Box O Chocolates - German Chocolate

German Chocolate

German chocolate cake is a delicious treat enjoyed by many Americans, but it may surprise you that this wonderful dish didn't come from Germany. No, it came from a housewife in Dallas in the 1950s (1957 to be exact). So how did German chocolatecake get its name?

The Origin of German Chocolate

German chocolate was invented by a man named Sam German. He created a sweetened baking chocolate for Baker's Chocolate company, and it was originally packaged as "Baker's German's Chocolate." Through the years, the "'s" was dropped, and now it's just "Baker's German Chocolate." German chocolate cake is a delicious chocolate cake with a carmel pecan frosting, and it's a one-of-a-kind. But there are also other takes on the classic German chocolate cake recipe--German chocolate cheesecake andgerman chocolate pie, for example. What a way to enjoy chocolate! Here's a recipe for German Chocolate Pie:

German Chocolate Pie

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 can (13 oz.) evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell

1 1/3 cups coconut

1 package (4 oz.) Baker's German sweet chocolate

Instructions:

1. Melt the chocolate and butter (or margarine) over low heat, stirring until blended. Remove from heat.

2. Gradually blend in milk.

3. Mix sugar, corn starch and salt. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually blend in chocolate.

4. Pour into pie shell.

5. Combine the coconut and the pecans, sprinkle over filling.

6. Bake at 375 for 45 to 50 minutes or until puffed and browned. Filling will be soft--it will set while cooling. Cool for at least four hours before cutting.

This is yummy, but German chocolate cakes are still the most popular.

German Chocolates

Not to be excluded, Germany does make its own chocolates too. It's just that German chocolates are usually overshadowed by other more well-known European chocolate like Belgian chocolate, French chocolate and Swiss chocolate. These are all considered gourmet chocolate, mainly because they're European. Although German chocolates don't traditionally fit into this category, they're still good.

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