German Chocolate Cake is known to many for its distinct, creamy pecan & coconut icing layered between rich, sweet chocolate cake. Even without the unique frosting, this isn’t your usual chocolate cake. But have you ever considered what makes this dessert unique? How did such a dessert come to be?
Is This Cake German?
Contrary to what many people believe, this cake did not originate in Germany. That is, in fact, an American recipe.
In 1852 Samuel German, an English American Baker who worked for Baker’s Chocolate Company, created a new type of dark baking chocolate. German created a sweet baking chocolate with more sugar than typical semi-sweet baking chocolate. Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate was named after its maker.
Who Created the German Chocolate Cake?
About 105 years after the creation of German’s Sweet Chocolate, The Dallas Morning News published a cake recipe by a Texas homemaker, Mrs. George Clay. She dubbed her one-of-a-kind recipe “German’s Chocolate Cake” since it called for this brand’s richer chocolate.
At this time General Foods, the current owner of Baker’s Chocolate Company, noticed the recipe and distributed it throughout the country. Several newspapers chose to swap Germans to German, giving rise to the well-known moniker German Chocolate Cake.
What About the Icing?
This cake is generally baked with a sweet chocolate and has a unique frosting. Instead of standard buttercream or meringue, the frosting is reminiscent of custard. The foundation is constructed of egg yolks and evaporated milk, and it must always include pecans and coconut.
Luckily for everyone this delicious cake is readily available, with each bakery taking their own spin on it. For the ideal snack, stop by Apple Annie’s Bake Shop and get a complete German Chocolate Cake or our individually portioned German Chocolate Triangles!
Related Questions
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What does German chocolate taste like?
German chocolate is sweeter than semi-sweet chocolate and is made out of chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, different flavorings, and lecithin, a lipid derived from egg yolks.
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What is special about German chocolate cake?
German chocolate is the only one of these three cakes that uses melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder for taste. In fact, its name comes from Sam German, the man who developed a sweet baking chocolate for the Baker’s chocolate company of Boston.
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How would you describe the taste of chocolate cake?
Cocoa powder lends a chocolaty taste to the chocolate cake. Chocolate cake has a creamy and buttery taste to it.
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Is German chocolate sweet or bitter?
What accounts for the remaining percentages? Cocoa butter and sugar, in varying quantities depending on the manufacturer. Germans chocolate bars are among the sweetest.