German Chocolate Cake

Now that I have a place to keep all these recipes - I've started thinking of all the fantastic things that I have made that really need to be written down. Uncle Robert's birthday brought us German Chocolate cake - with homemade icing - and here is what I did.

German Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup water
8 ounces (1 bar) German Sweet Chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, that's right - I use Plugra at room temperature
4 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter (13x9x2) glass baking dish. Bring water to simmer in small saucepan over low heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth. Cool.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. Using your wonderful stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until blended into a fluffy buttery goodness. Beat in the egg yolks 1 at a time. Slowly beat in the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Then beat in the dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk. In a separate bowl, using clean dry beaters, beat whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter in 2 additions. Pour the batter into the buttered pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 7-ounce package sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Combine first 5 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture simmers, thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across. Mix in coconut and pecans. Spread warm frosting over cooled cake. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over. Let stand until frosting sets, about 2 hours.

Yum.