German Chocolate Cake
 
Ingredients
For the Cake:
  • 4 oz. German Chocolate
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅛ salt
  • 1 cup salted butter, softened
  • 1¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup sour cream
For the Coconut Pecan Frosting:
  • 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ cup water
  • 3 eggs yolks
  • ½ cup salted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup pecans, chopped
  • 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
For Chocolate Frosting:
  • 1 cup salted butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 4-5 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
For the Cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Generously grease and flour three 9 inch cake pans.*
  3. Microwave the chocolate and milk for 1½ minutes. Stir until until completely melted. Set aside.
  4. In another bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
  5. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until there are no lumps.
  6. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well.
  7. Add half of the flour mixture.
  8. Add vanilla and the chocolate mixture.
  9. Add the rest of the flour mixture.
  10. Add the sour cream.
  11. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and beat again.
  12. Divide the batter between the three pans.
  13. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.*
  14. Run a knife around the edges and let the cakes sit for 10 minutes.
  15. After 10 minutes, flip the cakes onto cooling racks.
For Coconut Pecan Frosting:
  1. Whisk condensed milk, water, and egg yolks together in a saucepan.
  2. Add butter and cook over medium-low heat for 10-12 minutes stirring constantly and alternating between spatula and whisk. If the eggs start to curdle, remove from heat and whisk until they stop.
  3. Turn the heat down to low and cook for another 5 minutes stirring constantly.
  4. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, pecans, and coconut.
  5. Let sit for 5 minutes in a clean bowl (so the eggs don't curdle).
  6. Put the bowl in the fridge for 15 minutes or until a spreadable consistency.
For Chocolate Frosting:
  1. Beat butter until smooth.
  2. Add powdered sugar and cocoa.
  3. Add vanilla and 4 T. milk. If it's too thick add the extra Tablespoon of milk.
For Assembly:
  1. Put one cake layer on a platter and spread some coconut pecan frosting on top.
  2. Repeat with the other 2 layers.
  3. Put in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  4. Spread the chocolate frosting around the side with a straight edged spatula or a knife until completely smooth.
Notes
Store in fridge.

* To make a sheet cake: Bake in a 9 x 13 in pan for 15 minutes at 350ºF and then drop the temperature to 325ºF and bake for another 22-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I dropped the temperature so that the edges of the cake don't burn as easily.
Recipe by Birch Tree Baking at https://www.birchtreebaking.com/german-chocolate-cake/