Kraut Chocolate Cake

Kraut Chocolate Cake

This recipe was under the C tab for cake in the recipe box. 

One of the first recipes I blogged was the Secret Cookie Recipe that included sauerkraut in the ingredients. When I made those cookies my mom reminded me of a chocolate cake she used to make for my dad with sauerkraut in it. I was able to find the original recipe in the box and decided to give it a try. The kraut ends up being a coconut texture without the coconut flavor. You might be a little nervous to try this recipe (I was too), but it's definitely worth baking! This recipe was typed (using a type writer!) by my mom so I'm not sure what the exact origin is. 

Kraut Chocolate Cake

2/3 Cup margarine or butter

1 ½ Cups sugar

3 Eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ Cups sifted flour

½ Cup unsweetened cocoa

¼ Teaspoon salt

1 Teaspoon baking powder

1 Teaspoon baking soda

1 Cup water

2/3 Cup rinsed, drained, chopped sauerkraut

Cream butter until fluffy. Beat in sugar gradually.

Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Sift: flour,

Cocoa, powder, soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients

Alternately with water (begin and end with water).

Stir in kraut. Pour into greased and floured 8 inch

cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool for 10 minutes.

Let's get started! I had everything needed for the recipe in my pantry, but the only things you may need to purchase are unsweetened cocoa powder and sauerkraut. 

Begin by setting your oven to 350 degrees. I would also open the can of sauerkraut and wash it in a strainer to be sure it is completely dried by the time you need to add it to the mixture. 

You can set the kraut aside while we get everything else combined. Make sure you give it a thorough washing so no vinegar is left on it. 

Go ahead and prepare your 8 inch cake pans while were setting up. I greased both with Crisco and then dusted them with regular flour.

Now that those are done we can start mixing the ingredients. We need to start with the butter so be sure it is softened so it can be beaten it easily. I put mine in the microwave for about a minute and they came out just soft enough. Be sure to put the butter or margarine in a bowl or on a plate when putting it in the microwave so you don't end up with a big mess! 

When the butter is soft enough, use an electric mixer to beat it until it is fluffy. It should look like this:

Now you can add the sugar a little at a time until it has been completely combined with the butter or margarine. 

The mixture should be slightly lumpier than before. Next, beat in the eggs by adding them one at a time to make sure they get incorporated correctly. 

When all three eggs have been beaten into the butter and sugar mixture it should look slightly darker, like this:

Go ahead and add the vanilla extract and beat in until completely incorporated. 

Once the vanilla is in the mixture you can set it aside. In another bowl you will need to sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Be sure the dry mixture is completely combined. 

When the dry mixture is ready you can start adding it to the butter mixture. Start with some of the water first:

Beat the mixture until the water is combined. Then add some of the dry ingredient mixture:

Combine the dry ingredients well before adding more water. Keep your mixer on low when adding the dry ingredients; the cocoa powder is very fine and will fly all over your kitchen! Continue mixing the water and dry ingredients to the egg mixture until both are completely in the butter mix. Be sure to end with the water. The mixture should be very chocolaty and fluffy. 

Take the dried sauerkraut and chop it so that it is very fine. I chopped mine on a cutting board with a knife, but you can place it in a food processor and get the same results. ***Don't skip this step or you will end up with a stringy chocolate cake!*** Once the sauerkraut is finely chopped go ahead and put it in the batter. 

Mix the kraut in with a spatula or spoon, not the electric mixer, until it disappears into the batter. 

When the kraut has been completely hidden, go ahead and pour the batter into the cake pans. They will fill about 3/4 of the way. 

Place them in the preheated oven and set your timer for 30 minutes. Mine were done exactly on time. You can be sure they are completely cooked by sticking a tooth pick in the center. If it comes out clean then they are ready to cool. 

Let them cool for at least 10 minutes before turning them over onto a cooling rack. I took a knife and loosened each cake around the edge before turning it over. While they are cooling you can get your icing ready. I cheated and used a pre-made cake icing, but you can always make your own. 

When the cakes have completely cooled you are ready to start frosting! I put the first cake down on a round cake platter so that I could easily swivel it for icing. 

To ice your cake, start by putting a glob of icing in the middle of the cake and use a flat spatula to smooth it from the center out. Don't forget about the sides! 

Yum! It looks delicious already! I used milk chocolate frosting, but if you're not a chocoholic you can use any flavor you'd like. When the first layer is frosted go ahead and add the next on top and use the same technique for icing. 

If you're making a cake for something or someone special you can add some icing writing or sprinkles. Get creative and make your cake look great! 

I gave this recipe a 5 out of 5 on the yummy scale! 

If I didn't mention the sauerkraut no one would have ever known it was in the cake when they tried it. It really does give the cake a texture like coconut without the flavor. Yum, yum, yum! I would definitely recommend making this and see if anyone can guess the secret ingredient!