 A German chocolate cake | |
| Alternative names | German's chocolate cake |
|---|---|
| Type | Layer cake |
| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Texas |
| Created by | Unknown |
| Invented | 1950s |
| Main ingredients | Chocolate cake,icing (egg yolks,evaporated milk,coconut andpecan) |
German chocolate cake, originallyGerman's chocolate cake, is alayeredchocolate cake filled and topped with acoconut-pecan frosting. Originating in theUnited States, it was named after English-American chocolate maker Samuel German, who developed a formulation of darkbaking chocolate that came to be used in the cake recipe. Sweet baking chocolate is traditionally used for the cake's flavor, but few recipes call for it today. The filling or topping is acustard made with egg yolks andevaporated milk; once the custard is cooked, coconut and pecans are stirred in.[1]
The earliest known published recipe for this cake appeared in 1956, in the Dallas newspaper The Irving News Record, where it was listed as "Summer German Chocolate Cake". It was submitted by Daisy Pearce, who obtained the recipe from her daughter, Francis Beth (Montgomery) Tomlinson.[2] It used the "German's Sweet Chocolate" baking chocolate introduced over a century earlier in 1853 by American baker Samuel German for theBaker's Chocolate Company ofBoston,Massachusetts.[3]
In 1957, another recipe for "German's Chocolate Cake" appeared as the "Recipe of the Day" inThe Dallas Morning News.[4] It was created by Lucy Clay,[5] frequently cited as Mrs. George Clay, a homemaker fromDallas,Texas.[4]
General Foods, which owned theBaker's brand at the time, took notice of the recipe and distributed the cake recipe to other newspapers in the country. Sales of Baker's Chocolate are said to have increased by as much as 73% and the cake became a national staple. The possessive formGerman's was dropped in subsequent publications, forming the "German Chocolate Cake" identity and giving the false impression of aGerman origin.[3][6][7]
In 1958, Mrs. Jackie Huffines’ recipe for “Samuel German Chocolate Cake” was published in General Foods’ cookbook.
In a 1959 General Foods Co. newsletter, a St. Louis homemaker reported that she was given a similar recipe in the 1920s but couldn’t bake it at the time because she couldn’t afford the ingredients during the Depression.[8]
Popular throughout Hawaii is theChantilly cake, a modified German chocolate cake without coconut or nuts in its frosting, although it is occasionally topped withmacadamia nuts. Otherwise, recipes between German chocolate cake and Chantilly cake are nearly identical.[9][10] This frosting, also known as "Chantilly," can also be applied oncream puffs.[11]Despite its name, it does not containChantilly cream.
george clay chocolate.
