BAD CHOCOLATE CAKE?!?!

Have you ever made chocolate cake because you wanted to eat the batter? I have several times. I love cake batter. Cake is....eh ok. Last week sometime decided I was going to make a cake so that I could eat some the batter. I found a recipe that looked legitimate. It is the recipe found in the BAKER'S GERMAN CHOCOLATE box. Yes I was about to make a German chocolate cake. What is the difference between a German chocolate cake and just your average chocolate cake? Nothing! Ok here is the story. A man named Sam German worked for the Baker's Chocolate Company. He had the brilliant idea of adding sugar to the chocolate so that the consumer would not have to. It was just for our convenience. They named the chocolate for him "German's Chocolate." Then about 100 years after his gift to the chocolate community a talented baker from DALLAS made the chocolate famous by creating the tempting and yummy Baker's German's chocolate cake. Her recipe is the one that is in the Baker's chocolate box. It is also the one I am going to share.

The first time I made this a week or so ago I really screwed up. The cake fell, the texture was wrong and the taste was less than moist. The frosting was pretty bad too! I attempted a very simple chocolate frosting that is not super rich. All you do is take two cups whipping cream beat it with the wire whisk in your kitchen ade until fluffy and then add a large box of pudding. Sound yummy and easy enough....well do not over mix the whipping cream. It will destroy the frosting. That was my down fall for the frosting on the first cake.

Before I get distracted again here is the recipe for the Original Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate Cake. (That is not a name it is a tittle and with cake this good it should have a tittle.)

1pkg. (4 oz.) Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup water

2 cups flour

1t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, separated

1t. vanilla

1cup butter milk

Coconut-pecan filling and frosting!!!!!!!

Preheat oven to 350. Cover bottoms of 3 Nine inch round cake pans with wax paper (I only use two so I can eat a bunch of the batter!) Spray a healthy dose of Pam on your pans.

The way I make this cake differs from the recipe a bit but, trust me, it will turn out excellent this way.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, one minute on high stir and if it needs more time only do 30 seconds increments until the chocolate is melted, be sure to stir after each trip in the microwave.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks , one at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Blend in malted chocolate and vanilla. Add water and mix it all in. Next add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.(I did this part by hand so I could keep my mixer free for the next part.)

Beat egg whites in mixer with the wire whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into batter. Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted int centers comes out clean. Immediately run small metal spatula around cake layers. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks. Discard wax paper. Cool cake layers completely. Spread Coconut-Pecan Filling and foisting between cake layers and onto the top of the cake.

Beating egg whites in baking makes things moister. The first time I made this I miss read the instruction and skipped the egg whites completely and the cake was dry and it fell. The cake was dense, more like a nasty tort.

Tips for beating egg whites: Use a metal bowl and wash it first with soap and warm water. Dry it completely. Now it will whip up a lot easier.

Now for the Coconut-Pecan Frosting

This stuff is freaking awesome. If you like carmel you will love this. If you don't like nuts and coconuts then find another frosting!

4 egg yolks

1 can (12 oz. ) evaporated milk

1-1/2 t. vanilla

1-1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cups (1-1/2 sticks) butter

1pkg. (7 oz or 2-2/3 cups) coconut flakes

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

Beat egg yolks, milk and vanilla in a large saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter cook on medium heat 12minutes or until thickened and golden brown, STIRRING CONSTANTLY (It is so easy to burn this). Remove form heat.

Add coconut and nuts; mix well. cool to the desired spreading consistency.

That is the recipe and here is how I changed it to suit my needs. I did not have any evaporated milk so I used a 10 oz. can of sweet and condensed milk and added a 1/2 a cup to 1 full cup of milk to thin it down a bit. I then cut the sugar in half so instead of 1-1/2 cups sugar I used 3/4 cup sugar. I did everything else just the same and man is it good.