German Chocolate Cake

Yesterday, my coworker's son graduated from college.  She threw a great little party and requested a German Chocolate cake for the occasion.  Now, at that point I'd never had German chocolate cake, much less made one, but I do have my evertrue Better Homes and Garden cookbook which has yet to steer me wrong.

Kitchen Lesson No. 1:  Always carefully and completely read a recipe before you begin.  You never want to get to the end of your baking adventure and realize that the recipe only calls for frosting the top of the cake layers and not the side when you had anticipated total icing.  That leaves you scrambling for a solution.  That being said, it did lead me to do something I hadn't originally planned but which worked great!  After doing some googling, I saw a few cakes that had the coconut frosting on the top with chocolate on the sides.  It looked classy and delicious and I'm very happy with the end result.  

German Chocolate Cake
(BH&G New Cookbook, pg 166)
 
Chocolate Cake

• 1 4-oz package sweet baking chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

• 1 egg
• 1 5-oz can evaporated milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/3  cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Chocolate Frosting

• 8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1  cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cornstarch

For the cake:

In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and milk.  Cook adn stir  over low heat until melted; set aside to cool.  

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, grease the bottom of two 8x8" square pans or 9" round cake pans.  Line the bottoms with wax paper; then, grease and lightly flour the pans.  Alternatively, you can just grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.  Set the pans aside.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add the sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed after each addition until well combined (about 3 minutes).  Scrape the sides of the bowl; continue beating on medium speed for 2 minutes more.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total).  Beat in vanilla.  Alternately add flour and chocolate mixtures to the butter mixture, beating on low speed after each additional just until combined.  beat on medium to high speed for 20 seconds more.  Spread batter evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes for the 8" pans,  30 to 35 minutes for the 9" pans, or 40 to 45 minutes for the 13x9" pan, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for  10 minutes.  Remove cake layers from pans.  Peel off waxed paper.  Cool thoroughly on racks.  Or place 13x9 cake in pan on wire rack and cool completely.

For the Coconut-Pecan Filling:

In a medium saucepan, slightly beat the egg.  Stir in the evaporated milk, sugar, and butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until thickened and bubbly.  Remove from heat; stir in coconut flakes and pecans.  Cover and cool thoroughly before using.  

For the Chocolate Frosting:

Combine chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a medium bowl.  Heat cream until just boiling.  Remove from heat and pour over chocolate.  Let stand for one minute, then stir.  Let sit til room temperature.  Sift cornstarch over frosting, a tablespoon at a time, and mix in until you get a thick enough consistency to frost with.  (When I made this frosting, it wasn't thick enough to stay on the cake (it dripped a bit), so I added cornstarch as a quick fix to get it thick enough.) Classy, I know.

Assembly:

Set the first cake layer on cake plate/round/whatever you desire.  Pipe a 1/4 inch thick border of chocolate frosting around the very edge; this will act as a dam to keep your coconut filling from oozing out the sides.  Spread half of the coconut filling within your chocolate border.  Set the next cake layer on top.  Again, pipe a chocolate frosting border along the edge of the cake.  Spread the other half of the coconut filling on top, trying to get it as level as possible.  Pipe a decorative border on top of the coconut filling dam.  Frost the sides of the cake.   

Slice and enjoy! 

Samoa Bars

A fun fact: the name of your girl scout cookies depends on where you live. While living in Cedar Rapids, I had a moment of panic when I ordered some GS cookies, thinking they no longer made my absolute favorites (Tagalongs). Turns out that in Iowa (and other places) Tagalongs are called Peanut Butter Patties (boring), Samoas are called Caramel Delights, and Trefoils are just called Shortbread. It's odd; I've heard it's because there are two manufactoring places and they label the cookies differently, but I'm not sure how much I believe that. What's funniest is the boxes are identical, except the cookie name.

So what I present to you today are Samoa (or Caramel Delight) bars. I made these largely for my sister who loves Somoas and who didn't order any this year. She loved them, especially when refrigerated. My dad loved the increased proportions, the bars having more cookie than the actual cookies do. I love the simple fact that these are bars; my child had a definite absence of bars so I find them so delightful now. Weird, I know, but don't let that deter you from trying this recipe out. Even if you don't really like coconut (like me), you'll be surprised by how little that matters with these. The caramel accompanying the coconut makes it all okay.


Samoas Bars
(original recipe)

Cookie Base

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Topping

• 3 cups shredded coconut (either sweetened or unsnweetened)
• 12 oz good-quality chewy caramels (I used Werthers)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 10 oz dark or semisweet dipping chocolate

Start with the cookie base. Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease or line with parchment paper a 9x13 baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. On low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until the mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. Pour the dough into prepared pan and press it into an even layer.

Bake 20-25 minutes, or until base is set and the edges are lightly browned. Cool completely before topping.

For the topping: First, we'll need to toast the coconute. Preheat oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then evenly spread the coconut on it. Toast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until the coconut is golden. Cool on the baking sheet, stirring occasionally.

Unwrap the caramels and place them in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute or so to help the caramel melt while also incorporating the milk into it. When fully melted and smooth, fold in the toasted coconut.

Using a spoon or spatula, dollop the topping across the cookie base, then smooth it into an even layer. Let it cool completely.

Once cooled, cut into 30 bars. (A pizza cutter is handy for this.)

Melt the dipping chocolate into a bowl by heating in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and then place it on a clean sheet of parchement paper. Transfer the remaining chocolate into a piping or ziplock bag and drizzle the bars to finish.


Now, the original recipe just says any dark or semisweet chocolate will do, but I had the problem of my chocolate never setting. That made transportation really difficult and also made a mess. My sister suggested the dipping chocolate and she is absolutely right. Next time, I'll use dipping chocolate.