German Chocolate Cake {Granny's Recipe} (2024)

FAQs

What are 2 differences between chocolate cake & German chocolate cake? ›

German chocolate cake uses a particular kind of baking chocolate as its base, one which has a milder, sweeter profile thanks in part to lecithin, a fatty substance derived from egg yolks. In contrast, classic chocolate cake recipes often use cocoa powder or darker chocolate for a richer, more intense flavor.

The name German chocolate cake is a little deceiving as it is not actually a German dessert and traditionally the cake is a lighter colored cake with a mild chocolate taste and the entire cake is usually covered in coconut pecan frosting.

If your frosting isn't thickening, there are a few possible reasons: insufficient mixing, incorrect ingredient ratios or having too much liquid are the most common. You can try gradually adding thickening agents like cornstarch or powdered sugar as a last resort.

Cakes sink in the middle due to several reasons. One reason is that the cake batter might be too moist, causing it to collapse during baking. Another reason could be that the oven temperature is too low, leading to uneven baking. Opening the oven door too frequently while baking can also cause cakes to sink.

Making German Chocolate Frosting: Egg yolks, sugar, butter, evaporated milk, and vanilla are cooked in a saucepan until thick and bubbly. Chopped pecans and flaked coconut are stirred in and the delightful mixture is cooled until it's spreadable.

The frosting is left to cool until thick enough to spread between, and on top of, the cake layers. The filled and frosted cake can be served immediately or stored at room temperature for a few days. It can also be refrigerated.

Bienenstich is one of the most beloved German cakes that evokes childhood memories for many people. True, this German classic is neither a quick nor super easy cake to bake with its yeasted dough base, topped with a caramelized almond crust, and filled with creamy pudding made from scratch.

The most common reasons a cake sinks in the middle include the following: The pan is too small. There's too much liquid. Opening the oven or moving pans during baking.

Hence the name German chocolate cake, right? However, the popular dessert isn't from Germany at all. Instead, it originated in the country that loves it the most: America.

To make a box cake mix rise higher, try using a smaller pan, adding an extra egg, using milk instead of water, adding baking powder, mixing for longer, using room temperature ingredients, baking at a higher temperature, or using cake strips.

Does German chocolate frosting thicken as it cools? ›

Let it cool: Cool for at least 30 minutes or until it's thick enough to spread on our cake layers. The frosting will continue to thicken and set up a bit as it cools. You can even be make it a day or two in advance and keep the frosting in the fridge until it's ready to use.

Assuming this happens with all your cake recipes, not just with a particular recipe, it's likely your oven and/or the placement of the oven racks. Electric ovens in particular are more likely produce cakes and cupcakes that are hard on the top. You might also have the oven rack too high in the oven.

Of these three cakes, German chocolate is the only one that relies entirely on melted chocolate, as opposed to cocoa powder, for its flavor. In fact, its name comes from Sam German, the man who developed a sweet baking chocolate for the Baker's chocolate company of Boston.

If your cake was cooked to the proper temperature, chances are it is still edible even if it sunk in the center. Check that it's baked through the middle, then try a small piece of your cake. It might not taste good if the ingredient measurements were off. Notice the texture to make sure it's not too dense or spongy.

Sodium bicarbonate and bicarbonate of soda are other names for baking soda. Baking powder is made of baking soda plus cream of tartar and cornstarch. Baking powder can be substituted for baking soda by tripling the amount of baking powder.

A regular chocolate cake mix is flavored with milk chocolate. A devil's-food cake is richer and darker, and has a strong cocoa flavor. German chocolate (a favorite here in south Texas) usually is a lighter-colored cake with a flavor of mild chocolate.

At the most basic level, all cake recipes can be categorized as either a Butter Cake or a Foam Cake. Butter Cake recipes depend on a chemical leavening agent – baking soda or baking powder and are distinguished by their inclusion of butter, shortening, margarine, or oil.

German's sweet baking chocolate is just that, sweeter baking chocolate— at least, sweeter than both semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate. According to MyRecipes, to substitute semi-sweet chocolate for German's sweet baking chocolate you would need to add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of sugar per ounce of chocolate.

A popular cake made with Baker's sweet chocolate was known as German's Cake, after Sam German's variety; eventually, the apostrophe was dropped, and the confusion began. Modern German chocolate cake recipes call for semisweet chocolate, since Baker's brand sweet chocolate baking bars are no longer widely available.