Soaked German Chocolate Cake Recipe

It was Sunday morning. Everyone was up late the night before, and slept late, including me. But even so, I still got up before everyone, as usual. I had begun soaking* my favorite Original Baker's German Chocolate Cake recipe the night before as I had decided it was time to get around to modifying it into a more nutritious version. I was sincerely hoping my experimentation would work well and that the soaking I incorporated would work out. Since the house was still quiet, I decided to finish what came after the overnight soaking process. The results were a success! It was moist, yummy and cooked well. I served some mini cupcakes at a pot luck and made the traditional three layer as a treat for our family. Here is my adapted recipe:

(If you want to know why to soak, check out this great blog by Kimi Harris at www.thenourishinggourmet.com, or this second blog  of hers about how soaking makes grains more digestible.)

CAKE-


Ingredients List:

4 ounces of sweet or semi sweet chocolate (I prefer semi-sweet for less white sugar content)
1/2 cup filtered water
4 eggs, yolks and whites separated (preferably from pastured chickens)
2 cups of white whole wheat pastry flour, freshly ground if possible (if using sprouted flour you can skip the soaking step)
1 teaspoon of baking soda (aluminum free)
1/4 teaspoon of unrefined Celtic sea salt
1 cup of virgin, unrefined coconut oil, softened (or substitute with butter)
2 cups of rapdura or succanat
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 cup of raw buttermilk, or substitute raw whole milk with 1 tablespoon of added raw apple cider vinegar added (if using the milk make sure to let the vinegar stand for five minutes in the milk before adding. Raw kefir  also makes an excellent substitute)

Frosting Ingredients List:

4 egg yolks (preferably from pastured chickens)
12 ounces of raw, whole milk (you can start with 24 ounces and over gentle heat reduce it to 12 ounces, or substitute with one of these or a combination: raw cream, sour cream or whole milk yogurt starting with 12 ounces only and not using any reduction)
1 1/2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of rapadura or succanat (you can decrease the sweetener content if you like)
3/4 cups butter, softened (preferably from grass fed cows)
7 ounces of unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups of pecans, chopped

Directions for cakey yumminess:


Mix: flour, buttermilk and half of your coconut oil content. (1/2 cup) Mix well. Dough will be wet, nice and smooth but not sticking to the sides or your fingers. Leave in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours.

The next day- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 9 inch round cake pans with coconut oil, or substitute with butter. Beat egg whites in bowl until stiff peaks form and set aside. Melt chocolate with the water on low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when completely melted and set aside. Beat coconut oil and and rapadura until pretty fluffy, then blend in your sea salt and baking soda. Then drop in the egg yolks, one at a time, blending all the way. Next blend in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, blending well and going slowly. Gently fold in the the egg whites by hand and pour into your three ready pans.

Bake: 350 degrees for 30 minutes**. Check with a knife to make sure they are done. Cool on racks for 15 minutes before removing them from pans to cool on rack. When completely cooled, fill the layers and top with frosting. don't worry about cracks as the frosting will hold it together.

**If making cupcakes, check at 20 minutes.

To Make Frosting-

Beat the milk and vanilla by hand over gentle heat. Add rapadura and butter, cooking until thickened. Stir constantly to avoid sticking. Remove from heat and then add in your pastured egg yolks, stirring until well blended. (If using regular egg yolks from the store add them into the milk and vanilla and stir on the heat.) Next, add your chopped pecans and coconut and gently mix.

Enjoy with a nice glad of raw, whole milk and some good company!

If you would like to try adpating your own favorite recipes to a more nourishing version, Lyndsay Edmonds of www.passionatehomemaking.com wrote an excellent, short blog on how to do just that!