The Cake That Changed Everything: German Chocolate Cake

The very first time I ever decided 

to enter a baking competition... 

I decided to bake a single

 cake from scratch.

No practice cakes... 

No taste-testing...

I simply baked a cake,

and entered it in our fair.  

Seems simple enough...

It was a local county fair, a well-attended and 

well-loved fair, right in the heart of the Midwest.

I could say... end of story...

but...actually,

this where the whole story really begins.

Taking our baked-from-scratch cake to the fair was 

a fun 'something different' to do, ten years ago...

My then, 2 and 3 year-old children were small 

enough to ride in a double stroller.

Looking back, 

I wonder how we managed 

to get out the door, 

We were fed and dressed (early, by our standards) 

  We managed to deliver (on time) a completed cake

...to a fair...

Really, how did we three 

get there on time??  I will never know...

We let our special cake ride in the stroller.

We were on a mission...

(We could have never known the 

path we were setting off on...)

I had no idea what kind of 

competition might unfold...

I wondered how many 

cakes might be judged...

Was this a good idea?? 

Should I really enter this cake??

I soon learned the answer to all of my 

questions after dropping off my entry...

There were well over 100 cakes.  

Cakes as far as the eye could see...

 chiffon cakes, jam cakes, pound cakes, 

yellow and white cakes...

ALL the cakes in the county were there.  

Short cakes, tall cakes, multi-layered cakes, 

iced and un-iced cakes...every kind of cake

 you could imagine

 was pretty much represented at the fair.

Cakes lined the long counter tops...

beginning with applesauce cakes,

 one after the next, after the next, after the next...

Cakes, neatly arranged, all the way to the 

far end of the Art Hall barn,

where the final category "your favorite cake"

 category was waiting...  

("Your favorite cake" is a category for entries that do not

 fit the typical/usual cake categories: Chocolate, Carrot, 

Angle Food, Devil's Food. It tends to be a baker's favorite cake, 

and is usually a highly entered category full of

unique cakes like: Lemon, Mocha, Coconut, Maple, 

and almost anything you can dream up.)

If someone with a crystal ball had 

told  me what that day would

 bring ...and then fast-forward to today... 

I would never in a million years 

believed any of it could come true)

Our German chocolate cake won a blue ribbon that day.

The little cake that could...

This pretty little German chocolate cake...

also won the Best-of-Show ribbon too.

A single entry...

Perhaps, beginner's luck??

This fine cake went on to win a second 

Best-of-Show two years later

 and numerous first-place ribbons, 

locally and at the Ohio State Fair.

I have never before published the recipe...but today...

Today, this sweet German Chocolate Cake that

is responsible for so much, 

gets her 3 minutes of fame on Fox19 

During a recipe segment devoted just to her.

Sometimes, a slice of cake can

 change the world... it did mine.

Please enjoy this recipe.

Share it with friends and family...

Hopefully this cake will be special to you too.  xo

German Chocolate Cake

Karri Perry, Blue Ribbon Kitchen blog

BlueRibbonKitchen.blogspot.com

Cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

¾ cup dark cocoa powder- Hershey’s Special Dark

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

***

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

¾ cup black coffee –cooled

1 tsp espresso powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup vegetable oil

4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate-melted (1 Baker’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar)

1 cup room temperature buttermilk

Coconut Pecan Frosting

6 egg yolks

2 cups evaporated milk

2 cups sugar

3 TBS unsalted butter

4 cups of sweetened flake coconut

1 ½ cups toasted chopped pecans

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 3, 9-inch cake pans with parchment rounds spray generously with non-stick cooking spray.  How-To: Use nonstick cooking spray to spray the bottom of pan, place parchment in the bottom and then spray bottom and sides again.

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda, set aside.

In a second mixing bowl, add the sugar, eggs, cooled coffee, espresso powder, vanilla, oil and melted chocolate.  Mix well with a handheld electric mixer until combined and emulsified.  There should be no oily puddles on the surface.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two parts, alternating with the buttermilk.  Mix until just combined and uniform in color, with no streaks of flour showing. Scrape down sides of the bowl and pour equal amounts of batter into prepared cake pans.

Bake in a preheated oven on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until the cakes are set and a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

After 5 minutes, loosen cake from edges of the pan with a paring knife if necessary.  Turn cakes out onto a cooling rack and carefully peel off the parchment paper.  Let cakes cool on racks until room temperature.

For the Frosting:

Toast pecans in a 350 degree oven for 7-9 minutes or until lightly toasted.  Let cool completely and then chop. Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the evaporated milk, egg yolks, salt and sugar.  Stir constantly.  Once mixture thickens, boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.

Add vanilla, butter and shredded coconut.  Stir until combined. Let the frosting mixture cool completely, refrigerate until ready to frost cake.  Stir in the chopped, toasted pecans just before frosting the cake.  Add a generous amount of frosting between each layer of chocolate cake. This cake traditionally does not have the sides frosted, only between the layers and on top.  Decorate top of cake with toasted pecan halves, and/or a chocolate drizzle.

Coconut frosting can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

P.S. If you are looking for the appetizer recipe

from today on Fox 19

Cheesy Spinach Artichoke French Bread...

RECIPE: Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Bread on Fox 19

Karri Perry: Blue Ribbon Kitchen Blog

BlueRibbonKitchen.blogspot.com

1 loaf of store bought Italian Bread-- or French Bread... just a mid-sized loaf with soft insides.

1 can of quartered artichoke hearts-drained (I used Reese brand)

1 cup of frozen spinach-thawed and drained very well

½ cup chopped red bell pepper-seeded and cleaned

2/3 cup good mayonnaise (I used Duke's)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used the not fancy store brand)

1 cup of Monterey Jack shredded cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon Penzey’s roasted garlic

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Mix everything together in a medium bowl. --except the bread

Slice loaf of bread in half -horizontally-through the middle

Spread mixture onto the cut side of each loaf.

Place topped loaves on a lined baking sheet- I used parchment-easy clean up!!

Top each loaf with an additional sprinkling of Monterey Jack cheese- I like it cheesy so I used 1/2 cup on each side.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven on the middle rack for 

30 minutes or until the bread is hot and the cheese is melted.

Slice and serve.