Hey Steemians! I have tried to post some healthier recipes the past few days, but not today. WE'RE HAVING CAKE!!

All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G, ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! Almost all of the time, I cross post on my personal blog.

I am not really even sure where to start... I mean, what’s the best way to tell people that you’re about to change their lives using chocolate without sounding condescending??? If you are a fan of German choclate cake at all then this is a must try recipe!

By the way, did you know that German Chocolate Cake has nothing to do with the country. German is actually a man’s name, the same guy that invented the cake actually. So if you’ve eaten the famou dessert all these years thinking you were eating something authentically European, sorry to burst your bubble, but it originated in good old, small town USA. I could explain more and try to sound like a history buff but that seems a little bit pointless when so many people already have and the info is only a google search away.

Again, not to sound smug or anything, but I’m sort of famous among our local friends for my GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE (I will be sharing that recipe at a future date - it's kinda top secret) I try not to be repetitive but sometimes the best recipes are the classics and the all-time favorites, that’s obviously why they’re loved so much. So even though I’ve used German chocolate as a flavor a few times already, I just couldn’t think of a good enough reason not to share this newest one with you guys. Especially when it’s the best yet!

I have to give complete creativity credit to younger sister's boyfriend. It was his request when I asked what dessert he wanted me to make for his birthday. I’m not sure whether the idea was totally his, or if it was partly from my sister, who absolutely loves the cake, but either way I owe one or both of them for the whole concept. (A little side note here,... this will give me some indication to who actually reads my posts. I want to say a little rant about a rabid wild cat bot. Who in the world gave this bot authority to witch hunt? There are so many negative points right now here on this platform, the last thing I think we need is a rouge bot. ok, I feel better now.)

When I was planning the recipe I had to figure out what exactly a cheesecake version of the cake would look like and there were a few different options I was weighing. The crust was the biggest question because I considered everything from traditional graham cracker crust to an actual layer of chocolate cake as the base. The former seemed too far from the traditional flavors of the cake and the latter seemed like it would take away from the cheesecake itself, so I couldn’t decided.

That’s why I did what always works and asked my mom what she thought, and what a good choice that was because she gave me the brilliant idea to use her favorite chocolate cookie dough recipe as the base. It’s simple, but I think the softer and slightly thicker crust perfectly compliments the final thing without distracting from the moussy cheesecake. Which I should probably mention, is softer than your typical cheesecake so if you’re expecting a solid center just know that it’s supposed to be a bit softer than that.

I’m not gonna lie, everyone raved over this thing. I can’t say that I’ve had the same reaction from a new recipe in at least a few months and it was unanimously agreed that it’s even better than my basic German chocolate cake and I’ve already made it a few times. Actually, I’m serving it tonight to some friends who love my cake recipe.

K, so you’re going to try it right? Just give it a chance and you may never be able to look at German choclate cake the same way again - YOU WILL THANK ME LATER.

RECIPE

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 4 hours

Yield: 1 10-inch cheesecake (10 - 12 servings)

Ingredients

Crust:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Mousse Cheesecake Filling:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
50g German chocolate, melted
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
Icing:
2 egg yolks
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened dried coconut shreds, toasted
2/3 cups chopped pecans (or walnuts)
50g German Chocolate
1 tablespoon coconut or vegetable oil

Instructions

Crust:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C) then grease and lightly flour a 10-inch round spring-form pan. Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with beater. Scrape sides of bowl, then add egg and mix until combined. Add vanilla, soda, salt, and cocoa until mixed well, then add flour half a cup at a time and beat after each addition.
2. Scrape out mixer bowl into the prepared pan and save mixing bowl for making cheesecake layer. (Yay, less dishes to wash). Press the dough into an even layer in the bottom of pan and set aside for a moment.
   Mousse Cheesecake Filling:
3. Beat cream cheese in the mixing bowl using whisk attachment until completely smooth and lump free, scrape bottom of bowl and mix longer to be sure it's all smooth. Add sugar and mix until creamed, then beat in eggs until combined. Now add the rest of the ingredients for the filling and beat on medium speed for about a minute until well mixed.
4. Pour the filling out onto the crust layer and nudge the pan a bit to make sure there are no air bubbles. Fill a large, high-sided pan with about 1/2 an inch of water and place the cheesecake inside (be sure that your cheesecake pan has a good seal to protect it from soaking in the water.)
5. Place both pans together in oven and bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is slightly browned and the center doesn't jiggle when you nudge the pan.
6. Remove and cool until safe to handle, about 30 minutes, then cover with plastic and place it in the fridge (or freezer) for at least 1 hour until slightly chilled.
   Icing:
7. After at least 45 minutes of chilling the cheesecake, make the icing. Whisk yolks and sugar together until light in color and frothy. Add milk and pour into a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil over medium low heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring as it starts to boil until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. 2. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted and smooth. (If any bits of yolk have formed lumps at this point you can pour it through a fine mesh strainer to get it smooth.) Add vanilla, salt, nuts, and coconut and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
8. Once the cheesecake has been in the fridge for at least an hour and the icing has cooled down a little, scrape it onto the top of the cheesecake and very gently smooth over the top. Place the cheesecake back in the fridge for at least 2 hours more to chill completely.
   Chocolate Drizzle:
9. Melt the chocolate with the oil in a double boiler until smooth. Pour it into a small tipped pastry bag and drizzle as desired over the edges or top of cheesecake. Store the cheesecake in fridge until ready to serve. It should keep for up to 1 week and it's best if you have something to cover it, such as a cake dome, or you can place it in a large container with lid.