Chocolate Cake

Probably for most of us baking a chocolate cake is opening a box of Betty Crocker mix and following the directions. When it is done, open a can of prepared frosting and Voila! However, there are quite a few types of chocolate cake when you start searching:
• Black Forest – A sponge cake with cherry filling
• Garash – A Bulgarian treat with walnuts and has five thin layers
• Sachertorte – Of Austrian origin with apricot preserves and a mirror glaze

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 6 eggs

Directions:
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch round cake pan; set aside.
• Combine sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until completely dissolved; set aside.
• Melt bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, 1 to 3 minutes. Pour chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.
• Cut butter into pieces; beat butter, one piece at a time, into chocolate until combined. Beat in hot sugar water. Slowly beat in eggs, one at a time. If the mixture is still warm, you may want to temper your eggs.
• Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready; put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the larger pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
• Bake cake in the water bath in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Place cake in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled, 8 hours to overnight.
• To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
• ½ cup water
• 4 (1 ounce) squares German sweet chocolate
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 ½ cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup butter
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 ⅓ cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon shortening
• 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Directions
Cake:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 – 9 inch round pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat water and 4 ounces chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.
• In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.
• Pour into three 9 inch pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire rack.
Filling:
• In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, and 3 egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.
• Spread filling between layers and on top of cake. In a small saucepan, melt shortening and 1 ounce of chocolate. Stir until smooth and drizzle down the sides of the cake.