German Chocolate Cake:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven racks in the upperand lower third of the oven.Lightly butter and flour (or spray with a nonstick vegetable/flour spray), and linethe bottoms of three - 8 x 2 inch deep (20 x 5 cm) round baking pans withparchment or wax paper.
In a heatproofbowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate. Remove fromheat and let cool to room temperature.
In a separatebowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl,combine the coffee (or water) and buttermilk.
In the bowl ofyour electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth andcreamy.Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is fluffy (this will takeabout three to five minutes).Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after eachaddition. Add the vanilla extract and beat tocombine. Then add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated.
Add thecoffee/buttermilk mixture and flour mixtures in three additions, beginning andending with the flour mixture.Beat only until the ingredients are mixedtogether.
Divide thebatter evenly among the three prepared pans and smooth thetops.Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until a toothpickinserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightlypressed.(I like to rotate the pans about halfway through baking to ensureeven baking.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 15minutes.Butter or lightly spray with a non stick vegetable spray a wire rack beforeinverting the cakes onto the rack to prevent the cakes from sticking. Cool thecakes completely before frosting.
Coconut Pecan Frosting:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place the pecans on a bakingsheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.Remove from oven, cool, and then chop fairly fine.
In a mediumsaucepan, combine the sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter, and salt. Cook over medium heat,stirring constantly, and when the mixture begins to boil and thicken, removefrom heat (about 5 minutes). Stir in the chopped pecans, coconut, and vanilla extract. Let cooluntil spreadable (about 30-60 minutes).
To Assemble: Placeone layer of cake (top facing down), on your serving plate, and cover with one third of the frosting.Place the second layer of cake, onto the firstcake layer and frost with another one-third of the frosting. Then add the thirdcake layer and frost the top of the cake with the remaining frosting (sidesof cake are left bare). The finished cake can be stored at room temperaturefor a 2-3 days or it can be refrigerated.
Serves 14-16people.
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