Ta bestia we mnie

*This beast in me

German Chocolate Cake...

Which turned out to be the ugliest of my bakes so far! I did not have two identical cake tins so I decided to use different-sized round tins to assemble double-tier birthday cake. Unfortunately, the size difference wasn't too noticeable, as well as the cakes crumbled on sides, which resulted in a very asymmetrical weirdly slanted brown form (yes, I am avoiding the term 'poo'). The little aesthetically unpleasant factor should not discourage you from baking this amazing cake though- it has an utterly wonderful taste- the filling is sweet and coconutty, complementing chocolate cake just perfectly!

This is my altered version of the recipe. Instead of rum syrup I used strong Earl Grey infusion (fill small cup half full with boiling and leave teabag in till liquid is completely cooled down). I also used honey instead of corn syrup because I simply didn't own it ;)

For the cake:

50 g milk chocolate

50 g dark chocolate

6 tablespoons water

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 + 1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided

4 eggs, whites and yolks separated

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the filling:

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup granulated sugar

3 egg yolks 

6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped

1 1/3 cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

For the chocolate icing:

150 g dark chocolate

50 g milk chocolate

2  tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1. Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius degrees F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

2. Melt the dark and milk chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Use either a double-boiler or microwave on 50% for 30 seconds to 1 minutes. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool to room temperature.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1¼ cup of the sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the melted chocolate until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, mixing until combined, and then add the remainder of the flour mixture.

5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the ¼ cup of sugar and beat until they form stiff, glossy peaks.

6. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites just until there’s no trace of egg white visible.

7. Divide the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans, smooth the tops, and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake layers completely (leave them in the pans). While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup and icing.

8. Make the Filling: Stir together the heavy cream, sugar and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the butter, salt, pecans and coconut in a large bowl and set aside. Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir) until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature.

9. Make the Chocolate Icing: Place the chopped chocolate, honey and butter in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

10. Once the filling and icing are both cooled to room temperature, refrigerate for 1 hour.

11. Assemble the Cake: Remove the cake layers from the pans and cut both cake layers in half horizontally using a sharp serrated knife, so you have four cake layers. Set the first cake layer on a cake plate. Brush the top of the cake layer with the rum syrup. Spread ¾ cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach to the edges. Set another cake layer on top. Repeat, brushing the top of each cake layer with the Earl Grey infusion, then spreading ¾ cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top. Ice the sides with the chocolate icing, then pipe a decorative border of chocolate icing around the top, encircling the coconut topping.

Original recipe for German Chocolate Cake from Browneyedbaker