The Not-So-German Chocolate Cake

Richard Sax, the late cookbook author and columnist, became fascinated with the origin of German chocolate cake. He tracked down the story and told it to me. Here is the result of his investigation.

In 1957, the sales staff of General Foods Inc. noticed that an unprecedented amount of Baker’s German’s sweet chocolate was being sold in Dallas. (Baker’s German’s sweet chocolate gets its odd name from Sam German, an Englishman who worked for Walter Baker Co. in the 1840s and developed the first sweet chocolate for the company.)

General Foods sent a representative to Dallas. He discovered that the food editor of a Dallas paper had published a recipe from a reader for a cake called German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake. Word about this fabulous cake swept the city; every bridge game was followed by a slice of it and every dinner party had this high and mighty creation on the buffet table.

General Foods passed the recipe on to food editors around the country. A St. Louis woman, who found the recipe in her paper, wrote that it was like meeting a long-lost friend. Thirty years before, as a bride, she had been given a similar recipe by her mother-in-law. She had lost the recipe during the Depression, when it was too expensive for her to make.

I have made this cake many times, and it always captures new fans with its thick caramel-like filling and rich, moist texture.

To precede a German’s Sweet Chocolate Cake, try this chicken, celery root, spinach salad with mustard dressing. (Add the spinach leaves just before tossing the salad and serving.)

CHICKEN, CELERY ROOT, SPINACH SALAD WITH MUSTARD DRESSING

3/4 pound celery root, peeled, cut into quarters

Salt

Water

1 bunch spinach, washed and stemmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar

2 cups boneless cooked chicken breast, cut into large bite-size pieces

Simmer celery root in boiling salted water until barely tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, dice small and reserve. Cut spinach leaves in half (if leaves are small, leave whole). Set aside.

Whisk together olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons water and 1/4 teaspoon salt in large mixing bowl. Add celery root, spinach leaves and chicken pieces to bowl and toss until coated with dressing. Taste and correct seasoning.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

214 calories; 352 mg sodium; 42 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 1.36 grams fiber.

GERMAN’S SWEET CHOCOLATE CAKE

The chocolate is melted in the water, not in a double boiler above it. This is a rare occasion when those two ingredients are mixed.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

1/4 pound sweet chocolate

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

Melt chocolate in boiling water. Cool.

Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl by beating until fluffy. Add yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in vanilla and melted chocolate.

Mix flour with baking soda and salt, then add alternately with buttermilk to chocolate mixture, beating after each addition, until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff, then gently fold into batter.

Divide batter among 3 (9-inch) round cake pans that have been buttered, floured and lined with buttered parchment, wax paper or aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees until cake pulls away from edges of pan and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool.

COCONUT-PECAN FROSTING

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups flake coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Cook evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in saucepan over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Stir in coconut and pecans. Cool until thick enough to spread, beating occasionally.

Spread frosting on tops of cake layers, stack one on top of another and frost sides.

Makes 12 servings.

Each serving contains about:

684 calories; 438 mg sodium; 189 mg cholesterol; 38 grams fat; 78 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 0.40 gram fiber.

Platter from Bristol Kitchens, South Pasadena.