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VEGAN FEAST SUBSCRIBERS' COOKING AND RECIPE FORUM>
German Chocolate Cake
ConnieB
8 posts
Dec 19, 2006
5:53 PM
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My husband's birthday is this month and I would like to make either Pineapple Upside Down Cake or his favorite cake which is German Chocolate Cake. Does anyone have a good vegan recipe for either one? I can do a search on the internet but wondered if anyone has a good recipe they have tried before?
Last Edited on 19-Dec-2006 5:54 PM
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1919 posts
Dec 22, 2006
12:30 PM
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The original German Chocolate Cake is three layers of not-too-dark chocolate cake, with a creamy coconut/ pecan filling (on the top, too) that usually contains egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk, and a chocolate icing on the sides only.
You can use the following recipes as your components and put together as follows:
Assembly;
Divide the filling evenly between the 3 cakes putting the 1st layer
down, Then spread the filling evenly
Repeat with the other layer.
Frost the side of the cake only.
For Garnish you can place pecan halves around the top edge.
***note; you can shave off any high spots with a bread knife to make the cakes flatter so they will stack evenly. You can use any scraps from the shavings also to fill in any low spots.
YOU CAN USE THE CHOCOLATE VARIATION OF THE FOLLOWING CAKE FOR THE LAYERS-- IF YOU WANT THICK LAYERS, MAKE 1 1/2 TIMES THE REIPE. OR MAKE ONE RECIPE AND MAKE 3/ 8" LAYERS. GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE IS NOT REALLY DARK, SO YOU MAY WANT TO USE ONLY 1/3 CUP COCOA POWDER IN PLACE OF THE SAME AMOUNT OF FLOUR IN THE CHOCOLATE VARIATION.
BRYANNA'S VEGAN GENOISE CAKE
Makes two 9" layers (5 c. batter)
This is the basic vegan layer cake, pretty low in fat. It can also take the place of sponge cakes. I wanted to make a cake that was light and "buttery", but fairly low in fat (1/12th of the cake contains 1 and 1/2 tsp. fat) and easy to make. This one won't disappoint, if you use a good-quality dairy-free margarine (like Earth Balance). (You can substitute 6 T. neutral cooking oil , if you prefer, but I don't think the flavor is as fine.) A good choice for vegan wedding cakes (see resources below).
2 and 1/2 c. plus 2 T. pastry or cake flour (this should be white flour, organic if possible, for most occasions, but for an “everyday” cake you can use all or part wholewheat pastry flour)
NOTE: To measure the flour, stir the flour in the bag or container, then spoon it out into the cup measure and level off with a knife. Do not sift or pack down.
1 and 1/2 c. granulated vegan white sugar (organic, if possible)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. plus 2 T. Earth Balance
1 c. water
3/4 c. soy or rice milk
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. vanilla
OR 1 and 1/2 tsp. pure almond or lemon extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare the pans by greasing with Pan Coating (see below). Optional: Line the bottoms of the pans with cooking parchment cut to fit the bottom and grease the parchment paper with Pan Coating as well.
Mix the dry ingredients together with a whisk in a large mixing bowl. Add the margarine and the water and beat with an electric mixer for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients and beat one more minute. Divide equally between two 9" greased and floured round cake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until cakes test done.
Cool on racks for 10 minutes, then loosen cakes and remove from pans to finish cooling, otherwise it might crack and fall apart from being too warm. To remove from pans, first, run a thin knife to loosen the edge of the cake layer from the pan. Then, place a wire rack over the top of it and with a hand on each side of the baking pan and rack, quickly invert. Gently shake or tap the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon handle to help remove the cake layer . Carefully peel off the liner and turn cake layer right-side-up to cool on a wire cake rack.
VARIATION:
CHOCOLATE GENOISE-- Substitute 1/2 c. of organic cocoa powder for 1/2 c. of the pastry flour. Use vanilla or almond extract.
LEMON GENOISE CAKE: Use 2 T. fresh lemon juice and grated zest of one organic lemon. Use only 1/2 T. vanilla and 1 tsp. lemon extract.
GENERIC PAN COATING OR PROFESSIONAL OR BAKER'S GREASE:
Beat together equal parts shortening, oil, and unbleached flour. (I used a hand immersion blender.) NOTE: You can use organic ingredients, though not much of it is going to get into the cake itself. You can use palm oil shortening such as Spectrum, or a non-hydrogenated one like Smart Balance, if you like, though this coating will not contribute much in the way of trans fats to the cake itself.
You can also buy this in cake supply stores an specialty cooking shops. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator, but let come to room temperature before using.
Use a pastry brush to apply the coating on the inside of your pan and no need to flour after applying.
How to prepare baking pans:
http://baking911.com/howto_pans_prepare.htm
http://baking911.com/howto_pans_prepare.htm#Professional
USE THIS FOR THE FILLING AND TOPPING OF THE LAST LAYER:
BRYANNA’S VEGAN COCONUT-PECAN MOCK BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
(make 1 1/2 to 2 times this recipe for the German Chocolate cake)
Enough for a 2 layer/ 8” cake or a 9x13” sheet cake.
1 c. lite coconut milk or other nondairy milk
6 T. white unbleached flour
6 T. vegan margarine, such as Earth Balance or Soy Garden Natural Buttery Spread
1 c. white beet sugar or very light granulated unbleached sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1 and 1/3 c. unsweetened flaked coconut
1 c. chopped lightly-toasted pecans
Whisk milk into flour in small saucepan until smooth. Heat and stir until it boils and thickens. Cool thoroughly (place in a small bowl inside of a larger bowl of cold water).
With an electric mixer beat the shortening or margarine, sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy—- several minutes. Beat in the cooled flour paste with the electric beaters and mix until smooth and fluffy. Stir in the coconut and pecans. IMPORTANT! Chill thoroughly before frosting. Use to frost cooled cake. IMPORTANT! Keep the frosted cake refrigerated until serving time.
USE THIS FOR THE SIDES:
BRYANNA’S EASY SILKEN VEGAN CHOCOLATE ICING
This is enough for a layer cake. It makes a nice not-too-sweet fluffy frosting. With the smaller amount of chocolate and the syrup, it’s kind of like a milk chocolate icing. It’s not “tofuey” at all!
One 12.3 oz. Box extra-firm SILKEN tofu, crumbled
2 T. vanilla or a liqueur or rum or brandy, etc.
4 oz. Vegan organic semisweet chocolate
2 T. vegan organic chocolate syrup
( for a firmer, more intensely chocolate icing, omit the syrup and use 6 oz. Chocolate)
Melt the chocolate and blend with the other ingredients in a food processor until ABSOLUTELY smooth. Chill for 1/2 hour or so before icing the cooled cake. It firms up more after refrigerating the cake.
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ConnieB
9 posts
Dec 22, 2006
2:55 PM
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Thanks, I'll try those recipes. I'll let you know how it works out. It's been a long time since I baked a cake from scratch.
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