I’m a little late with this, but I had to brag on my birthday cake. I think many bakers are left to make their own birthday cakes. I, however, have Quinn, who always comes through at the end of August.
Quinn picked this one out all by himself from Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook. The most impressive thing about this whole process is that he loathes coconut. So much so, that he resorted to handling it with gloved hands. Brave, huh?
So, I came home from work to find this glorious dessert just for me. (Well, he did save a little bit of cheesecake for himself.) It’s a wonderfully delicious combination of German chocolate cake and cheesecake. It’s way over the top – definitely a special occasion kind of dessert. Honestly, the cheesecake alone is worthy of any special event.
Obviously, there was a whole lot left after I ate my little piece of cake. My co-workers benefited from the remainder. There were plenty of rave reviews, both for the cake and for Quinn.
German Chocolate Cheesecake
This German Chocolate Cheesecake features a layer of rich cheesecake between layers of chocolate cake. So decadent!
Ingredients
For the cheesecake:
- 24 ounces (680g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 & 1/3 cups (266g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup (158ml) heavy cream
For the cake:
- 1 & 1/2 cups (180g) sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces (113g) German's sweet chocolate
- 1/3 cup (79ml) water
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 & 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (177ml) buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
For the frosting:
- 1 & 1/2 cups (approx. 180g) coarsely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup (approx. 43g) sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup (approx. 60g) chopped hazelnuts
- 4 cups (340g) flaked coconut, plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (15g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (236ml) heavy cream
- 1 cup (236ml) milk
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the cheesecake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside and the sides of the pan with aluminum foil.
- Using a mixer on low speed, beat 8 ounces of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch until creamy (about 3 minutes). Add remaining cream cheese, 8 ounces at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each. On medium speed, beat in remaining 1 cup of sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in the cream just until blended. Do not over-mix.
- Spoon the batter into the springform pan. Place the pan in a large shallow pan of hot water. (The water should come about 1 inch up the sides of the pan.)
- Bake about 1 hours 15 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown and the top is slightly golden tan.
- Carefully remove the pan from the water bath and transfer to a wire rack. Cool in the pan for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 4 hours. Place in the freezer overnight until ready to assemble the cake.
To make the cake:
- Butter the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans. Line the bottom of both pans with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
- Melt the chocolate in water in the microwave and set aside to cool.
- Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed of an electric mixer. The mixture should be light yellow and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, blending well after each.
- Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold about a third of the whites into the chocolate batter, then the remaining whites.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans. Bake about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn onto a cooling rack and peel off paper liners. Let the cakes cool completely, about 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to assemble the cake.
To make the frosting:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts on a large rimmed baking sheet. Toast until golden, about 5 minutes, tossing a couple of times. Set aside to cool.
- Toast 1/4 cup of coconut in the same way. Set aside.
- Mix the sugar and flour in a large saucepan. Add the cream, milk, butter, and vanilla. Stir until well combined. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thick and golden brown, about 12 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the toasted nuts and un-toasted coconut. Refrigerate about 30 minutes, until thick enough to spread.
To assemble the dessert:
- Remove the cheesecake from freezer and let stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
- Place one chocolate cake layer, top side down, on a cake plate. Spread with about a third of the frosting.
- Remove the springform ring from the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake top side down on the frosted cake layer. Spread with about half of the remaining frosting.
- Top with the remaining chocolate cake layer, top side up, and frost with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with toasted coconut. Refrigerate at least two hours until ready to serve.
Notes
Cut the cake with a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serrated knife.
Leftover cake can be covered and refrigerated, or wrapped and frozen for up to a month.
Recipe adapted from Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook.
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51 Comments on “German Chocolate Cheesecake”
That literally blows my mind. I am not sure that will quit haunting me until I make it. Thanks! I think?
WOW – As Melissa Stated – This blew My Mind Too. Totally outrageous. I can only imagine how great this medely of flavors tasted!
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Wow what a fantastic cake. The favors and textures would be awesome.
Mimi
WOW!!! i have this cookbook but am definitely going to have to take a second look at it!
No way! We’re making this in my culinary class next week! Yours looks more advanced though.
All those Junior’s cakes are pure INSANITY! That is so awesome that you have a husband who would take on such a task. My husband, though adorable and handy around the house, is a disaster in the kitchen. He likes to proclaim things like, “I can make CREPES!” and then you find out the truth, which is that he made crepes after school a few times at his friend’s house, whose mother had an electric crepe pan. 20 YEARS AGO.
Happy belated birthday!
This looks wonderful..Happy Birthday Jenny and heres wishing you many more. I have this Juniors book as I’m a fan of triple Chocolate mousse Cheesecakes myself (http://bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=3624155900&bg=white&size=large) and my compliments to Q as I know this was not a easy cake to assemble.
That looks amazing. Lucky you. The only thing I ever find waiting for me when I get home is a fat old whiney cat. Happy birthday to you and please keep the beautiful pictures coming!
wow. that cake looks thick and rich and moist. I want some, and I don’t even like chocolate cake! My husband made me a cake for my birthday last year (first year we were married). He made a Betty Crocker spice cake from a box, then told all his coworkers he baked a cake “from scratch.” I was proud of him though, and very pleased 🙂
Tom — triple chocolate mousse cheesecakes? Seriously!?! How did I miss that?
Jennifer — can you remember this for March? 😉
How lucky are you? That cake looks sooooo good – and totally naughty!
YUM! I have the Junior cookbooks and am looking this recipe up now. What a beautiful, decadent, and delicious birthday cake!
What a fantastic birthday cake! Utterly divine
Cool idea and I bet it tastes great. I love cheesecake AND I love german chocolate cake, so together they should be excellent…
Looks absolutely delicious ..
Laila
That’s what you call love! That last picture has me trying to lick the screen. What a great birthday dessert.
Happy belated birthday!
Looks delicious! Happy Birthday
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better looking cheesecake. That would be my heaven, that cake right there. Wow.
Wonderful! Looks so yummy!! Love chocolate cake!
What a great idea! The pictures are totally making me drool.
Two of my favorite cakes! Wow, that looks amazingly delicious and rich at that! Top that off with a nice glass of Milk and I’d call that perfection : )
Wow! Just… wow!! Wish someone would make this for my birthday. As it stands, I’ll probably have to make it myself 🙂
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You have an awesome man!!!!!!
Wow, I think I just gained 5 lbs looking at this–yuuum!
This cake looks divine! I love your blog and would love to do a featured post on it on my blog. Come stop by and check out my blog.
Yum, yum and yum. This dessert is not for the faint-hearted. You can almost divide a slice and eat twice from it…not that I would do that. Oh, no. It is all or nothin’ with me. There are so many textures with this cake that it is like an explosion of goodness in your mouth. Good stuff, Q!
Does anyone else see the weightloss ad at the bottom of the post? It is the “1 tip for a flat belly” schtick. I don’t think they’re referring to this cheesecake. I’m thinking it should be outlawed! Thanks for the post.
I’m not fond of chocolate cake but that has me seriously reconsidering and giving it another try!
That really is awesome of your honey! Happy belated B-day!
~ingrid
What a nice twist for a cheesecake. Yum!
Yummy! This reminds me of the german chocolate cupcake from martha stewards cupcake book. ^__^ Except this looks like… a trillion times yummier! ^__^ Lucky youuu!
Oh my god, fantastic, amazing, delicious….
This looked so good I had to make it & it was AWESOME!
That looks soooo yummy!
I just made this cake for a family gathering and what a smash hit! It is so delicious! You can taste each and every layer. My mouth is watering right now thinking of another piece! I have tried many recipes off other websites and 90% of the time, they don’t work out or taste that good. So far, I’ve made 2 of your recipes and both times, 100% success! Thank you so much!
Regards,
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It looks amazing. I wish a cake fairy would leave me a surprise on my counter just once! You’re a lucky gal.
I don’t even know what to say…this looks like BLISS! Can’t wait to try it out!
This looks sinful! 🙂
your line about bakers making their own birthday cakes made me giggle 🙂 great looking blog and what a crazy recipe! i’ll have to share this one with my brother – german chocolate is his go-to birthday cake! thanks!
Oh hello german choco cake! I’m not a sweets person, but for some reason this is making me crave dessert. Yum!
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I’m making this right now!! The cheesecake is cooling and the cake layers are baking. I was searching for a picture of it, so thanks! Was just wondering about the icing only on the top layer. That seemed strange. Apparently it didn’t matter! 🙂
I made this cake last year for my birthday and people were totally blown away…they still talk about it 🙂
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need the recipe right away!!
Monica, the link to the recipe is above the top photo.
WOW! This looks unbelievably amazing!