German Chocolate Crater Cake Recipes

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans with oil and dust with flour. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
• Microwave the chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl on high power for 45 seconds; remove and stir. Microwave again at high power in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until the chocolate has melted completely; set aside.
• Beat the granulated sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the melted chocolate. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the milk, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two, starting and ending with the flour, until just incorporated. Add half the milk, and mix until just incorporated. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk, making sure not to overmix. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, run a thin spatula around the edges and then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. (They will have a sugary "crust" on the top. This is from the melted chocolate and is not a problem. It will soften once the cake is assembled or if the layers are baked the day before.)
• For the filling: While the cakes cool, spread the pecans on a baking sheet and bake, tossing once, until toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Finely chop. Whisk together the milk and egg yolks in a medium saucepan until smooth. Add the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 5 to 6 minutes. (It will be similar to the thickness of eggnog.) Pour the mixture into a large bowl. (Don't worry if it seems thin. The coconut and nuts will bind it.) Stir in the coconut and pecans; set aside to cool.
• For the frosting: Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat 1 cup of the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until steaming but not boiling, and pour over the chocolate. Let stand a few minutes, and then whisk until smooth; let stand at room temperature (or put in the refrigerator if your kitchen is hot) until thick but not set, 20 minutes to 1 hour. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons cream to the chocolate mixture, and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 1 minute (do not overbeat, or it will become hard and grainy). The frosting should hold medium peaks and will continue to firm up a bit as it stands. Spoon about 1 cup frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
• To assemble: Put one cake layer right-side up on a serving plate, and top with half the filling. Top with the second cake layer and the remaining filling, spreading it to about 1/2 inch from the edge. Frost the sides, and decorate around the top edge of the cake with the frosting in the pastry bag.
• Loosely cover the cake with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight. Unwrap and serve.

BETTER-THAN-MOM'S GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, and grease the parchment paper.
• Place semisweet chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and water in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes.
• Beat 1 1/4 cups sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture and beat until well combined. Add buttermilk, vanilla extract, and the remaining flour mixture.
• Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold about 1/3 of the egg whites into the cake batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites, but do not overmix. Divide batter between the 2 prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely.
• Prepare the filling while the cakes are cooling. Combine cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan and mix until well combined. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until custard begins to thicken and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 170 degrees F (76 degrees C).
• Combine coconut, pecans, butter, and salt in a bowl. Pour hot custard over the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature.
• Make the syrup by heating water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in dark rum.
• Combine chopped chocolate, butter, and corn syrup in a bowl for the frosting. Heat cream in a saucepan until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour into the bowl. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until smooth and chocolate is melted. Cool to room temperature.
• Cut cake layers in half horizontally using a serrated bread knife. Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush well with syrup. Spread 3/4 cup filling on top, making sure to reach all the way to the edges. Repeat with remaining cake layers, syrup, and filling, including the top.
• Frost the sides of the cake with chocolate frosting. Spoon remaining chocolate frosting into a piping bag and pipe a decorative border around the top and bottom of the cake.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Scatter the pecans evenly over the baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 5 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant. Cool the nuts completely and chop.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream of coconut, and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together until smooth. Slowly pour in about ¼ cup of the hot milk mixture to temper the eggs, so they won't curdle, and then, whisking constantly, add the remainder of the milk in a steady stream. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the coconut and pecans.
• Let cool completely before frosting the cake. The frosting can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking pan or coat with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
• Put the chocolate in a medium bowl and pour in the hot coffee and vanilla. Let stand for about 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until smooth.
• While the chocolate is melting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer), combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Let the mixer run on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes to aerate the flour.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and oil together until thick, satiny, and light in color. Whisk in the sour cream, being careful not to overmix; leave some visible streaks of white.
• Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and mix until just combined.
• With the mixer on medium speed, add the chocolate-sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients in thirds, mixing until well blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand (if using) and, using a rubber spatula, incorporate any ingredients hiding at the bottom of the bowl, making sure the batter is completely mixed.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Tap the pans firmly on the countertop to remove any air bubbles from the batter.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, then use the parchment "handles" to lift the cake out of the pan and set it on the rack to cool completely.
• Transfer the cake to a serving platter (you can keep the edges of the platter clean while you frost the cake by sliding strips of parchment underneath the cake). Frost the top and sides of the cake with the frosting.
• The cake can be stored, loosely covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CRATER CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Sprinkle pecans and coconut on bottom of dish. Prepare cake mix according to directions on box. Pour over pecans and coconut. Melt cream cheese and butter in saucepan over low heat till combined then add powdered sugar and mix well. Pour cream cheese mixture over cake batter. Bake in oven 40-45 minutes. Meanwhile heat evaporated milk and milky way bars in saucepan over low heat until milky way bars are melted and fully incorporated into the milk. Let cool slightly. When cake is done, poke holes in top of cake with fork or knife. Pour milky way mixture over top of cake. Let cool completely. Enjoy plain, or with whipped cream or ice cream.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch or two 9-inch round cake pans with the cooking spray. Cut three 8-inch or two 9-inch rounds of cooking parchment paper. Line bottoms of pans with the paper.
• Coarsely chop the chocolate. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the chocolate and water over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted; remove from heat and cool.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir the flour, baking soda and salt until mixed; set aside. In another medium bowl, beat 2 cups sugar and 1 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy; set aside.
• On medium speed, beat 1 egg yolk at a time into the sugar mixture until mixed. On low speed, beat in the melted chocolate and 1 teaspoon vanilla. On low speed, beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture just until smooth, then beat in 1/2 of the buttermilk just until smooth. Repeat beating in flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk just until smooth.
• Wash and dry mixer beaters. In a small bowl, beat the eggs whites on high speed until beaten eggs whites form stiff peaks when beaters are lifted. Add egg whites to the batter; to fold in, use a rubber spatula to cut down vertically through the batter, then slide the spatula across the bottom of the bowl and up the side, turning batter over. Rotate the bowl 1/4 turn, and repeat this down-across-up motion. Continue folding until batter and egg whites are blended.
• Pour batter into pans; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl, spread batter evenly in pans and smooth top of batter. (If batter is not divided evenly, spoon batter from one pan to another.) Refrigerate batter in third pan if not all pans will fit in oven at one time; bake third pan separately.
• Bake 8-inch pans 35 to 40 minutes, 9-inch pans 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes. To remove cake from pan, invert onto cooling rack, then invert right side up on second cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In a 2-quart saucepan, stir the 3 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, the evaporated milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until well mixed. Cook over medium heat about 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbly. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool about 30 minutes, beating occasionally with a spoon, until mixture is spreadable.
• Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on a cake plate; using a metal spatula, spread 1/3 of the filling over the layer. Add second layer, rounded side down; spread with 1/3 of the filling. Add third layer, rounded side up; spread with remaining filling, leaving side of cake unfrosted. Store cake covered in the refrigerator.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with shortening. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 9-inch round pans, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In 3-quart heavy saucepan, mix sugar, butter, milk and egg yolks. Heat to simmering over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook 9 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Cut each cake layer horizontally into 2 layers. On serving plate, place 1 layer, cut side up. Spread with about 1 1/3 cups filling. Repeat with second and third layers and 2 2/3 cups filling.
• With serrated knife, cut remaining cake layer into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips. Cut strips into irregular pieces. Place cake pieces randomly over filling to cover top of cake, pressing gently into cake and fitting snugly together. Refrigerate cake several hours before serving, if desired.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave frosting 10 seconds on High until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over top of cake. Store covered in refrigerator.