'The Imposter' German Chocolate Cake

9/2/2023

Grandma's Der Deutsch Schokolade kuchen ist ein Betruger means The German Chocolate Cake is an Imposter. It is a very delicious substitute for the traditional recipe.

This recipe from my Grandma is fabulous. It's easy to make. The hardest part for me was whisking the filling. As mentioned, the directions in her recipes are sometimes sparse. While I'm in the middle of baking, I may have to Google another recipe quickly to make sure I'm doing the technique correctly.

Grandma labeled this cake as a good substitute for German Chocolate Cake. After tasting it, I had no idea why she called it a 'good substitute'. It tastes like every other German Chocolate Cake I've ever eaten. After some inquiries, I uncovered the reason. Traditional German Chocolate Cake relies on melted chocolate. Grandma used cocoa. Here's some trivia: Sam German is who the cake is named for. He's responsible for creating a sweet baking chocolate used by the Bakers Chocolate Company in Boston.

Regardless, I don't always have Baker's sweet chocolate in my cupboard but I do always have cocoa. It's one of those staples that you can't do without. Let me know your thoughts on the recipe. I think, WOW!

Add the dry ingredients together

Beat wet and dry ingredients together

Divide the batter into two prepared pans

Ingredients for the cake batter:
One box of yellow cake mix
Four Tablespoons of cocoa
1/2 cup of sugar
Three eggs

The required amount of oil and water on the yellow cake mix box. Prepare cake pans with oil and flour. Pour into the cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees. The two cakes I prepared took 20 - 25 minutes. One finished sooner than the other so check each cake if you're making two or even three layers.

Let the cakes cool

Whisk the filling

Toast the pecans

Ingredients for the German Chocolate Filling:
One cup of sugar
Three egg yolks
One stick of butter
One cup of Pet Milk
One tsp. of vanilla
One cup of shredded coconut
One cup of toasted (or not) pecans

Cook over low heat or in a double-boiler. I used low heat while everything came together and then I turned the heat to medium. Once it started a slow boil, I whisked it continuously for five minutes. While the filling is cooking on low, whisk occasionally so the egg doesn't scramble. Once the batter is thick, remove from the heat and add the vanilla, toasted pecans (chopped), and the shredded coconut. Make sure it's completely cooled before icing the cake.

You can decorate the cake with pecans and more coconut.