German Chocolate Cake

The final edition of Milk Bar Month is upon us, and I’m kind of glad it’s over. 

Not that the cakes aren’t worth the (sometimes painstaking) process, but to go through that much butter and sugar in the span of the month is pretty alarming!

Given that we’re four weeks into Milk Bar Month, I’m kind of ashamed to say that we haven’t seen a glimpse of chocolate yet. Obviously, this must change. And I’ve picked the right cake to do the job: the German Chocolate Cake! We’re talking chocolate on chocolate on coconut on even more chocolate.

I brought up this cake in the strawberry lemon post a couple weeks ago, and I’m pretty excited to reveal now in all its glory. If you’re not familiar with Momofuku Milk Bar yet, I’ll give you a quick background. The bakery’s most famed and outlandish creation is its “Crack Pie,” which has reached cult status with the most die-hard dessert enthusiasts. I will confess; I haven’t actually tried it. It sounds pretty insane, though – a cookie crust filled with sticky, buttery, brown sugary goodness. The name alone hints at its addictively sweet nature.

This cake offered me my first taste of the infamous crack pie, because the base for the coconut filling in comes from the crack pie recipe. And all I have to say is this: Can I eat it with a spoon? Because oh my god, you guys. This stuff is insane.

Of course, the coconut filling doesn’t distract from the rest of the cake. It actually plays nicely off the intense cocoa flavor of the cake layers, which are pumped up with a few tablespoons of homemade fudge. I love the density and richness of this recipe – you’d be amazed how far a seemingly small 6-inch cake will go. One little slice is enough to take you to chocolate heaven without sending you straight into sugar shock. Eat responsibly, everyone.

 

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we conclude Milk Bar Month! I’m going on a diet. (Right after I have just one slice of this, I swear…)

German Chocolate Jimbo Cake

Makes 1 6” cake
By Christina Tosi & Momofuku Milk Bar

Ingredients

1 recipe fudge sauce
1 recipe chocolate cake
1 recipe chocolate malt cake soak
1 recipe crack-coconut filling
1 recipe chocolate malt filling
¼ cup toasted sweetened coconut

Special Equipment

Parchment paper or Silpat
6” cake ring
Quarter sheet pan (9” x 13”)
2 strips of acetate, 3” wide and 20” long

Assembling the cake:

1. Put a piece of parchment or a Silpat on the counter. Invert the cake onto it and peel off the parchment or Silpat from the bottom of the cake. Use the cake ring to stamp out 2 circles from the cake. These are your top 2 cake layers. The remaining cake scraps will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake.

2. Clean the cake ring and place it in the center of a sheet pan lined with clean parchment or a Silpat. Use 1 strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring.

3. Put the cake scraps together inside the ring and use the back of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer

4. Dunk a pastry brush in the malt cake soak and give the layer of cake a good, healthy bath of the soak.

5. Use the back of a spoon to spread 1/2 recipe of the crack-coconut filling in an even layer over the cake.

6. Sprinkle half of the pecan crunch evenly over the crack-coconut filling. Use the back of your hand to anchor in place.

7. Use the back of a spoon to spread 1/3 of the chocolate malt frosting over the pecan crunch layer.

8. With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top 1/4-inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5 to 6 inches tall — high enough to support the height of the finished cake. Set a cake round on top of the frosting, and repeat the process for layer 1 (save the prettiest cake layer for the top!)

9. Nestle the remaining cake round into the frosting. Cover the top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Give it volume and swirls, or do as we do and opt for a perfectly flat top. Garnish the frosting with toasted, sweetened coconut.

10. Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and fillings. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

11. At least 3 hours before you are ready to serve the cake, pull the sheet pan out of the freezer and, using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring. Gently peel off the acetate, and transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Let it defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (wrapped well in plastic, the cake can be refrigerated for up to 5 days).

12. Slice the cake into wedges, and serve.

Fudge Sauce

1 oz. 72% chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/8 tsp kosher salt
¼ cup glucose
2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup heavy cream

1. Combine the chocolate, cocoa powder, and salt in medium bowl.

2. Combine the glucose, sugar, and heavy cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir intermittently while bringing to a boil over high heat. The moment it boils, pour it into the bowl holding the chocolate. Let sit for 1 full minute.

3. Slowly, slowly begin to whisk the mixture. Then continue, increasingly the vigor of your whisking every 30 seconds, until the mixture is glossy and silky smooth. This will take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on your speed and strength. You can use this sauce at this point, or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks; do not freeze.

Chocolate Cake

1 stick butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup grapeseed oil
3 tbsp fudge sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups cake flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp kosher salt

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.

3. On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil, fudge sauce, and vanilla. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically twice the size of your original fluffy butter-and-sugar mixture and completely homogenous. Don’t rush the process. You’re basically forcing too much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn’t want to make room for that liquid. There should be no streaks of fat or liquid. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. On very low speed, add the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and the cocoa powder. Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Spray a quarter sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment, or just line the pan with a Silpat. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan.

6. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain slightly buttery and dense. At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3 to 5 minutes if it doesn’t pass these tests.

7. Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack or, in a pinch, in the fridge or freezer (don’t worry, it’s not cheating). The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.

Chocolate Malt Cake Soak

¼ cup milk
2 tbsp Ovaltine powder

1. Whisk together the milk and Ovaltine in a small bowl.

Crack-Coconut Filling

2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp milk powder
1 tbsp corn powder
½ tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp butter, melted
3 tbsp heavy cream
¼ tsp vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1 cup sweetened coconut

1. Heat the oven to 325°F

2. Combine the sugar, brown sugar, milk powder, corn powder, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low speed until evenly blended.

3. Add the melted butter and paddle for 1 minute until all the dry ingredients are moist.

4. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and continue mixing on low for 1 minute until any white streaks from the cream have completely disappeared into the mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

5. Add the egg yolks, paddling them into the mixture just to combine; be careful not to aerate the mixture, but be certain the mixture is glossy and homogenous. Mix on low speed until it is.

6. Line the bottom and sides of a small baking pan with plastic wrap. Pour the crack pie filling into the pan, put the pan into the oven, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Gently shake the pan. The crack pie filling should be firmer and more set toward the outer boundaries of the baking pan but slightly jiggly and loose in the center. If the crack pie filling is jiggly all over, give it 2 to 3 minutes.

7. Once cooled, mix the crack pie filling with the sweetened coconut. This filling can be used immediately or stored in an airtight container for a week in refrigeration.

Pecan Crunch

3/4 cup pecans, chopped
Splash grapeseed oil
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp light brown sugar
3/4 cup feuilletine

1. Heat the oven to 325°F.

2. Put the pecans on a sheet pan and toast in the oven for 15 minutes.

3. Puree warm pecans in a food processor with a splash of grapeseed oil, salt, and light brown sugar.

4. In a small bowl, combine the pecan puree with feuilletine. The crunch can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Chocolate Malt Frosting

1 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp whole milk

1. Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream together on medium-high for 5 to 7 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. With the mixer on its lowest speed, stream in the milk. Crank the mixer up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is silky smooth and a glossy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Use the frosting immediately, or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.