Oktoberfest Torte: Beer Chocolate Cake with Pretzel Frosting

Oktoberfest cake decorated like a Lebkuchenherz

4.80 from 5 votes

Oktoberfest Torte: Beer Chocolate Cake with Pretzel Frosting

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.

Prep Time1

Cook Time40

Resting Time3

Total Time4 40

Course: Baking

Cuisine: Bavarian, German

Keyword: chocolate beer cake recipe, dessert recipe for octoberfest, dessert recipes for oktoberfest, desserts for oktoberfest, heart shaped german cake recipe, lebkuchenherz cake recipe, octoberfest dessert recipe, Oktoberfest baking recipe, oktoberfest cake recipe, pretzel cream cheese frosting recipe

Servings: slices

Calories: 467kcal

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
½ 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 ⅔ of the frosting

Metric - US Customary

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 ⅓ of the frosting for decorating the cake, then add the pretzels to the remaining ⅔ 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 ⅓ 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!

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