German Chocolate Cake
German chocolate cake is a favorite in our home. I have been baking it for years using the recipe from my Betty Crocker Cookbook. While the cake recipe is good, it is the frosting that makes this cake unbelievably decadent and delicious! This is one cake where I cheat sometimes and use the Betty Crocker German Chocolate cake mix. Okay, I cheat a lot of the time and use the cake mix! Don't tell! Everyone is so accustomed to my homemade, they don't even question it!
The frosting mixes for this cake cannot begin to duplicate the richness of the original Betty Crocker recipe. It's not even close. Your time is better spent on making the frosting from scratch. Buy coconut that is moist in the package. Check the different brands of coconut and buy the freshest, most moist. This is not the time to be frugal!
Lining your cake pans with parchment assures the cake will come out perfectly and not stick to the pan. There won't be telltale signs of white flour on the sides from greasing and flouring the pan either.
Since the German chocolate cake is not frosted on the sides, leaving the sides visible, this is the time to use my tip on 'cake doming'. It still amazes me that such a simple thing works so well! The top of both layers will be perfectly flat using this technique and your cake will be beautiful.
Save yourself some time and use the cake mix. I substitute milk for the water called for in the directions on the box. It seems to make it a little richer and homemade tasting. Always set the timer for five minutes earlier than the shortest time the cake should be done and check it when the timer goes off. I use the finger test. Touch the cake lightly in the center with your index finger. If it springs back and the indentation from your finger disappears, it is done. If it is done, take it out of the oven. Nothing is worse than a dry cake!
Another tip, use butter, not margarine. The flavors and textures of the end product are not the same.
Coconut-Pecan Frosting
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
*2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
In a saucepan, combine the evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, the stick of butter, and vanilla. Over medium heat, cook and stir the mixture until it boils and is thick. Set your timer! This should take at least 12 minutes!
Stir in the coconut and the chopped pecans. Frost the cake!
This recipe makes about two and a half cups of frosting.
*The original Betty Crocker recipe calls for 1 1/3 cups of coconut. I use 2 cups and like the extra coconut. Either way, it is delicious.
This is a picture of my cookbook. I have had to tape the cover with thick clear packaging tape. It was falling off the spine! You can see the edges are well worn. It is one of my favorite cookbooks and I believe I have had it in my kitchen since 1976.
Isn't it interesting that Betty Crocker was not and is not even a real person? She was dreamed up in 1921!
Using the German Chocolate Cake mix and this recipe for Coconut-Pecan Frosting, you can whip up a delicious dessert in no time!
