This picture isn’t mine…I borrowed it from a great Flickr photographer named Stu Spivack. He’s got hundreds of great photos of all kinds and very kindly let’s people (like me who have messed up recipes) borrow them. Thanks, Stu!
Update on the birthday cake…
I didn’t make another cake. The oven was a disgusting mess – big blobs of cake batter had baked to the bottom of the oven and dripped from the oven racks like hardened lava. Yuk. I figured it would take too long to clean the oven and whip up another batch of batter so that was that. I could always go buy a cake.
When the original bundt pan with the remains of the cake had cooled, I took it out of the pan to see if any of it could be salvaged. Lo and behold, it was just fine! It wasn’t very pretty but it was not gooey at all. Just about half the size it should have been – ha! The frosting was luscious so I slathered it on the cake and you could hardly tell that it was wonky.
So that’s what we had for birthday cake. It was delicious. It was light and fluffy and not too sweet. The frosting with all the pecans and coconut was way better than the store-bought stuff.
Here’s the recipe. I know I made a big deal out of how much work it was but it really is worth the extra effort. Especially if you use the right pans (wink). (From Betty Crocker’s Cookbook)
German Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup boiling water
1 bar (4 ounces) sweet German cooking chocolate (Baker’s is one brand)
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Coconut-Pecan Frosting (below)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 round layer pans (9″). Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper or parchment. Inb small bowl, pour boiling water over chocolate, sitrring until c hocolate is melted; set aside to cool.
In large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. On low speed, blend in chocolate and vanilla. Mix in flour, soda and salt alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition until batter is smooth. Fold in egg whites. Divide batter among pans.
Note: I didn’t beat the egg whites until after I had already combined the rest of the ingredients.
Bake layers 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly with finger. Cool completely. Fill layers and frost top with Coconut-Pecan Frosting.
Coconut-Pecan Frosting
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick, about 12 minutes. (Excuse me, Betty, but it took longer than that – I’d say a good 15 minutes). It should be golden brown and starting to thicken. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool before frosting the cake.
Razzmatazlady 
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