German Chocolate Cake

By Thom7747

Ingredients

• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate – chopped
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate – chopped
• 6 tablespoons water
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter – at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs – separated
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk – at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from fattaincassa.blogspot.pt

Preparation

Step 1

Butter two 9-inch cake pans, then line the bottoms with rounds of parchment or wax paper. Preheat the oven to 350°.

Melt both chocolates together with the 6 tablespoons of water. Use either a double-boiler or a microwave. Stir until smooth, then set aside until room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 ¼ cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate, then the egg yolks, one at a time.

Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the buttermilk and the vanilla extract, then the rest of the dry ingredients.

In a separate metal or glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft, droopy peaks. Beat in the ¼ cup of sugar until stiff.

While the cakes are baking and cooling, make the filling, syrup, and icing.

Mix the cream, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the 3 ounces butter, salt, toasted coconut, and pecan pieces in a large bowl.

Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the spoon (an instant-read thermometer will read 170°).

Pour the hot custard through a fine-mesh sieve into the pecan-coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature. Filling will be thick and sticky.

In a small saucepan, heat the sugar and water until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and stir in the dark rum.

Place the 8 ounces of chopped chocolate in a bowl.

Bring cream, corn syrup, butter to just under a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand one minute, then stir until smooth. Let sit until room temperature, about an hour. Chill in the refrigerator, stirring every 5 minutes, until ganache just barely begins to hold its shape and and has a spreadable consistency. Chill for an hour or two longer for a pipe-able consistency.