German chocolate cake

German chocolate cake, originally German's chocolate cake, is a layered chocolate cake filled and topped with a coconut-pecan frosting. Originating in the United States, it was named after English-American chocolate maker Samuel German, who developed a formulation of dark baking chocolate that came to be used in the cake recipe. Sweet baking chocolate is traditionally used for the cake's flavor, but few recipes call for it today. The filling and/or topping is a custard made with egg yolks and evaporated milk; once the custard is cooked, coconut and pecans are stirred in. Occasionally, a chocolate frosting is spread on the sides of the cake and piped around the circumference of the layers to hold in the filling. Maraschino cherries are occasionally added as a garnish.

History

In 1957, a recipe for "German's Chocolate Cake" appeared as the "Recipe of the Day" in The Dallas Morning News. It was created by Mrs. George Clay, a homemaker from Dallas, Texas, and used the "German's Sweet Chocolate" baking chocolate introduced in 1853 by American baker Samuel German for the Baker's Chocolate Company. A similar recipe by food conservationist Jackie Huffines had previously been featured on television. General Foods, which owned the Baker's brand at the time, took notice and distributed the cake recipe to other newspapers in the country. Sales of Baker's Chocolate are said to have increased by as much as 73% and the cake would become a national staple. The possessive form German's was dropped in subsequent publications, forming the "German Chocolate Cake" identity and giving the false impression of a German origin.

Hawaii

Popular throughout Hawaii is the Chantilly cake, a modified German chocolate cake without coconut or nuts in its frosting, although it is occasionally topped with macadamia nuts. Otherwise, recipes between German chocolate cake and Chantilly cake are nearly identical. This frosting, also known as "Chantilly," can also be applied on cream puffs. Despite its name, it does not contain Chantilly cream.

See also

• Black Forest cake, or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, a chocolate- and cherry-flavored cake that is of contested German origin
• Sheet cake
• List of desserts

Further reading

• "Celebrating Not-So-German Chocolate Cake" (Audio with transcript). NPR All Things Considered. 23 Jun 2007.

References