Today’s German Chocolate Surprise Bundt Cake is from the one and only Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch, one of my favorite blogs! Every visit is a guaranteed good read!
This cake has the normal coconut and pecan frosting inserted in the center of the cake. Brilliant and perfect for serving and transportation if you take this to parties or potlucks.
Hot from the oven!
The Artist loves bundt cakes – they remind him of the cakes his mom used to make when he was a child. He has always had a fondness for German Chocolate cake, but as he has grown older, they are far too sweet for his tastes. He prefers dark chocolate, so instead of the traditional Baker’s Chocolate, which is nearly as light as milk chocolate, I substituted semisweet chocolate chips. It gives you a deeper chocolate flavor that offsets the sweet coconut filling more.
I have seen a lot of blogger’s photos lately with perfectly symmetrical glazing on bundt cakes. I think I figured out how they do it and have it come out perfectly every time. This time I put the glaze into a plastic bag, snipped off a little of one corner, and piped it on with that. It gives you a lot more control than the spoon I usually use. Also, to give a little added interest, I made two variations, one with powdered sugar and one with brown sugar. That created two colors to make it even more fun!
The hardest thing about this cake is having to wait until it is cool to slice it. But I came up with a trick the other day. When you are pouring the cake batter into your cake pan, reserve a little and bake it in a buttered ramekin like you would a cupcake. You can have your “slice” and appease your sweet tooth without cutting the big cake. A little devious but definitely tasty!
Our home smelled amazing while the cake was baking. When The Artist walked in the house after running some errands, he was SO excited! When I told him he had to wait until the cake was totally cooled and I had photographed it before he could eat it, he got the cutest pout on his face ~ it made me laugh! That’s what a great chocolate cake can do to a grown man, LOL!
Thank you Shelby for an outstanding recipe. This German Chocolate Surprise Cake is outstanding. It was wonderful to be able to browse through your site, getting inspired at every turn of the road.
Happy Chocolate Monday!
Jane’s Tips and Hints:
If you love bundt cakes, it is worth spending a little more for a higher quality bundt pan. It will more than pay for itself many times over. The better quality pans are thicker and help avoid the burning that can happen in thin baking pans.
If you are using an older, thinner bundt pan, place it on a Silpat-lined baking sheet before sliding it into the oven. That will buffer the heat and protect your cakes.
Gluten-Free Tips:
For the most accurate measuring of gluten-free flours, always use a kitchen scale that can measure both grams and ounces. For each 1 cup of all-purpose flour called for in a regular recipe, you can substitute 120 grams of an all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Streusel Filling
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- Cake
- Softened butter, for the pan
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 oz semisweet chocolate chips (about 3 tbsp)
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup butter (5 tbsp), softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large egg whites
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
- 2 tsp baking powder (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (gluten-free if needed)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- Powdered Sugar Glaze *
- 1 cup powdered sugar (gluten-free if needed)
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 1 tbsp milk, or more if needed
- Brown Sugar Glaze *
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 1 tbsp milk, or more if needed
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set a cooling rack over the pan.
- Prepare Streusel: Combine 1/4 cup flour and brown sugar in a small bowl; cut in 2 tbsp butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in coconut and pecans.
- Make the Cake: Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with butter, getting into all the nooks and crannies; sprinkle with 1 tbsp granulated sugar. Turn the pan, tapping as you go to coat the interior with the sugar. Set aside.
- Combine cocoa and baking chocolate in a small bowl; add boiling water, stirring until chocolate melts. Set aside.
- In another bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisking until fully incorporated. Set next to the mixer. Measure out the buttermilk and set it next to the flour blend.
- Combine 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar and softened butter in the bowl of your standing mixer. Beat at medium speed until fully incorporated and lightened in color, about 3 to 5 minutes. The mixture will be very grainy, but when you scrape the side of the bowl, it will hold together. Beat in the vanilla. Add the egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the chocolate mixture. Stop the mixer; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl (especially in the center where ingredients tend to hide) and the beater blade.
- Add the flour mixture to batter alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scraped the bowl and beater again.
- Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan; smooth with a flexible spatula and use the spatula to create a channel in the middle of the batter. Spread all the streusel in the channel. Spoon remaining batter over streusel. Smooth the top with the spatula, making sure all of the streusel is covered with batter.
- Bake at 325°F for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted halfway between the edge and the center comes out clean. Note: if you are using a really long toothpick, it may hit the molten coconut layer in the middle. Ignore that moisture and try in another place, not pressing the toothpick in quite as deeply.
- Cool in pan on the wire rack 10 minutes. Invert the pan onto the rack, letting the cake drop out of the pan. Remove the bundt pan. Cool cake completely.
- Prepare the Glazes: In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter and vanilla, stirring together. Add the milk; whisk until smooth.
- In a second small bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter and vanilla, stirring together; add the milk and whisk until smooth.
- Decorate the Cake: Place the sugar glaze in a plastic bag and press it into one corner. Repeat with the brown sugar glaze in a second bag. When the cake is completely cooled, drizzle the first glaze over the top and sides in a decorative patter, and then repeat with the second glaze. The two subtle colors will look beautiful on the cake. Set the cake aside to give the glazes time to harden before cutting.
- Slice and enjoy!
- Yield: about 10 servings
- * If you want to make only one glaze, just double the measurements of the ingredients of one of the glazes.
Create a New Tradition Today!
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