome back to me and happy baking my friends! Hopefully you'll be hearing from me a little more frequently over the next little while. Thanks for sticking around. :)