Ich Bin ein Deutscher Schokoladenkuchen

JFK made many laugh during a 1963 visit to Berlin, Germany when he expressed his brotherhood with his audience saying "Ich bin ein Berliner." His intent was to say "I am a Berliner," meaning "I am one of you." But a 'Berliner' is also the name of a kind of jelly donut. So in homage to JFK's coming-out as a pastry, I would like to announce that I am a German Chocolate Cake. Or, ich bin ein Deutsch schokoladenkuchen.

This German chocolate cake was made twice this weekend, both for birthdays of chocolate lovers. At 6" tall and 6" around, this cylinder of decadent madness is made with our Black Onyx chocolate cake, filled with German chocolate icing (yolks, sweet coconut, pecans, evaporated milk, sugar, you can see where this is going...charge the paddles...), coated in chocolate ganache, and topped with flakes of edible gold. Those of you who follow my work know I love drama and statement in my stuff, so height and gold were used here to that effect.

A lovely gent at one of the parties asked me, "What makes a regular chocolate cake a German chocolate cake?" I started to rattle off the filling ingredients, and he stopped me saying, "wait, no, why is it GERMAN?" I got it then, and proceeded to BS an explanation about how trade exploded in the region and imported coconuts and pecans were new to German pastry chefs who exploited the new, rare ingredients by creating the delicacy and claiming it as their own. Then I told him, I was completely BSing him, and offered to look it up. Here's the real story, according to WhatsCookingAmerica.com:

"German Chocolate Cake is an American creation that contains the key ingredients of sweet baking chocolate, coconut, and pecans. This cake was not brought to the American Midwest by German immigrants. The cake took its name from an American with the last name of "German."

1852 - Sam German created the mild dark baking chocolate bar for Baker's Chocolate Company in 1852. The company named the chocolate in his honor - "Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate." In most recipes and products today, the apostrophe and the "s" have been dropped, thus giving the false hint of the chocolate's origin.

1957 -The first published recipe for German's chocolate cake showed up in a Dallas newspaper in 1957 and came from a Texas homemaker. The cake quickly gained popularity and its recipe together with the mouth-watering photos were spread all over the country. America fell in love with German Chocolate cake."

So there you have it. I guess I'm actually 'German's Chocolate Cake'. Ich bin Deutscher's schokoladenkuchen!