Twelve-Layer German Chocolate Cake 5.22 A House is Not A Home

“Is today the day we go through all twelve layers of the twelve-layer German Chocolate cake?”

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup buttermilk

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• 2 eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup flour

• ½ cup cocoa powder

• ¾ tsp baking soda

• ¾ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

For the coconut pecan filling:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• 6 tbsp sweetened condensed milk

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• ½ cup pecans, chopped

• ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut

For the chocolate buttercream:

• 3 egg whites

• 1 ½ cups sugar

• ½ tsp cream of tartar

• ½ tsp salt

• ¾ cup cocoa powder

• 6 sticks of butter, room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine sugars, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until well-combined and smooth.

3. Sift in the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well-combined.

4. Grease a 12-well muffin tray and add in cupcake liners. Fill each well with the batter, leaving about ¼ inch of space.

5. Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

6. While the cupcakes cool, prepare the coconut pecan filling by placing a medium saucepan over medium heat.

7. Add the butter and allow to completely melt.

8. Stir in both sugars, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.

9. Remove from heat and fold in the pecans and shredded coconut. Allow to cool.

10. Once the cupcakes have cooled, use a piping tip to create a small hole in the center of the cupcake for the filling.

11. Using a spoon, carefully add the filling into the center hole of the cupcakes.

12. Then prepare the buttercream by filling a large pot with water and placing over medium-high heat.

13. Once the water reaches a simmer, place a large mixing bowl over the steam. Add the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.

14. Constantly whisk the egg mixture in the double boiler until it reaches 160 degrees F. Be careful that the mixing bowl doesn’t touch the water.

15. Transfer the mixing bowl to your mixer and whip the mixture until it’s doubled in size and soft peaks form. The bowl should also have cooled down to room temperature.

16. Stir in the cocoa powder until well-incorporated.

17. Mix in the butter one tablespoon at a time. A light and fluffy buttercream will begin to form. If at any time, the buttercream seems too thin, you can add another tablespoon of butter or chill it in the fridge for a few minutes. If the buttercream is ever too thick, you can thin it with a little bit of milk.

18. Transfer frosting to a piping bag with a star tip and frost your cupcakes.

19. Optional: top with shredded coconut!

If you have a sweet tooth like I do, you'll probably want to eat this feeling straight from the pan!

I'll be honest with y'all. I thought about making a 12-layer German chocolate cake, but I still have Richard and Emily's wedding cake in my freezer, so I decided just to make 12 German chocolate cupcakes instead! These cupcakes have all the qualities of a traditional German chocolate cake- a moist chocolate cupcake with a coconut pecan filling and topped with a rich chocolate frosting and shaved coconut.

You can easily create a hole in the center of your cupcake by using a piping tip.

If you haven’t seen on my Instagram, I am hosting a fall cooking challenge! So for the next 8 weeks, I will be making never before seen on Eating Gilmore dishes and recipes from past episodes! Then I’ll pick back up with season 6. To check out all the details on my fall cooking challenge, be sure to follow me on Instagram and check out my pinned post!

Happy cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!

Will you go through all 12 German chocolate cupcakes?