German Chocolate Cake Frosting For Traditional 3 Layer Cake Recipes

Steps:

• 1. CAKE- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9" round cake pans.
• 2. Stir together cocoa and water in small bowl until smooth. Set aside. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• 3. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with chocolate mixture and buttermilk beating only until blended, no more. Pour batter into prepared pans.
• 4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes then remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
• 5. COCONUT BUTTER PECAN FROSTING- Stir together sweetened condensed milk, beaten egg yolks and butter in medium saucepan. Cook gently over low heat stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened and is bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans. Cool to room temp. Frosting yield is about 2 2/3 cups.
• 6. Spread frosting between layers and top only. (Trim inner layers of cake tops with bread knife if cake domes, leaving top layer domed, or as desired.)

Steps:

• Line three greased 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper and set aside. In small saucepan, melt chocolate with water over low heat; cool. , Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in 4 egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition., In a small bowl and with clean beaters, beat the 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into creamed mixture; fold in remaining whites., Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a small saucepan, heat sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla extract. Cool until thick enough to spread. Spread a third of the frosting over each cake layer and stack the layers. , In a microwave, melt chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with shortening. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 9-inch round pans, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely.
• In 3-quart heavy saucepan, mix sugar, butter, milk and egg yolks. Heat to simmering over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook 9 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Cut each cake layer horizontally into 2 layers. On serving plate, place 1 layer, cut side up. Spread with about 1 1/3 cups filling. Repeat with second and third layers and 2 2/3 cups filling.
• With serrated knife, cut remaining cake layer into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips. Cut strips into irregular pieces. Place cake pieces randomly over filling to cover top of cake, pressing gently into cake and fitting snugly together. Refrigerate cake several hours before serving, if desired.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave frosting 10 seconds on High until thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over top of cake. Store covered in refrigerator.

Steps:

• In a large saucepan combine evaporated milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut. Let cool to room temperature before spreading on cake.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 3 - 9 inch round pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat water and 4 ounces chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.
• In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.
• Pour into 3 - 9 inch pans Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire rack.
• To make the Filling: In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, and 3 egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.
• Spread filling between layers and on top of cake. In a small saucepan, melt shortening and 1 ounce of chocolate. Stir until smooth and drizzle down the sides of the cake.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350°F. Spray the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch or two 9-inch round cake pans with the cooking spray. Cut three 8-inch or two 9-inch rounds of cooking parchment paper. Line bottoms of pans with the paper.
• Coarsely chop the chocolate. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat the chocolate and water over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted; remove from heat and cool.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir the flour, baking soda and salt until mixed; set aside. In another medium bowl, beat 2 cups sugar and 1 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy; set aside.
• On medium speed, beat 1 egg yolk at a time into the sugar mixture until mixed. On low speed, beat in the melted chocolate and 1 teaspoon vanilla. On low speed, beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture just until smooth, then beat in 1/2 of the buttermilk just until smooth. Repeat beating in flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk just until smooth.
• Wash and dry mixer beaters. In a small bowl, beat the eggs whites on high speed until beaten eggs whites form stiff peaks when beaters are lifted. Add egg whites to the batter; to fold in, use a rubber spatula to cut down vertically through the batter, then slide the spatula across the bottom of the bowl and up the side, turning batter over. Rotate the bowl 1/4 turn, and repeat this down-across-up motion. Continue folding until batter and egg whites are blended.
• Pour batter into pans; use a rubber spatula to scrape batter from bowl, spread batter evenly in pans and smooth top of batter. (If batter is not divided evenly, spoon batter from one pan to another.) Refrigerate batter in third pan if not all pans will fit in oven at one time; bake third pan separately.
• Bake 8-inch pans 35 to 40 minutes, 9-inch pans 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes. To remove cake from pan, invert onto cooling rack, then invert right side up on second cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In a 2-quart saucepan, stir the 3 egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, the evaporated milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla until well mixed. Cook over medium heat about 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbly. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool about 30 minutes, beating occasionally with a spoon, until mixture is spreadable.
• Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on a cake plate; using a metal spatula, spread 1/3 of the filling over the layer. Add second layer, rounded side down; spread with 1/3 of the filling. Add third layer, rounded side up; spread with remaining filling, leaving side of cake unfrosted. Store cake covered in the refrigerator.