I got this recipe from my friend's Oma, who thought it was just right for an everyday cake. She chopped up German chocolate bars (good chocolate), but you could exchange that for chocolate chips or those larger chips you can now find in the grocery store.
While poundcake has a traditional ratio of 1:1:1:1 (flour, sugar, eggs, butter) by weight, rührkuchen is 2:1:1:1, with some milk added to help the consistency. It also contains baking powder. I have found that double acting baking powder works as well as single acting for this recipe.
Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf cake.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 00 minute
Ingredients:
- 12 oz. chocolate bars (about 400 grams) or chocolate chips
- 18 T. butter, 250 grams, softened
- 1 c. sugar, 200 grams
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla, or 1 T. vanilla sugar
- 4 c. flour, 470 grams
- 2 tsp. double acting baking powder or 1 package German baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2-4 T. milk
- 6 oz. chocolate bark or "Kurvetüre"
Preparation:
Chop chocolate bars into squares about 1/2 inch wide. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together and add in two parts to the batter, mixing after each addition. Add milk and mix until the batter is as thick as brownie batter (thick, but spreadable).
Fold in chocolate bits.
Pour into a buttered 9 x 5 inch loaf pan or "Kastenform" of similar size. Smooth top. Bake at 350°F for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted through cake comes out without batter (it will have melted chocolate on it). Do not overbake, or it will be dry.
Let the cake cool completely, then frost it by melting about 6 ounces of chocolate bark (in Germany, this is called "Kurvetüre") and spreading it over the tops and sides of the cake. Cool and slice.
This cake freezes well. I like to freeze it pre-sliced, so I can have a piece with my afternoon cup of coffee or tea. Great for unexpected guests. Microwave one slice on a paper towel for 20-30 seconds.
