"German" Chocolate Cake (what's in a name?)

Did you know that German Chocolate Cake did not originate in Germany? It's kinda like Swiss Steak. Some people know the origin, other people wonder about it...and others just shrug their shoulders. Well, inquisitive mind that I am...I needed to find out. The German in the name makes sense once you know why it is actually there, though. I'm sure everybody is familiar with Baker's Sweet German Chocolate. Right? Well, it was developed by a man by the name of Sam German in 1852. It was originally called Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate...eventually the 's' at the end of German was dropped (in the name of the cake, not the name of the Baker's brand chocolate). It is rumored that the first recipe for German's Chocolate Cake was published in a Dallas newspaper in 1957...sent in by a Texas homemaker. The (then) owners of Baker's Chocolate, General Foods saw it and immediately sent copies of the recipe and accompanying photographs to newspapers across the whole great U.S. of A! Smart move on their part because sales for Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate jumped 73% in the year that followed the mass publication.* The recipe was often requested for reprint by readers who missed it the first time around. And today, more than 50 years later, it is still a much requested and made cake here in the U.S....is it popular other places as well? Needless to say, with time things get forgotten and stories get changed, so most people do not remember that little letter that was originally at the end of the word that today seems so misleading. Silly little 's'. And after all this history, I'm not even going to use Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate in my cake; just thought maybe you'd be interested. But guess what...it's still called German Chocolate Cake! Ah, history... love it. The German Chocolate cake that I recently made is actually the best one I have ever tasted. If I've told ya once, I've told ya once a million times...I'm not really much of a cake person. Although I constantly, but unintentionally, try to disprove that statement. I can usually have one piece of a whole cake and be satisfied until the next time a cake eatin' ceremony rolls around...but I could have eaten this whole cake by itself if I hadn't had 4 other sets of hands reaching for it, too! If only I had known. This is another test recipe for Cook's Country...I wonder how many times they test it in their kitchens before they send it out to their "outside" testers (like moi)? Because this recipe was flawless. Yes, I know everybody has different tastes, but this was made for me! And the best thing of all is that it is actually a "lightened-up" version. German Chocolate Cake A Cook's Country test recipe...tested and approved...big time! Cake 3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped 3 Tbs. Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/3 c. boiling water 1 1/3 c. AP flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened 1/2 c. packed brown sugar 1/3 c. granulated sugar 1/2 tsp. salt 3 lg. eggs, room temp. 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. low-fat sour cream, room temp. (do NOT use fat-free...it'll make it gummy) Frosting 1 c. fat-free evaporated milk 3 Tbs. cornstarch 2 Tbs. unsalted butter 2/3 c. packed brown sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1 Tbs. vanilla extract 1/3 c. pecans, chopped 1/2 c. sweetened, shredded coconut Make batter: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat to 350 degrees F. Whisk chocolate, cocoa and boiling water in bowl until smooth; let cool. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat butter, sugars & salt until combines.Increase speed to medium and beat until mixture lightens in color and sticks to sides of bowl. Then add eggs, one at a time, and mix until thickened and well combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to low and add chocolate mixture and vanilla until incorporated. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of sour cream and mix until just combined. Bake cake: Grease and flour two 9" cake pans. Scrape equal amounts of batter into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 10-15 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack. Cool cakes completely, at least 1 hour. (Cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temp. for 2 days.) I'd say go ahead and add parchment rounds to the bottom of your pan too, so this doesn't happen to you. But no matter...just stay tuned.

Toasting: After you remove your cake pans from the oven...take your pecans and coconut and spread them out onto a baking sheet and toast them in a 325 degree F. oven until toasty and golden...shake 'em occasionally. Set aside. Make Frosting: Whisk evaporated milk, cornstarch, butter, brown sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbling, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook until mixture is thickened, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in vanilla and all but 1 Tbs. each of pecans and coconut. Cool to room temperature. Assemble cake: Place one cake round on serving platter. Spread half of the frosting over the cake (see...covered that pesky crack right up and nobody was the wiser), then top with second cake round. Spread remaining frosting over top of cake. Sprinkle cake with remaining pecans and coconut. Serve. I heart you German Chocolate Cake. I heart you big time.

The Nutritional info for this lightened-up version (by the slice) is:

Full Fat German Chocolate Cake Calories 740 Total Fat 45 g Saturated Fat 23 g Reduced Fat German Chocolate Cake Calories 340 Total fat 13 g Saturated Fat 7 g

(p.s.- I do not heart you dirty dishes.)

*Sources: Snopes.com & Wikipedia