German Chocolate Cake - with Coconut Pecan Icing

This is one of my all time favourite cakes. It has gone out of fashion in the past few decades which is a crying shame.

Should you choose to fire up the oven in your own home, I highly recommend trying this recipe sometime. It's wonderful.

Preheat your oven to 350 F or 180 C

1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces of sweet baking chocolate (use good chocolate if you have it)
3/4 cups shortening (vegetable fat)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 buttermilk or sour milk


Grease and flour your baking tins and set aside. I use two 8 x 1 1/2 inch round cake tins.

In a small saucepan melt the chocolate with 1/2 cup water over LOW heat until the chocolate is completely melted and you've got a lovely smooth chocolate sauce. Then set it aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl beat the shortening with an electric mixer until fluffy and then add the sugar and beat some more. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat this until completely smooth and combined. Stir in the chocolate mixture and finally add the buttermilk or sour milk.

Now sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix completely until it is smooth and free of lumps.

Divide the batter into your cake tins and place in the centre of your oven to bake for about 35 minutes.

When the cakes are done baking, remove them from the oven and turn the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack. You can frost them with any icing but nothing beats the coconut pecan icing below.

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Coconut Pecan Icing

In a heavy medium sized sauce pan lightly beat one egg with 5 oz of evaporated milk. Stir in 2/3 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup butter. Stirring over a moderate heat, cook the mixture about 12 minutes until it is thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 1/3 cups dessicated or flaked coconut and 1/2 cup chopped pecans until they are all mixed completely. Cover the pan and cool thoroughly. When it is cool, use this to ice the cake.

Glazed Doughnuts

1 cup scalded milk

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk, beaten

2 envelopes active dry yeast

4 cups sifted flour

Cooking Oil - In the US, blue label Crisco is best. In the UK use Pura or Trex. If you use liquid vegetable oil, the doughnuts will absorb too much oil and be greasy (ick!).

In a large mixing bowl, pour scalded milk over the butter, sugar and salt. Stir until the butter is melted. Cool slightly and add the beaten eggs. Then add the yeast. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes. Blend in the flour a little at a time. Mix into a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead gently for about 2 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Let rise for 1 hour. Punch the dough down and divide in half. On a lightly floured board roll each section to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a floured doughnut cutter. Place on waxed paper. Set in a warm place. Let rise for 30 minutes.

In a deep skillet or fryer heat cooking oil to 375F . Gently slip each doughnut into the oil. Fry for 2 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

In another mixing bowl, blend 3 cups sifted confectioners or icing sugar, 1/8 cup warm water and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir the glaze until all lumps are gone. If the glaze is too thick, carefully add more water - drop by drop. If it is too thin, add more icing sugar.

I find that if you place a cooling rack over an empty bowl then dip the doughnuts in the glaze and let them drain on the cooling rack, letting the empty bowl catch the drips, you get much better glaze coverage.

My youngest boy suggests rolling the doughnuts in granulated sugar instead of glazing them is much easier. It is. You can also try adding a bit of cinnamon to the granulated sugar before rolling the doughnuts in it. Yum!

Orange Delights

This recipe comes from a cookbook that belonged to my grandmother. These cookies were great favourites of mine way from way back. When I make them here at home, I am instantly transported back to North Dakota and the comfort that cookies can give.



Orange Delights

¾ cup butter or margarine
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated rind of 1 large orange
½ teaspoon baking soda / bicarbonate of soda
½ cup sour milk or buttermilk
3 cups of plain flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

Icing

2 cups of sifted icing sugar
2 tablespoons of orange juice and a bit of grated orange rind

Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs and beat. Add sour milk, orange rind, vanilla and flour. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking tray. Bake at 375 F or 180 C until the cookies are golden brown.

In a separate bowl, mix the icing sugar and orange juice and rind. Adjust by adding more sugar or more orange juice so that the glaze gets to a nice spreading consistency.

If you ice the cookies when they are still warm, the icing will melt into a nice glaze.

Store the cookies in an airtight container, ensuring that the layers are separated by baking parchment or waxed paper because the icing will stick to everything.

Waffles!

To make waffles, you can just slap some ordinary pancake batter into your waffle maker and things will turn out just fine. However, if you want waffly perfection, go a bit further with your preparations and make proper waffle batter.

Firstly you will have to have a waffle iron or electric waffle maker. The only way you're going to get to know it is to start using it. Don't forget, the first ever waffles you make in your waffle iron won't work. Don't be upset, you must sacrifice the first couple of spoons of batter up to the gods of waffles. Just clean out the mangled bits of waffle, give them to the chickens or the dog and keep going. The rest of the waffles will be fine.

Too much batter!

I had the first batch get mangled. My second batch of waffles were better, but I used too much batter and the excess oozed and sputtered out the sides of the waffle iron. Don't panic if that happens to you. Just clean it up and keep going.

Plug in your electric waffle maker and then start making your batter.

In a mixing bowl put in:

1 3/4 cups plain or all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon or pinch of salt

3 teaspoons of baking powder

3 teaspoons of sugar.

Mix the dry ingredients together and set to one side

Separate two eggs.

Place the yolks in a small bowl with:

1 3/4 cups milk

1/4 cup cooking oil.

Mix these together

Now in yet another bowl, whip the whites into stiff peaks and set it aside.

I always whip the egg whites first with my electric beater and then go on to use the same beater to mix the batter. You can't do it in reverse because if you get even a small dot of egg yolk contaminating the egg whites, they just won't whip up.

Blend the milk, oil, egg yolk mixture in with the dry ingredients. When that is mixed completely, fold in the stiff egg whites. When the egg whites have been incorporated you have the perfect waffle batter.

Spoon the batter into your hot waffle iron and close the lid. You'll get to know pretty quickly when you've added too much or not enough batter. Each waffle iron is different.

My new waffle iron beeps when it has reached the right temperature and is ready to receive the batter. It also beeps when the waffles have finished. If you don't have a beeper on yours, you'll know when they're done as the steam coming from the waffle iron will have stopped.

George, my youngest likes apple butter on his waffles instead of the traditional pancake syrup. Strawberries (in season please!) and whipped cream are also glorious on freshly made waffles.

Enjoy the waffles! Have a waffle party!! Invite people over on a Saturday or Sunday morning for a little Festival of Waffles!!!