This Oktoberfest themed cake is going to be the showstopper at your next Oktoberfest backyard party! Oktoberfest brew and chocolate make for the perfect, moist cake, topped with a pretzel cream cheese frosting. The design is reminiscent of the Lebkuchenherzen (gingerbread hearts) gifted at Oktoberfest and other German fairs and Christmas Markets.
Oktoberfest Torte
About this Recipe
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How Oktoberfest Torte Came To Be
There was a season in my life when the stress of decorating a cake that somebody else paid for wasn’t high enough to keep me from doing it. Every now and then, I have this weird urge to revisit that chapter (just for fun I tell myself), yet it hardly ever turns out as rewarding of an experience as I had envisioned it. Well this Oktoberfest Torte somehow entered my brain, starting as a distant thought as Oktoberfest neared, and after a few weeks of contemplating it and not being able to shake it, I thought I would give it a try! Turns out I hadn’t forgotten everything quite yet..! It was more fun than what I had remembered and I needed some practicing making cakes, since both my daughters birthdays are this month and I am one of those crazy mothers that makes homemade birthday cakes from scratch. Since Eloïse’s first birthday is right around the start of when Oktoberfest in München was supposed to kick off this year, I decided to make some Oktoberfest-inspired treats for her party. This Oktoberfest Torte would make such a fun birthday cake as well! Just write ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘Zum Geburtstag Viel Glück!’ on it!
Oktoberfest Cake Variations
The flavor combination for this Oktoberfest Torte was born quickly. I want to disclose here that it’s not something that’s traditionally made in Germany (other than the way it’s decorated). Instead I just really wanted something that tastes great, involves Oktoberfest Märzen beer, chocolate and Brezn! I have altered my favorite chocolate cake recipe many times to suit me for other cake projects, and this time replaced one of the liquid components with local Oktoberfest beer by Free State brewery, making it a beer chocolate cake! Oh, it’s yummy! Also, the little bit of beer in the cake and serving it to kids is not a concern to me, but you know yourself best! You could of course leave out the beer or even use non-alcoholic beer in the batter instead. The frosting almost tastes like a salted caramel frosting – it’s thick and so decadent! And I adore the little pieces of pretzel in it! I hope you will love it just as much!
Decorating Your Oktoberfest Torte
If you need a few tips for the decorating part, visit my Lebkuchenherz post, as that’s where I had to look to remind myself of how I wanted to decorate this cake to look like the popular decorated gingerbread hearts that many will buy to gift to someone else at Oktoberfest and many other German fairs and even Christmas markets (by the way, they’re typically not eaten and at least the ones I’ve had also don’t taste very good, so you’re better off just eating this cake instead!). I am planning to also make Oktoberfest cookies as party favors for Eloïse’s birthday and can’t wait to share those with you via Instagram!
Scroll on down for the recipe, now in printable version.
Oktoberfest Torte Essentials
Drink Pairing:
Chocolate Martini with chocolate pretzel rim
I mean, you could just drink more Oktoberfest beer, but what’s the fun in that! Instead make it a chocolate explosion experience by adding a chocolate martini into the mix – with a pretzel chocolate rim of course! In this chocoholic martini, I used chocolate liqueur as well as chocolate cream liqueur by Mozart, shook it all together with some half and half and vodka. The result? Pure heavenly goodness. This alone could be dessert or a fun end-of-night Oktoberfest party drink.
To make, simply shake together the following ingredients with some ice, then pour into a martini glass:
- 1 oz good vodka (such as by Koskenkorva)
- 1 oz Mozart Chocolate Cream Liqueur
- 1 oz chocolate liqueur
- 1/2 oz half and half
To find out where Mozart cream liqueurs (also love their other flavors such as pumpkin spice!) is available in your area, fill out the short product finder form.
more Oktoberfest Recipes
Next Up:
Brezel Bagels
Bagels may have been THE reason why I moved to the United States. All kidding aside, I JUST LOVE THEM! Chewy on the inside, I love to play with add-ins and toppings, switching out flours, etc. This next one is going to be amazing! Make sure to subscribe to my blog now, so you’re not missing out when this new Brezel Bagels go live!
Oktoberfest Torte: Beer Chocolate Cake with Pretzel Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
Chocolate Beer Cake
- 110 grams all-purpose flour
- 200 grams sugar
- 45 grams cocoa powder
- 5 grams baking soda
- 3 grams baking powder
- 3 grams salt
- 120 milliliter buttermilk
- 55 grams vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 120 milliliter Oktoberfest beer or any other beer of your liking!
Pretzel Cream Cheese Frosting
- 113 grams butter
- 226 grams cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 500 grams powdered sugar
- 30 grams snacking (hard) pretzels only mix in with 2/3 of the frosting
Instructions
Bake The Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F/ 180° C. Prep the cake pan by rubbing on butter, then dusting with flour. To further avoid the bottom to stick, add a piece of parchment paper.
- Whisk together wet ingredients. Then sift together dry ingredients and gradually add into the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Pour into the cake pan and bake for about 40/45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with just a couple of crumbs on it.
- Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting away from the sides carefully and turning it upside down to release the cake. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Make The Frosting
- Beat together the butter and cream cheese on high for 5ish minutes until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add in the sifted powdered sugar until incorporated, then add the vanilla. Beat on medium high for another 5 minutes.
- In a food processor, pulverize the pretzels (a few small pieces here and there are great). I actually don't own a food processor (believe it or not), so I just put the pretzels in a freezer bag and pounded them with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.
- Reserve 1/3 of the frosting for decorating the cake, then add the pretzels to the remaining 2/3 of the frosting, stirring it on low for about 1 minute or until combined.
Assemble The Oktoberfest Torte
- Once the cake is cooled, cut it in half lengthwise using a cake wire cutter or a bread knife. Add a thick layer of frosting on one of the layers, then top with the other layer of cake. Now add a thin 'crumb coat' onto the cake, then transfer it to the fridge for one hour to set up.
- In the meantime, keep your other frosting sealed, so the surface doesn't harden. Finish the cake with a seond layer of frosting, applying it thicker this time.
- Finally, decorate your cake with the 1/3 of the pretzel-less frosting you set aside earlier. Feel free to color the reserved frosting it any color you like, make borders, flowers, write on it, etc! Get creative! The writings on the Wiesnherzn (Oktoberfest-style, decorated hearts made from gingerbread) are so fun! These type of Lebkuchenherzen (gingerbread hearts) can also be found at all sorts of German outdoor fairs and Christmas markets. If you need assitance with the decorating part, visit my Lebkuchenherz post for some ideas and tips!
Nutrition
I received compensation from Niche Import Co. in exchange for writing this post. Although this post is sponsored, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may be compensated if you click certain links.
