German Chocolate Cake with Toasted
Coconut/Macadamia Nut Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 ounces sweet baking chocolate, chopped
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- pinch of cream of tarter
Frosting:
- 1-1/2 cups firmly packed golden brown sugar
- 1 cup whipping cream (8 ounce carton)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 4 large egg yolks, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted*
- 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts, lightly toasted*
Steps
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350Đ F
- Butter or spray 3 9 inch round cake pans with 1-1/2 inch high sides
- Line bottom of pans with parchment or waxed paper
- Butter or spray parchment or waxed paper
- Bring 1/2 cup water to simmer in heavy small sauce pan
- Remove water from heat, add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth
- Combine flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy
- Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating after each addition
- Add chocolate mixture and vanilla and mix until blended
- Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry
ingredients, beating well after each addition
- Using clean dry beaters, beat egg white and cream of tarter in large bowl until stiff
but not dry
- Fold whites into cake batter in 2 additions
- Divide batter among prepared pans
- Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 to 35
minutes
- Cool cakes in pans on cooling racks for 15 minutes, then turn out cakes onto racks
- Remove parchment or waxed paper and cool completely (can be prepared 1 day ahead, cover
tightly with aluminum foil and store at room temperature)
Frosting:
- Combine first 5 ingredients in heavy medium sauce pan and whisk until blended
- Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thicken and coats spoon and is the
consistency of caramel sauce (about 10 to 15 minutes), do not boil
- Remove from heat, stir in coconut and macadamia nuts and let stand at room temperature
until cool and spreadable (about 1-1/2 hours), frosting will be very sticky but will setup
on cake
- Place 1 cake layer on a platter, spread 1/2 cup frosting over top, top with second cake
layer, spread 1/2 cup frosting over top, add remaining cake layer and spread remaining
frosting over top and sides of cake (can be prepared 4 hours ahead, let stand at room
temperature)
*Tips
- Toasting the coconut for this recipe is a delicate job. I line a jelly roll pan with
parchment paper, spread the coconut on it and put it in the oven on broil. I pull the pan
out of the oven about every 30 seconds or so or when I see the top layer of coconut has
turned brown. Using a metal spatula, I turn over the coconut to mix up the toasted flakes
with the untoasted flakes. I return the pan to the oven and repeat. You must be very
careful toasting the coconut. For your first time, I suggest buying 2 bags of coconut in
case you burn the first batch
- Chopping macadamia nuts, wow. If anyone has any tips on doing this well, I'll take them.
I use 2 small jars of nuts (found near the chips at the supermarket). I put the nuts in a
gallon size Ziplock freezer bag and smash/roll the bag with a rolling pin. The goal is not
to pulverize the nuts into a meal but to break them up. At the same time, you want to get
the pieces about half the size of a pea at most. I have found that the larger the pieces,
the harder time I have keeping the frosting on the sides of the cake. Those heavy pieces
just want to drag the frosting right off
- Cool your cakes and frosting thoroughly before frosting to ensure the frosting will
stick best
Recipe from Bon Appétit - March, 1994
Copyright (C) 1998 J. D. Beletti, All rights reserved.
Last revised: November 09, 2004.