TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Even Non-Bakers Can Master This 3-Layer Chocolate Cake

Photo by MICHELLE BAKER

Any novice, looking to surprise that special someone with a homemade birthday cake, can pull it off.

ADVERTISEMENT

By GREG and MICHELLE BAKER

Tribune correspondents

Published: August 5, 2008

Pay no attention to the last name in the byline. It's time to share a painful secret: Greg does not bake. With rare exceptions, nothing good comes from it. The kitchen is going to be covered in flour, his clothes will inevitably be covered with chocolate, and he will be cranky - very cranky.

He wouldn't have even graduated from culinary school had his pastry instructor not given him a "mercy D" that made it possible for him not to have to repeat the class. Things were so bad that he had his chocolate taken away from him because the teacher thought he was playing with it. How else can you explain being covered from hands to waist in chocolate within five minutes of starting a project?

Later, in times when Greg found his staff short of a baker, he was forced to shoulder the burden of desserts himself. The rest of the staff members just kept their heads down and worked in silence as Greg cursed, screamed, threw things, kicked things and, more often than not, put his creations in their rightful place of honor: the garbage can. Nobody had a good day if he was baking.

But a few months ago, we had a conversation about the importance of birthday cakes. To Michelle, it's just not a birthday without a cake. In almost eight years of marriage, Greg had no clue. But at that point, Greg vowed to put his predisposition to baking aside and ensure that his loving wife would always have a homemade cake from that year forward.

This three-layer, inside-out German chocolate cake covered in a ganachelike glaze, inspired by chef Mary Laulis, seemed to fit the bill. Awesome flavors of toasted pecans and coconut melded with a buttery caramellike filling stuffed between layers of German chocolaty goodness. Throw in a low degree of difficulty and you get a cake Greg can and will want to pull off.

The only notable caveat in this plan is that if you want to create a triple-layer cake in an 82-year-old house with a slightly leaning foundation like we have, you will find your layers quite lopsided. You'll need to do some structural engineering to ensure the cake's stability.

INSIDE OUT GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

For cake layers:

11/2 cups sugar

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup whole milk

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup boiling-hot water

For filling:

7 ounces sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

4 ounces coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

For glaze:

21/2 sticks unsalted butter

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk together whole milk, butter, whole egg, yolk, vanilla and almond extract in another large bowl until just combined.

Beat the egg mixture into the flour mixture with an electric mixer on low speed, then beat on high speed 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, and beat in water until just combined (batter will be thin).

Divide the batter into three 9-inch cake pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool.

Increase the temperature of the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the sweetened condensed milk in an ovenproof container; cover with foil and place in a water bath for about 90 minutes until the milk is thick and brown. (Check occasionally to be sure the water hasn't boiled out.)

Remove the milk from the oven and stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla.

Cover and keep warm.

Make the glaze by melting the butter and adding the corn syrup and chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is just melted.

Assemble the cake by placing one layer on a wire rack with a baking sheet underneath.

Spread the top of this layer with half of the filling.

Place another cake layer on top of this and repeat with the filling.

Add the third cake layer, and slowly pour the glaze over the top, spreading slightly to cover the sides as the glaze runs down.

Greg Baker is a classically trained executive chef with more than 20 years of trendsetting restaurant experience. Greg and Michelle are co-owners of Cooks and Company Personal Chef and Catering. Go to www.cooksncompany.com or www.culinarysherpas.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT