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In the Oven: German Chocolate Cake

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We are entering 2020 with our last ten recipes from Baked – New Frontiers! It’s been a delicious nine-year journey.

Next up, we’re firing up our ovens again to make a German chocolate cake. The cake can be made with our without the milk chocolate frosting, up you you. Posting date is January 12!

German Chocolate Cake
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: 1 (8-inch) cake
Ingredients
  • For the German chocolate cake layers
  • 2 1⁄4 cups cake flour
  • 3⁄4 cup dark, unsweetened cocoa powder, like Valrhona
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup hot coffee
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 1⁄4 cups (2 1⁄2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1⁄4 cups sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, melted and cooled
  • For the coconut pecan filling
  • 1 1⁄3 cups shredded sweetened coconut
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1 1⁄3 cup toasted pecans, chopped coarsely
Instructions
Make the German chocolate cake layers
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.
  2. Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the coffee and buttermilk.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to incorpo- rate. The mixture will look light and fluffy.
  4. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the coffee/buttermilk mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the melted chocolate.
  5. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack and remove the pans and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.
Make the coconut pecan filling
  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Spread half of the coconut evenly across the pan and place in the oven for 5 minutes or until the coconut begins to brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
  3. In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, butter, evaporated milk, vanilla, and egg yolks. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. After the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the toasted coconut, regular coconut, and pecans.
  4. Place the pan over an ice bath (a large bowl filled with ice) and stir the mixture until cool.
Assemble the cake
  1. Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface and evenly spread one third of the filling on top. Add the next layer, trim and frost with one third of the filling, then add the third layer. Trim the top, and frost with the remaining filling.
Notes
[i]How to store: [/i]The cake will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 2 days.

 

In the Oven: Classic Diner-Style Chocolate Pie

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We’re leaving our ovens off again to make a classic chocolate pie – but it wouldn’t be a Baked pie without whiskey or malt powder (or both!). Posting date is November 17.

Classic Diner-Style Chocolate Pie
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: 1 (9-inch ) pie
Ingredients
  • For the chocolate cookie crust
  • 30 chocolate wafer cookies (about 6 ounces)
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • For the chocolate filling
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons chocolate malt Ovaltine
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 5 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72% cacao), coarsely chopped
  • 2 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons whiskey
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • To serve
  • Whipped cream or vanilla bean whipped cream
Instructions
Make the chocolate cookie crust
  1. In a food processor, grind the cookies to a very fine powder. You should have about 1½ cups. Put the crumbs in a bowl and stir in the sugar.
  2. Pour the butter over the crumb mixture and mix until well combined. The mixture will feel wet. Turn the crumb mixture out into a 9-inch pie plate and press it into the bottom and up the sides. You can use the back of a large spoon to even out the crust.
  3. Freeze the crust while you make the filling.
Make the chocolate filling
  1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, Ovaltine, salt, and cornstarch. Add the egg yolks and whisk until combined. The mixture will look like a thick paste. Slowly pour in the milk and cream, whisking constantly.
  2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly to prevent the mixture from burning on the bottom of the pan. Boil for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat.
  3. Add the chocolates, whiskey, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Continue to whisk for a few minutes to cool the mixture slightly. Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes at room temperature. A thin skin may form during this cooling period. Simply whisk the mixture again until the skin is gone. Pour the filling into the frozen pie shell.
  4. Refrigerate the pie for 4 hours before serving, topped with whipped cream, if desired.

 

In the Oven: Baked Tricolor Cookies

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Fire up your ovens again, we’re baking up some classic Italian-style cookies next. These can be customized to whatever color suits your fancy, as long as you don’t try to color the chocolate layer. Posting date is September 22!

Baked Tricolor Cookies
Author: Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Serves: 20 cookies
Ingredients
  • For the cookie layers
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
  • 7 ounces almond paste (recipe follows)
  • 3⁄4 cup sugar
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 3⁄4 cup (11⁄2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 3 large eggs
  • Grated zest of 1 orange
  • Orange food coloring (liquid or gel)
  • 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • For the Filling
  • 2⁄3 cup apricot jam
  • 2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
  • For the glaze
  • 6 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), coarsely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes
Instructions
Make the cookie layers
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch square baking pans. Line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and butter the parchment. Dust with flour and knock out the excess flour.
  2. Sift the flour and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond paste, sugar, and almond extract together until small crumbs form. Add the butter and beat on high speed until the mixture is combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Add the orange zest and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in three parts, beating on low speed after each additon until combined.
  4. Divide the batter among three small mixing bowls.
  5. In the first bowl, add a few drops of orange food coloring to the batter, and mix well. Continue to add a few drops of food coloring and mixing until the batter is medium orange in color.
  6. In the second bowl, add the cocoa powder to the batter and whisk until fully incorporated.
  7. Leave the third bowl plain.
  8. Pour each batter into a prepared pan and smooth the tops. Bake the layers for 12 to 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean.
  9. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.
Make the filling
  1. In a small saucepan over low heat, stir the jam and amaretto until warmed through and completely blended, 3 to 5 minutes.
Assemble the tricolor cookies
  1. Place the chocolate layer on a serving rack and evenly spread half of the apricot jam over the top. Top with the plain (or white) layer and spread with the remaining apricot filling. Top with the orange layer and let the layers sit in the refrigerator for 5 minutes (or while you make the chocolate glaze).
Make the glaze
  1. In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly.
  2. Spread the glaze over the top of the bar cookies, completely covering the orange layer (some glaze may spill down the sides of the cake). Place the tray in the refrigerator until the chocolate topping completely sets (about 1 hour). Remove the tray from the refrigerator, wait 30 minutes for the chocolate to warm up, and cut into 20 individual squares or use a small cookie cutter to create your own shapes.
Notes
[i]How to store:[/i] The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.[br][i]How to make almond paste:[/i][br]11⁄2 cups finely ground almonds [br]1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted[br]1⁄2 teaspoon pure almond extract[br][br]Put all the ingredients in a food processor with 2 tablespoons water and process until a paste forms. Remove from the food processor, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use. Extra almond paste, tightly wrapped, keeps well in the freezer.