Communion Dinner 2012-Sunday Dinner and German Chocolate Cake Recipe

 A week ago Sunday was our last Communion Season dinner and we wanted to finish strong after four-dinner-marathon.  And if my church family couldn't remember what they had for four dinners in a row, they will certainly remember this German Chocolate Cake!  !  The cake was so moist and the frosting made with pecans and coconut was outstanding.  Here is what the rest of the menu looked like:

 Communion/Sunday Dinner Menu for 280

(Click hyperlink for recipes)

Pork Tenderloin with Coffee Rub (60 lbs of pork tenderloin)

Pineapple-Papaya Salsa (10 pineapples, 8 papayas, 16 bell peppers, variety colors)

Garden Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (36 small heads of Romaine, 2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes, 3 large cucumbers, 7 cups of dressing)

French Bread with Cheese Spread (280 pieces, 6 cups of cheese spread)

Watermelon Slices (4 large seedless melons)

German Chocolate Cake (225 pieces)

 The key to making the cake moist and fluffy is not over beating the batter, especially in large volume baking.  Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together first.  Then we use a hand-held mixer and a large mixing bowl rather than a large commercial mixer.   This gives us much better control and avoid over mixing.

The frosting will take much longer when cooking recipe x10.  Use the heaviest gauge aluminum stock pot you can find in your kitchen.   Cook the ingredients in low-medium heat until frosting turns light golden color and thickens, it takes good bit of patience but so worth it!  Are you measuring baking ingredients by weight yet?  Oh, this is a must if baking in large volume!  Here is the conversion chart you can use.  

German Chocolate Cake
Adapted from Allrecipe

• 1/2 cup water
• 4 (1 ounce) squares German sweet chocolate
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites
•  
• Filling:
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  With vegetable oil spray, spray 9x13 pan ( or three 9 inch round pans).  Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and set it aside.  

In a small sauce pan, heat water until steaming.  Add chocolate and stir to melt.  Off the heat, cool and add vanilla extract.   

Using a hand held mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.  

Cream butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy in a large bowl. Add egg yolks, one at a time.  Stir in melted chocolate mixture.  Alternate flour mixture and buttermilk, being careful not to over mix.  Using a rubber spatula, quickly fold in beaten egg whites until white streaks disappear.  

Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30 minutes.  Cool for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire rack. Cool while making the frosting. 

For Filling:  In a large sauce pan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, egg yolks, and cook over low/medium heat, stirring until thickened.  12-15 minutes.  Off the heat, add vanilla extract, coconut and pecans.  Cool before icing the cake. 

For large volume baking tips:

• 5-12x24x2 steam pans used
• Above recipe x2 makes 1 steam pan, which yields about 45 pieces per pan.  
• Cakes can be baked ahead and frozen up to 2 weeks
• Dry ingredients for the frosting can be measured days ahead and frosting made on the day of serving.
• Frosting recipe x10 took about 45 minutes to thicken