I've been asked by another teacher at work to make a german chocolate cake for her husband. What makes a german chocolate so special? Is it all in the icing? Can I use my favorite chocoalte cake recipe and just to the icing or is there something about the cake?

Will they translate well to cupcakes (if I wanted to do a trial run)?

TIA

i found your question intriguing, so i looked it up, and here is what i found....interesting huh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_chocolate_cake

so do you frost the top of the cake before you add the icing?

Sweetheart, German chocolate(also my favourite) is not just a chocolate cake. It also contains potatoes and chopped chocolate bits in the batter.
The potatoes are what gives it this moist creamy texture and the chocolate pieces are what gives it is irresistibility.

It is called German chololate cake because the chocolate originally used was a German chocolate (German Baking Chocolate). This chocolate is still available on the baking isle in stores, but other brands are more widely used.

oh! i don't know, i have never made one, i just googled it but what i am thinking is that you would probably ice it a chocolate buttercream, and then top it with the coconut-pecan frosting. i believe that is the "traditional german chocolate cake"

here is a recipe for the top frosting:

http://www.myhomecooking.net/german-chocolate-cake/coconut-pecan-frosting.htm


but you don't have to make it that way, that is what i found to be so interesting about that article that really all that makes a "german choc. cake" that is because of the brand of chocolate was called germans. so, really, its just the same as any other choc. cake

HTH

Christina-would you mind sharing your recipe. I had looked through the recipe section here before posting and the top 5 all looked like a chocolate cake base with a coconut/nut icing. None of them mentioned potatoes!

No its not like any other chocolate cake. You do not add potatoes to ordinary chocolate cake.

Chocolate from Germany and U.S. Baker's German sweet baking chocolate are not the same item.

In the link provided by kimberlina25, the article advises that in 1825 an Englishman named Samuel German developed German's Sweet Baking Chocolate.

General Foods puchased the formula for German's sweet baking chocolate (and marketed it as Baker's German sweet baking chocolate) saw sales increase dramatically with the popularity of the German's chocolate cake recipe.

Everything you ever wanted to know about chocolate:

http://tinyurl.com/ytby97

HTH

German chocolate cake is not connected in any way to Germany.

I'm sure there are many bakers in Germany who make chocolate cakes, and while one might could call them German chocolate cakes for the sole fact that they were made in Germany, they are so not the American phenomenon which is known as "German chocolate cake".

I don't know the history of german chocolate cake nor do I know why it's called that. HOWEVER, I have been using this recipe for it for a few years now. People tell me it's one the best cakes, and definitely the best german chocolate that they've ever had. HTH!!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/German-Chocolate-Cake-III/Detail.aspx

I've made the German Chocolate Cake recipe here on CC, and it was FANTASTIC!! http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-7007-Great-German-Chocolate-Cake-and-Icing.html

The only thing I did differently was wrap the cake in a chocolate buttercream, and forego the chocolate drizzle. But that is just presentation, do as you like.
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1217032

There is another thread somewhere on German Chocolate Cake, pretty much asking what you are. The cake is indeed unique (although I've never heard of potatoes in it...), just as Devil's Food is a different kind of chocolate cake, etc.

However, if someone is asking for German Chocolate Cake...they want the frosting on any ole chocolate cake you can slap underneath, hehehe. That is what defines this cake for Americans, the frosting.

Be sure to post what you come up with, buttercreamkisses - best of luck!!