"German" Chocolate style cake....kind of.....

Friday was my niece's 8th birthday and I asked her what she wanted as her birthday treat. She requested a chocolate cake with coconut and topped with cherries. I decided to make her a chocolate cake with German chocolate cake filling, a homemade chocolate frosting and topped it with maraschino cherries. I have a chocolate cake recipe that is my absolute favorite. It ALWAYS comes out moist and delicious. The recipe uses sour cream and canola oil instead of the typical butter. The best part is you don't have to get that mixer dirty because it mixes up by hand. I made a double batch of the recipe for this cake but I probably shouldn't have because I have a whole cakes worth of trimmings left over. (Don't worry that cake found a good home)

Here's just a little cake trivia....German chocolate cake isn't German at all. The recipe was "invented" by a guy whose last name was German and he made chocolate. I am sure you have seen German brand baking chocolate in the store. Right? Well since I didn't use his recipe or his brand of chocolate, I just don't feel that I can call it a German chocolate cake. However I did make the typical filling with coconut and chopped pecans.

I baked 3 9" layers, LATE the night before her birthday. When they cooled I wrapped them in plastic wrap and left them on the counter overnight. In the morning I trimmed the layers nice and even. I have a handy "cake saw" that cuts them even every time. I am horrible at doing it free hand, they always come out crooked. Then I wrapped all three layers in plastic wrap and set them aside while I did all the other parts of this recipe.

Next I started working on the filling. The recipe I use calls for unsweetened coconut, that you then toast. However, unsweetened coconut was ridiculously expensive and my grocery store was having a sale on pre-toasted coconut. It was actually cheaper than regular coconut and it saved me time. It tasted good too. I love finding good deals like this. :-) I used the whole 7 oz bag because there was such a small amount left after I measured it out, I decided to throw it all in.

The custard that goes into this filling is really simple. I just added cream to a medium pot at medium-low heat, then I added the sugar and whisked egg yolks. It cooks for about 10 minutes until it starts to thicken. I stirred it constantly and removed it from the heat when the miixture coated the back on my "spoon".

 

At this point it was time to add the coconut, chopped pecans and cubed butter. I stirred it all together and let it set out to cool to room temperature for a couple hours, stirring occasionally, while I prepared everything else.

 Now, since my niece wanted cherries on top, I went ahead and pulled them out of their liquid and let them set on a paper towel to drain. You don't want all that cherry juice to get all over your beautiful cake. If you start draining them at this point in the recipe they will be nice and dry by the time you want to decorate. Just watch the kiddos, my little munchkin kept trying to steal them. I eventually gave him a fork and the jar of leftovers, so he wouldn't steal my dry ones.

 Next I started on the frosting. This is the first time I made this chocolate frosting and let me tell you it was amazing! This recipe made exactly enough for the cake. So if you like extra or are heavy handed with frosting make a double batch. I wish I had because the cake made with the leftovers/trimmings didn't get any frosting and I really wanted some more. Oh well.

To make this frosting, I melted a bunch of butter (the exact recipe follows), removed the pot from the heat and then stirred in Ghirardelli (my favorite) semi-sweet chocolate chips and (don't hate me) some corn syrup. I stirred it until all was melted and smooth. Then I put 1 cup in the fridge to cool to spreading consistency and left the rest of the frosting in the pot on the counter to stay warmish.

 At this point I sat down for an hour to help my little munchkin, now on a cherry induced sugar rush, try to do his school work. When everything was cooled I started the assembly process.

I started by placing the cake on a rack over a pan to catch any mess. Also my cake pan has a removable bottom, so I left one layer on the metal circle, I made this the bottom layer, of course. If you don't have that you will want a cake board the same size as your cake or you could even assemble it on whatever platter you plan to serve the cake on, it just may get messy and require a little cleaning before presentation. I spread the filling over the first layer, then carefully stacked the next layer of cake and repeated. I did end up with about a cup of extra filling. If I were you I would serve it on the side for those that like extra filling. I used mine to make the trimming cake ;-)

 Then it was time to use the frosting I chilled in the fridge. I stirred it up and used it as a crumb coat. It is enough to thinly coat the entire cake, as in the picture below.

I then poured the remaining, warmish frosting, over the top of the cake and slowly spread it evenly over the top and down the sides. I gave it a little swirl on top with my Icing spatula. I let the frosting set a few minutes to firm up and then topped it with the dried cherries and HAPPY BIRTHDAY. This cake was awesome! Even with all the work, I would totally make it again. I may even make it for myself for my birthday. I thought the cherries would be weird, but they weren't. I love maraschino cherries and I think they went well.

Dark Chocolate Cake
(This recipe makes 3-8" layers, I doubled it for the cake above, but I had quite a bit of trim, almost enough to make a whole other cake, so you decide)
2 c cake flour
1 c cocoa powder
2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c sour cream
1/2 c canola oil
1 c HOT water
1 tsp white vinegar (don't worry you can't taste it, I PROMISE)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or spray with nonstick baking spray, three round 8" pans. Set aside. Sift together all the dry ingredients, except the sugar, into a large bowl, then add the sugar.
( I almost always forget the sugar, so make sure you add it.) In a separate bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients until well combined. Then pour the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and slowly stir until thoroughly incorporated. Pour batter evenly into three pans and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes in the pan, then gently remove from pan and let cool completely on wire racks. Then wrap in plastic wrap until ready to use (not more than 24 hours ahead, for optimum moistness).

Creamy Coconut Pecan Filling (I slightly modified Paula Deen's recipe)
1½ cups heavy whipping cream
1½ cups sugar
5 egg yolks, whisked together
6 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into cubes
2 cups flaked coconut, toasted (1- 7oz package pre-toasted coconut)
1½ cups pecans, toasted and chopped
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan, combine cream, sugar, and egg yolks. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and add cubed butter, toasted coconut, and chopped pecans, stirring until butter is melted. Let stand until mixture reaches room temperature and thickens. (If for some reason it isn't thick enough after cooling, just add more coconut)

Chocolate Frosting
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
10 ounces Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate and corn syrup, whisking until chocolate is melted. Transfer 1 cup to a bowl and Chill, stirring occasionally, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour. Keep remaining frosting at room temperature in pan.

Assembly
1  small jar Maraschino cherries, drained on a paper towel (optional)

Put 1 cake layer on a rack set over a baking pan (to catch any mess). Spread a few spoonfuls of coconut filling (about 2 cups) into center of cake and spread evenly all the way to the edge. Top with another cake layer and spread with another few spoonfuls (about 2 cups). Top with the last  layer. Spread the cooled frosting from the refrigerator evenly over top and side of cake to form a crumb coat. (If the frosting in the pan is no longer easily poured, slowly warm it over low heat until you can pour it. Be sure not to warm it to much) I didn't need to warm mine. However I keep my house warmer than most.  Pour the frosting evenly over the top of the cake, making sure it coats the sides all the way around. You may have to spread it out and smooth it a little, to make sure the whole cake is coated. At this point transfer it to your serving platter, fix any holes your fingers may have made and top it with cherries for decoration, if desired. You could also use any remaining filling to decorate the top (I had about a cup left).