The Importance of Meaning
Whenever I bake something, it has to mean something to me. Either it has to remind me of some great dessert I had during a meal, or it has to represent a significant event in my life. You know that feeling when you taste something and you know that the chef put his/her heart and soul into it? That’s what I want my bakes to evoke, and this particular cake was for my wife’s (Minhan’s) birthday this year. Thus, I wanted to make it really special and decided that the first cake I was going to bake for her would be a flavor replica of our wedding cake. Go big or go home, right?
The Sponge
I’m not going to lie, this is the first cake I’ve ever baked. After watching over four seasons of the Great British Baking Show, taking notes on how people baked cakes, I felt inspired. I read articles and did “research” by trying out the best bakeries everywhere I went. Also, I wanted to use stone ground whole wheat flour instead of white flour, so I had to do some calculations to account for the heavier flour (FYI, I substituted 1 cup of white flour with 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour). There probably wasn’t enough food coloring in the batter (see the “A bit of history” section for a possible alternative to food coloring!), but it still tasted great and was nice and fluffy!
The Filling
I’ve been eating German chocolate cake since I was a little kid. I love the stuff. Creamy and flaky coconut with pecans? I can’t say “no” to that! This was the part I was really eager to make for the cake.
The Frosting
Minhan and I aren’t HUGE fans of frosting, but we do like a thin layer with our cakes. I was deciding between a buttercream frosting or a cream cheese frosting, and remembered that our wedding cake had buttercream, so that’s what I did! Next time I’m going to whip some more air into it to make it a bit lighter and fluffier.
The Assembly
If there’s one thing I learned from watching countless hours of The Great British Baking Show, it’s to wait until the cakes are cool before adding the filling and frosting. After fanning the cakes for a couple of minutes, it was finally time to put together the final product!
Materials
Sponge:
- 1/2 cup margarine, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Red food coloring (add a little extra since cocoa powder will dampen the color)
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 3/4 cup stone ground whole wheat flour
- 1 cup reduced fat (1.5%) buttermilk
German Chocolate Filling:
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1 tsp imitation vanilla (or vanilla extract)
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1 1/3 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut flakes
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup margarine, softened
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp imitation vanilla (or vanilla extract)
- 2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 tbsp milk (I used soy milk) + extra to thin the icing
Methods
For the sponge:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9″ springform cake pans with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can use one cake pan and just bake two batches. Grease the sides of the cake pans and the parchment paper with a little bit of margarine. Set aside.
- Whisk margarine and sugar until smooth, then whisk in one egg at a time.
- Add the food coloring, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the white vinegar.
- Alternate whisking in flour and buttermilk to create a smooth batter.
- Spoon half the batter into the cake pan, smooth with an icing knife or something similar.
- Bake for 17min. If using one cake pan, remove the first sponge and bake the next one the same way.
- Cool completely on a rack.
For the German chocolate filling:
- In a small-to-medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients for the filling and reduce the mixture by constantly whisking on low-to-medium heat until thickened. Set aside and continue stirring to cool faster.
For the frosting:
- With a spatula, mix the margarine, salt, and vanilla.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar a half cup at a time, mixing in between until smooth.
- Add the milk and mix. Feel free to add small amounts of additional milk until you are happy with the consistency.
For the assembly:
- It’s important to wait until all of the components are cool before assembling to avoid cakes collapsing, German chocolate filling running, and frosting melting.
- On top of one layer of sponge, spread the German chocolate filling until evenly smooth, then carefully lay the second layer of sponge on top.
- Using a spoon or spatula, add the frosting to the top cake layer and smooth with an icing knife on both the tops and sides. A cake decorating turntable helps a bunch here!
A Bit of History of German Chocolate Cake
This year marks the 61st anniversary of the German chocolate cake. Contrary to some people’s beliefs, this cake does not actually come from Germany. It was named after Sam German who worked for the Baker’s chocolate company and invented a sweet style of baking in 1852. The company named this after German, and it became well-known in 1957. In addition, there is actually a National German Chocolate Cake Day, which is on June 11th!
“Velvet” cakes have their roots in the 1800s, when bakers would use almond flour, cornstarch, or cocoa powder (which is used in red velvet cakes) to soften the protein found in flour and make fine-textured cakes. The mixing of cocoa powder with buttermilk created a mahogany-colored cake (like mine was today!), and there is still debate as to what made red velvet cake “red”. Some people say it’s the mix of cocoa powder with acid (like vinegar), which gives a slight red tint. However, other people say the name comes from “red sugar”, which is what we currently call “brown sugar”. During World War II, some bakers added red beet juice to their cakes to make their cakes more appealing and to keep the cakes moist. In the present day, most bakers prefer to use food coloring, but after doing this research, maybe I’ll try beets next time!
Happy 31st birthday, Minhan!
Comments, conversations, feedback, and messages are always welcome!