Did you all have a nice Mother’s Day?  Mine was pretty good.  I got to spend all day in my kitchen, cooking up a storm, and then my kids all cleaned it up for me at the end of the day.  For me, that’s perfect.  I love to cook, but I hate to clean, so it was a real treat to know that I could just run wild and not have to worry about the mess!

One of my favorite treats is a yummy German Chocolate Cake, so what else would I make on Mother’s Day?  Now if there are any of you out there who don’t like German Chocolate cake, I have to say it’s only because you haven’t tried this one.  The grocery store and even the bakery versions are not the same.  In fact, they are so different that I would NEVER buy one.  Not worth it, in any way shape or form.  The homemade German Chocolate Cake is a whole different delicious animal!

In fact, by the time it was completed and ready to serve, I was so anxious to dive in for a piece that I forgot to take a picture of the entire cake, so you’ll have to settle for this one of just a slice.

I will preface this recipe by saying… as you can probably tell by the ingredients and instructions, the baking of this cake is not for the faint of heart.  It takes a while, and there are a lot of steps, but it is well worth it!  (And it helps if you have a few kids cleaning up your mess behind you, like I did)

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

Cake:

• 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, separated, at room temperature (it’s easier to separate the eggs when they are cold, so do that and then let them come to room temp)
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk

Coconut Pecan Filling:

• 1 ½ cans (18 ounces) evaporated milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
• 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

• ½ stick butter
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour 3, 9 inch cake pans.  Then line with parchment paper.

For the Cake:

In a small microwave safe bowl, place the chocolate chips and water.  Heat for 1 minute.  Stir to combine the water and chocolate.  If the chocolate isn’t melted, heat for another 30 seconds, and stir again.  Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Add the egg yolks and mix to combine.  Add the chocolate mixture and mix to combine.  Add the vanilla and mix to combine.  Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, in 3 parts.

In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Fold into batter.

Divide batter among the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire cooling racks.

For the coconut pecan filling:

In a large saucepan, beat together the milk and egg yolks.  Stir in the butter, sugar and vanilla.  Turn heat on to medium and cook 15-18 or until thick, bubbly and golden.  Remove from heat.  Add coconut and pecans.  Cool to room temperature.  (About 2 hours.  Frosting will thicken as it cools)

For the Chocolate fudge frosting:

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt the butter and the chocolate, stirring to combine.  Remove from heat add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, and beat until smooth.

When cake and frosting have cooled, spread coconut pecan filling between layers of cake.  Then using the chocolate fudge frosting, seal the sides of the cake.  Then finish with the coconut pecan filling on top.