A Chocolate Cake We Love

When Candice, Amanda and I started planning the favorite things party we knew that we wanted it to be full of sweet things. The dessert table needed a centerpiece, and we wanted it to be both delicious and beautiful. I knew right away that this German Chocolate Torte would be just the thing. This is an adaptation of a recipe from the restaurant where I worked when I was a teenager. Yesterday Candice talked about choosing the color palate for the party, so pink seemed like the right color for the icing. Instead of doing just a pink colored vanilla frosting, I did a raspberry seven minute icing.

If you’re making this cake, you can split the batter between two 8″ round pans, but I knew that I wanted three layers, so I split the batter evenly between three pans. This makes for thinner layers, but I feel like it made for a better cake to icing ratio. I made these cakes a day in advance and then wrapped each layer in parchment and then plastic wrap and placed them in the freezer. I frosted the cake a couple of hours before the party, and adding the frosting to the cold cake helps keep the crumbs from getting out of control. There’s nothing worse than beautiful icing that is full of crumbs (who am I kidding, of course there are worse things, but crumbs in icing is a pain in the rear!).

To put the cake together, put the bottom layer on your serving plate, flat side up. Put 1/3 of the icing on the bottom layer and smooth out with an offset spatula. Top the layer with raspberries. Repeat with the next two layer. Top with the final third of icing and raspberries.

We opted to do more of a bare look with the icing and berries. I think the cake looked amazing, and tasted even better! The icing had an almost marshmallow like consistency, and that mixed with the raspberries and the chocolate cake made for a little slice of heaven!

*Photos by Candice Stringham

 

German Torte

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter, room temperature
• 2 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips, melted and cooled
• 2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1 c. boiling water

Instructions:

1. Beat butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each egg.
3. Add melted chocolate and mix.
4. Sift dry ingredients into a separate bowl.
5. Add 1/3 dry ingredients to chocolate mixture and mix, follow with 1/3 sour cream and then 1/3 boiling water and mix. Repeat two more times.
6. Divide the batter between two 8″ greased pans.
7. Bake in a 350º oven for 45 minutes.

 

Raspberry 7 Minute Icing

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. raspberry extract
• 1/4 c. boiling water
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• food coloring

Instructions:

1. Whisk egg whites until frothy.
2. Add sugar, extract, and cream of tartar and mix until incorporated.
3. Add boiling water and beat, on high, for seven minutes.

 

 

Linked up with Twigg Studios