Nontraditional German Chocolate Cake (and Cupcakes)

Origin: American - My Creations

This is a delicious chocolate cake that is not overly sweet and melts in your mouth and is amazing on its own, but when you add that peanut butter frosting it is a match made in heaven.

I made it nontraditional by not using the coconut pecan frosting; I instead used peanut butter frosting to make a Lego-man and "Pup"cakes (name created by Paddy Moran).

Fun little fact - German chocolate is not German at all. It was actually named after an English-American named Samuel German who was a chocolate maker in the 1850's.

Makes About: 36-40 cupcakes (I made a cake and and 18 cupcakes)

Time: Unknown (because I don't time how long it takes...)

Difficulty: 3 out of 5 (1 being cookies in a tube - ready bake cookies)

Prep:

Preheat your oven to 350.

For my cake I used a Lego-man mold, but again you can use cupcakes, or the most popular thing to do with German Chocolate cake is using a spring form pan. No matter what you use, you want to grease your pan really well. Unless you are using muffin inserts, then you are set.

Instructions: Cake

1 bar (4oz) German chocolate

1/2 cup milk

2 1/4 cups flour - sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter - softened

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs - large and separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Ingredients: Frosting (optional)

1 cup unsalted butter - Softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

4 cups powdered sugar - sifted

Instructions: Cake

- Step 1 - Melt the Chocolate

Cut your 1 bar (4oz) of German chocolate into small bits.

Add the chocolate bits into a double boiler with your 1/2 cup of milk.

Let your milk and chocolate sit on the double boiler on low heat till the chocolate melts. Once it has melted pull off heat and let cool until needed.

- Step 2 - Mix Your Dry Stuff

In a medium bowl sift 2 1/4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix it together and set aside.

- Step 3 - Beat Your Butter and Sugar

In a large bowl beat your 1 cup of unsalted butter (that needs to be soft) and 2 cups of sugar till smooth and fluffy.

- Step 4 - Separate the Yolks and Whites

With all 4 eggs separate the eggs whites into a large bowl and set aside. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time to the butter and sugar mixture. With each egg yolk, mix until thoroughly combined. Then add the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix well.

- Step 5 - Add Chocolate

Slowly mix in the melted chocolate into the butter, sugar, and egg mixture until the batter is brown and sticky.

- Step 6 - Alternate Buttermilk and Flour Mixture

Alternate adding your flower mixture you made earlier and the 1 cup of buttermilk into your chocolate mixture.

- Step 7 - Beat your Egg Whites

Clean off your beaters and dry them well so you can beat your egg whites.

Beat your egg whites until they form soft peaks.

- Step 8 - Add Egg Whites Slowly

Add a dollop of your chocolate mixture into the egg whites and fold it in slowly.

Transfer egg whites to chocolate batter and fold the egg whites in carefully.

Fold the egg whites until they are no longer viable in your chocolate batter.

The easiest way of doing this without taking all the air out of the egg whites you just fluffed is folding your batter slowly on top of itself.

Your batter will be pretty thick, that is the ideal density

- Step 9- Bake

Fill your mold, spring form pan, or cupcake tins 2/3rd of the way. While your first thing is baking, place the remaining batter in the fridge.

For cupcakes: Bake for 20 minutes - if you stick your toothpick or butter knife in and it comes out wet stick your cake back in for a few more minutes until your poker comes out clean.

Spring form pan: Bake for 30 minutes - if you stick your toothpick or butter knife in and it comes out wet stick your cake back in for a few more minutes until your poker comes out clean. (If you want to stack them, you can, just bake another cake that is the same size and add your frosting in between the two cakes.)

Weird Molds: Bake for 30 minutes - if you stick your toothpick or butter knife in and it comes out wet stick your cake back in for a few more minutes until your poker comes out clean.

This is how my Lego-man turned out after baking.

If a cake, let cool for 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack

If cupcakes, just wait a few minutes.

Ingredients: Frosting

- Step 10 - Cream your Butters

In a medium bowl cream together 1 cup of unsalted butter (make sure if it soft, you don't want butter chunky frosting) and 1 cup creamy peanut butter.

- Step 11 - Add the Milk

Once creamy add 2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup of milk and mix till combined.

- Step 12 - Add the Sugar

Sift in 4 cups of powdered sugar (again, you don't want it chunky, you want it smooth, so sift that sugar).

- Step 13 - Decorate!

Once your frosting is well mixed and your cake/cupcakes are cooled completely you can decorate however you wish.

As you can tell I did "pup"cakes and a Lego-man, but you can just throw the frosting on top and boom, you have some amazingly delicious nontraditional German Chocolate cake (or cupcakes)

- Step 14 - Eat it all!!!!

I found the basic structure of this recipe on "My Recipes." I did not use water while melting my chocolate because I have been told my whole life "do not mix chocolate and water."

The peanut butter frosting was just a mixture of butter and peanut butter.