Sunday, November 28, 2010

German Chocolate Cake in a Jar

   Alright, cake in a jar numero dos.  I am not a huge cake fan, but I do really enjoy the occasional German chocolate cake.  Pecans, coconut, caramel, chocolate.... a little bit of sugar heaven.  This is the second cake Louis will be receiving.  I am really excited about this one.  I kind of want to keep it for myself.  But I wont!  I will send it off tomorrow morning with everything else.
TIP:  I cheated a little bit with this recipe.  The base is exactly the same as the previous recipe.  I just took 1/3 of the batter out before the toffee bits were added (and I added the espresso separately).  Then I folded in the coconut and pecans.  Two cakes with the same amount of work.  I am going to give you the full recipe though.  Feel free to make the batter divide it into 3, then mix in whatever you like to get 3 different cakes:  chocolate chips, dried cranberries, swirl in peanut butter, etc.   

German Chocolate Cake in a Jar
1/2 C butter (1 stick), softened
1 1/3 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 1/3 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C unsweetened [dark] cocoa powder
2/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk (or regular milk, but not skim)
1 C coconut
1 C chopped pecans
3-4 Tbsp "hot" caramel (the kind you need to heat up, not the really runny kind)

   Beat butter and sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time; fully incorporate.  Add vanilla.
   In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, and salt.  Stir gently with a fork or whisk to break up lumps.  Sift if the mixture is still lumpy.
   Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter and egg mixture.  Do NOT over mix!
   Gently fold in pecans and coconut.
   Into each of 3 sterilized and greased canning jars, add two large spoonfuls of the batter.  Add 1 heaping teaspoon of caramel to each jar.  Do this two more times to create 3 layers.  (Jars should not be more than  2/3 full.)  Take a skewer or a long skinny spoon handle and swirl the batter and caramel together.  Do not mix too much, you want the caramel to be swirled throughout.
   Bake at 350 deg F for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Within 3 minutes of removing cakes from the oven, close with 2 part canning lid.  In about 5-7 minutes you'll hear the lid pop, this means it is vacuum sealed.  Allow to cool at room temp.  

6 comments:

  1. This is the BEST German chocolate cake recipe! My husband just had his big 21st b-day while deployed to Iraq, which is a completely dry, no alcohol country. So I figured I had to make it up to him by sending him some of his favorite type of cake: German Chocolate. I made this cake according to your directions (minus the nuts, he hates nuts in his chocolate) and it made 3 1/2 jars of cake. (Which means I got to try some... YUM!) I sent it off and it was a HUGE hit! He called me up and told me that it was the best German Chocolate cake he had ever had. (Since he always compares my cooking to how AMAZING his mothers cooking is, this is a BIG DEAL.) He split a jar with a friend and they both LOVED IT. It was still super moist and delicious even after the 1 & 1/2 week trip to Iraq! Thank you for helping me make my husbands big 21st a little bit less dreary and a lot more flavorful. :D

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  2. It's ok to ship this, even though the recipe has milk in it? I am a little worried about that.

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  3. Oops, never mind! I was thinking that this was one of the dry recipes that you mail unbaked. I understand now :)

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  4. what does one cup of coconut mean? i don't really bake that much can someone explain that? does that mean like the liquid of the shredded pieces? i'm confused. :(

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    1. Shredded or flaked coconut is what you want to use. It is not a liquid ingredient

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  5. How long does this keep for please

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