Today I am sharing with you the recipe for an unusual chocolate cake that is a great favourite in my family. My friend Carmen Garcia has made this wonderful cake for us countless times over the years. She brought the recipe with her from Germany when she came to Australia in 1967. Carmen carries the recipe in her head and seems to make it a little differently each time! I have watched her making it and written down the recipe.
A special ingredient in the original cake was Dr Oetker’s lemon oil, which is no longer imported into Australia. When we couldn’t buy it, we stopped making the cake for a time. I looked for an alternative and found a combination of lemon zest and lemon essence gives a similar flavour.
Another favourite treat of ours are vanillekipfel or vanilla crescents. These beautiful biscuits are from Germany and Austria. I like to have them in my biscuit tins at Christmas time. They make a lovely gift as well.
Serve both the cake and biscuits with coffee and enjoy for special occasions, or when friends drop in.
German chocolate cake
185g butter or spread, softened
150g good quality dark, cooking chocolate
125g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon essence
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 large free-range eggs
1 cup (150g) plain flour
3 tbsp (25g) cornflour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
3 tbsp (1/4 cup) milk
Preheat oven to 180C (fan forced). Brush an average-size fluted ring tin with plenty of soft butter. Dust with flour and tap tin to remove the excess.
Chop the chocolate with a large knife into shards and small pieces, but not too fine.
Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla, lemon essence and grated zest. Then add the eggs one by one. Beat each for 30 seconds before adding the next.
Sift the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Turn mixer speed down to low and add in the sifted flours. Add the milk. The mixture should be of a heavy dropping consistency so that the chocolate doesn’t fall to the bottom of the cake during baking. Finally fold in the chocolate by hand.
Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin making sure it is evenly spread. It should be two thirds full. Tap the tin gently on the bench to remove air pockets. Bake for about 30 minutes. Test with a bamboo skewer or straw to make sure it is cooked.
Remove from the oven and leave for ten minutes before turning out. Then turn out onto a cake rack to cool. Just before serving, dust the cake with icing sugar, passed through a sieve. It is nicest eaten on the day it is made.
Vanillekipfel (vanilla crescents)
makes three dozen biscuits
225g butter, softened
110g caster sugar
225g plain flour, sifted
335g ground almonds
pinch of salt
1tsp vanilla extract
icing sugar for dusting
Cream the butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add in the flour, half a cup at a time. Mix the ground almonds and vanilla in by hand to make a stiff paste. Wrap the biscuit dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.
Roll walnut-sized pieces of dough into 6cm lengths on a floured bench or in your hands. Form into crescent shapes and place on the oven trays. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until lightly coloured. Let the biscuits rest on the tray for five minutes and then transfer to cake racks. While the biscuits are still warm, dust heavily with icing sugar passed through a sieve. Store the vanillekipfel in an airtight container. They keep well.
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