••••GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE••••

(Source: gringalicious.com & photos also)

••••My DAD'S favorite!!! This looks AMAZING!!

German Chocolate Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: about 16 servings

Ingredients

Cake:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup strong black coffee
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 5 oz German chocolate (or any chocolate with about 46% cocoa), melted
Filling:
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh coconut shreds, toasted (or 1 cup unsweetened dried [aka desicated] coconut shreds, toasted)
• 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans (or walnuts)
• 150g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon butter
  

Instructions

Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C) and grease 3 9-inch round cake pans with oil. Whisk together butter and sugar until creamed then beat in eggs. Add soda, salt, baking powder, vanilla, and cocoa and stir until smooth. Stir in coffee and buttermilk, followed by flour, then stir in melted chocolate until batter is smooth.
2. Divide batter among the prepared pans and place in oven. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes then loosen edges with knife and remove cakes to wire rack to cool completely.
Filling:
3. While cake is baking, whisk yolks and sugar together until light in color and frothy. Add evaporated milk and pour into a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil over medium low heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring as it starts to boil until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted and smooth. (If any bits of yolk have formed lumps at this point, pour mix through a fine mesh strainer.) Add vanilla, salt, nuts, and coconut and allow to cool for about 25 minutes before spreading on cake.
Assemble:
4. Spread filling gently in between layers of cake and on top. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler or microwave safe bowl and pour into a pastry bag. You can add the chocolate however you like. I chose to drizzle in a criss-cross pattern over top and then in zig-zags around the edge.