German Chocolate Cake with Butterscotch Glaze

Hey! I am so glad you stopped by to check out my recent bakes. My name is Kelsey. I have dedicated 2021 to baking from my favorite baking publication – Bake from Scratch. Each quarter is dedicated to one main category of baking: cakes, breads, pies/pastries, cookies/miscellaneous. I am so excited to learn how to master (or try to master) each of these. Follow me along on my journey!

Of all the cakes I baked in this first quarter, this was the cake I got the most compliments on. My grandmother actually told me it was the best thing I have ever baked! Every cake I baked after this one I tried to do better than this one and kept asking “so was this one better than the german bundt cake?” I always got a solid “no, that one was better” haha! I do appreciate the honesty though! This cake was so perfect, it was sooo rich, VERY decadent. It really felt like I was eating an expensive fancy cake but I just made it in my own kitchen!

I was surprised to see coffee in this recipe, I was unsure how it would taste in the final product but I definitely think it was a necessary ingredient. Since the butterscotch drizzle was so sweet, the chocolate cake did not need to be. The coffee really helped cut the sweetness in the cake, while the butterscotch added the extra sweetness and richness while adding a new flavor which was great. One of my husbands favorite flavors is butterscotch so he was thrilled with this cake!

Ingredients

For the cake:

3 ounces German’s sweet chocolate, chopped
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup coffee
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups whole buttermilk

For the glaze:

1 cup butterscotch chips
^1_/3 cup half-and-half

Directions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Spray a 15-cup Bundt pan with baking spray with flour.
- My favorite is Pam Baking Spray with Flour.
- My go-to bundt cake pan is a NordicWare classic design with handles, they really help to get it out of the oven and to flip the cake right-side-up.
- Here is a bundt cake pan I have had my eye on for quite some time… it is gorgeous!
In a medium bowl, whisk together chocolate, cocoa, and coffee until chocolate is melted.
- The chocolate I used is from Kroger, the brand Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar.
- For the coffee, you could use any brewed coffee however, I do not own a coffee pot. I do have an espresso machine so what I did was use coffee pods in my espresso machine. It worked just as well!
In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with a mixer at high speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
With mixer on low speed, add chocolate mixture; beat until combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition.
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, about 47 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack, and let cool completely.

For the Glaze:

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup butterscotch chips and ^1_/3 cup half-and-half.
Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until mixture is smooth and butterscotch is melted.
- I did not get all of my butterscotch chips melted completely, but I would rather do that than burn my glaze!
- I also had a bit of my baking spray residue on the cake when I inverted it, so I added some powdered sugar before the glaze. Extra powdered sugar never hurt anyone, right?

The gallery below shows step-by-step photos of my baking process.

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