Is the German Chocolate Cake Actually German?

By Phineas Upham

The rich frosting, studded with coconut, and the deliciously moist cake. Is there anything better than German chocolate cake? To those who have not had this delicious piece of cake, it offers some interesting flavor you can’t get in a standard chocolate cake. Dark baking chocolate is often used, so the pecan coconut frosting helps to cut the bite of the dark cocoa.

Sometimes the cake is frosted only on the top, other times it receives a generous portion of chocolate frosting all around its edges. If this sounds uniquely American in sweetness, that’s because it is. The cake owes its namesake to the man who invented it, Sam German. At the time, he sold it as German’s Chocolate cake to try and brand it. The branding stuck, but perhaps not in the way he had intended.
German made the cake in 1852, and it appeared in the Dallas Star more than a century later as a “Recipe of the Day.” He worked with Baker’s brand chocolate, which manufactures baking chocolate, to make a special blend of dark chocolate that he used to make his cakes. He formed something of a partnership with Baker’s, and they named their German’s Sweet Chocolate after him to honor his contribution to dessert making.

Today, German chocolate cake is available in almost every bakery on any given street. It’s a popular recipe that inspired a national German Chocolate Cake Day, which occurs annually on June 11th. This June, order yourself a slice and indulge.

Phineas Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or Facebook page.

All about National Chocolate Cake Day

By Phin Upham

The chocolate cake, the quintessential birthday companion, did not exist during the early 1800s. Chocolate was consumed almost exclusively in beverage form until nearly 1840. There was a “chocolate cake” reference of course, but most cookbooks referred to white or yellow cakes that were eaten with a chocolate beverage.

The first printed recipe for a chocolate cake, meaning a cake made with cocoa powder, is most likely The Hostess of To-Day recipe in 1899. Calling for two squares of chocolate, it would appear a softer shade of brown. The flour used also made the cake fluffier, where current American palettes might prefer moist.

Chocolate cakes became a bit more common by the early 1900s. By 1920, chocolate cakes were commonplace, but chocolate’s primary use was still as part of a beverage or frosting. It was both Hershey and Betty Crocker who managed to popularize the cake thanks entirely to the “cake in the box’ mixture most household bakers still use today.

The rich and thick recipes that we know today are a fairly new occurrence. American tastes have always trended toward the sweeter, but the chocolate cake of today is a far cry from the early cakes of 1899. For one, both the sugar and cocoa quantities have been increased from those early days. One might call such cakes “death by chocolate” due to their richness. Not to be eaten without several glasses of either milk or water.

Actual National Cake Day is January 27th. Perhaps the perfect time to find a certain recipe from 1899?

About the Author: Phin Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Phin Upham website or LinkedIn page.

The History of Krispy Kreme Donuts

By Phin Upham

Krispy Kreme’s “hot” sign is a kind of signature today. Passing motorists see that sign and know that warm, tasty donuts are mere minutes away. It’s kind of a revolution in donuts, when you think about it, and it only took 55 years to make.

Vernon Rudolph started Krispy Kreme back in 1937. He had purchased a recipe for a yeast-raised donut from chef in New Orleans. He took his recipe to Old Salem, Washington, and opened up shop there. His first customers were local grocery stores, but he quickly expanded to selling donuts to customers passing by. The smells from inside the bakery were too good to resist.

By 1944, the store had evolved to include a display case, allowing for a greater arrangement of their products. The original glazed donut from those days is more like a handmade glazed donut of today. It had a thick coating, but the same flavor.

By 1955, Krispy Kreme had trademarked its logo, added 8 varieties to its lineup and gotten its first delivery truck up and running. Fundraising was popular for Krispy Kreme, who would deliver donuts to hungry kids in person. Hand production slipped away during the early part of the 60s, making the donuts more like what we know today. But the first machine-made donuts were not sold in stores until 1989. Krispy Kreme quickly spread across the country, adding shaped donuts in the early 2000s. Today, the company has shops in Canada, and its coffee is sold in stores and supermarkets across America.