Looking over my book and cross-checking with my ingredients I decided upon the German Chocolate Cupcake. I have memories of my mom making German Chocolate cake as a kid. She loved it because of that coconut goop you put on top which, as everyone seems to agree is what makes it a German Chocolate cake, the caramelly coconut frosting topping. Which is kinda funny to me since there are no coconuts in Germany. So how the two became associated I wonder...
So, according to Snopes.com the German in GCC comes from Sam German who designed the chocolate that went into the cake. Some woman in Texas used his chocolate to make a cake and topped it with the famous coco-nutty frosting and General Foods (who owned the chocolate) published the recipe to boost sales.
So now we know, it was originally German's Chocolate Cake. Whatever, still tasty.
So..into the kitchen. Now what makes GCC special is the use of melted chocolate to add the chocolate flavoring to the cake. It was silky and looked delicious as I poured it into the cake batter and then mixed it by hand (with love). It felt so decadent. As the cupcakes were baking I got going on the topping. Now, in all honesty, I don't like coconut. Sure, I'm down for a pina colada but actually coconut flakes tend not to be my favorite. But I honored my vow. The topping is a caramel coconut pecan (we used walnuts because they are just so similar and I had walnuts and I like walnuts and sometimes walnuts are acceptably exchanged for pecans...) frosting which creates its caramel by melting brown sugar (hello, old friend) with a can of evaporated milk. You swirl this on the stove top with some butter until it thickens then pour over the caramel and nuts and mix.
As the cupcakes came out, I continued to have doubts. First off, they go into the pan naked, no liners (a reason later). Now, Cupcake liners are not only gosh-darn cute, but they are incredibly useful in getting beloved confections out of the pan in one piece with little to no mess to clean up. This was not the case here. Despite my penchant for spraying pans til they drip, I had trouble getting my little cakes out. Some, did not make it intact. A moment of silence. ...
The cakes looked light and kinda dry, and the coconut laden frosting was not beckoning me. But I topped them (Martha cuts hers in half, hence the no liners, and layers the frosting like a miniature cake but, cupcakes are small and hard to cute in half like that. Plus time, was running out).
Off to the party. Feeling clever, I packed my little chocolate cakes in a pizza box (hey, it was a pizza party) and brought the frosting alongside to top upon arrival. Less chance of a mess everywhere and my glare at Jon as he drives.
We arrived, I topped...dessert hour arrives, and they are a hit--with the adults. (Most of the kids ran for the brown sugar pound cakes--hey, they look traditional). But the adults oohed and aahed over the german chocolate cupcakes. Tim, who vows to eat only one of my new cupcakes a week was adamant against having any cupcakes at all. And then I mentioned the new ones I made. Beeline to the desserts.
In actuality, it wasn't until almost a week later, that I finally tried one of these babies. And I knew what all the buzz was about. The cake was actually moist, helped by the frosting which gelled the coconut so well with the caramel that it wasn't overly coconutty. And the moments of crunch produced by the walnuts were my favorite of all. I ended up eating all the leftovers, one day at a time.
Last Bite: So, preconceived notions are not always to be believed. I doubted my enjoyment of this entry in the cupcake excursion but I was really satisfied with the end result. I think next time I might take the cup part out and make it in a bundt pan, slice it in half and layer the caramel gooey frosting. Easier than trying to get 24 little naked cupcakes out.
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