German Chocolate Cake

I recently read a book by a baker who grew up in Germany who said that there is NOTHING German about coconut and pecans in a carmel frosting. Well, misnomer or not, German Chocolate is one of my husband's favorite flavors of cake. I'm actually not a huge coconut fan, so this is one of those recipes I make just for the benefit of others. I actually wish I liked coconut, because the cake looks so good, but I really just pick around the frosting when I eat this cake.

I'm not sure this is the perfect cake recipe, but I do think it's light, airy, and good. (I've mentioned in earlier posts that from-scratch cakes are sometimes a little dry for my taste. This one is better than some, but I've wondered if it needs a little fine-tuning. But it's still worth making.) I also put a layer of this frosting along with a layer of chocolate frosting on top of a single chocolate cookie from my Homemade Oreo Cookie recipe for a tasty German drop cookie. (Tasty at least to those of you who like pecans and coconut.)

German Chocolate Cake

1 (4 oz.) package German Sweet Chocolate
1/2 c. boiling water
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, which I usually don't have on hand, you can put one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup, and fill it up to the 1 cup mark with milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and it will work as a substitute for buttermilk in your recipes.)

Melt chocolate in the boiling water; cool. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolks. Stir in vanilla and chocolate. Set aside. Mix flour, soda, and salt. Beat in the flour mixture, alternately with the buttermilk. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Pour batter into three 9-inch layer pans, lined on bottoms with waxed paper. (I use 8-inch because that's what I have. It's worked fine.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed in center. Cool 15 minutes in pans; remove and cool on rack. Spread frosting between layers and over top of cake. (I use the coconut frosting in between two of the layers and on top of the cake, but I use chocolate frosting in the middle layer and on the sides of the cake.)

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten (you won't use the whites from these 3 eggs)
1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. angel flake coconut
1 c. pecans, chopped

Combine milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter, and vanilla in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened (about 12 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in coconut and nuts.