German chocolate cake is a layered cake whose sponge cake layers are cemented with chocolate and a filling, while the entire cake is topped with coconut-pecan frosting. Though it is an all-American dessert, it tastes like one of those rich and silky traditional European desserts.
History of German Chocolate Cake
In contrast to the popular certainty, German chocolate cake was not invented in Germany. Its history goes back to the year 1852, when American Sam German produced a kind of dark baking chocolate for the well-known American Baker's Chocolate Company. This product was named after him - Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate.
In 1957, the recipe of the cake was sent to a newspaper by a homemaker in Dallas, Texas. After that, the recipe of the “German’s chocolate cake” came somewhat into people’s notice. General Foods, the owner of Baker's brand then also took notice of this. This was possibly the greatest chance for them to increase the popularity of their brand manifold. Thus, they distributed this recipe to several other newspaper publishing companies in the country. The sales of the cake is believed to have risen by as much as 73%. Not only this, the German chocolate cake then became a national staple.
The recipe of the cake is popular till date which is why it has been adopted by some of the top baking companies like Pillsbury, amongst others.
Ingredients in German Chocolate Cake Recipe
The original German chocolate cake is made chiefly from Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate. Other ingredients include chopped pecans, butter and shredded coconut. The filling and the topping of the cake is that of caramel which is made using evaporated milk and egg yolks. Coconut and pecans are added after the caramel is made. Maraschino cherry decorations on top with a side frosted piping are done to give the German Chocolate cake a royal appearance.
German Chocolate Cake Recipe: Nutritional Information
Just a single piece of German chocolate cake consists of 640 calories as well as 38 grams of fat.