German Chocolate Cake with Dreamy Chocolate Frosting

I LOVE German Chocolate Cake. I'm pretty sure it was the most frequently requested birthday cake in our home while we were growing up. Every single time our Mom made it, you would see people taking spoons out of the drawer and just wanting "one little taste" of the coconut mixture. It was so good you could just eat if off a spoon! In fact, we did eat it off a spoon so frequently that I remember getting in trouble because there wasn't  enough left for the cake. What can I say, our parents raised a bunch of sugar addicts! :)

Anyway, this recipe comes from my Grandmother Stout. I asked my Mom for her recipe back in February, and she replied by sending me this one. Its not the one we had growing up, but Mom though it was actually better than the version she made all those years, so I thought I would give it a try. It is AMAZING! I seriously ate it for breakfast 3 days in a row... because heaven forbid I actually use will power.

German Chocolate Cake with Dreamy Chocolate Frosting

Cake:

Combine in a large bowl:

2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Sugar

Combine in saucepan:

1 Stick Butter
1/2 Cup Crisco Shortening
1 Cup Water
5 TBSP Hershey's Cocoa (unsweetened)

Bring to a boil. then pour over dry ingredients in bowl.  Mix well.

Add:

2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk plus 1 teaspoon vinegar)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt 
1 tsp. Vanilla

Mix well and pour into greased and floured 9 X 13 pan.  Bake @ 350 degree for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Or for birthday cakes you can use 2 round pans and bake about 35-40 minutes at same temperature.

Dreamy Chocolate Frosting:  

Mix together:
1 Stick plus 2 TBSP. Softened Butter
2 Pound Bag Powdered Sugar
6 T. Hershey's Cocoa
Evaporated milk....approximately 1/2 cup leftover from coconut topping.

German Chocolate Coconut topping:

1 Stick Butter - I melt the butter in a saucepan (watch this carefully) and let it bubble up and brown a little as it melts.  This make the flavor amazing!

Turn down the heat to medium and quickly whisk in:

3 TBSP Flour {may need to add a little more. Just be careful!!}
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Evaporated Milk
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 Cup Chopped Nuts (either walnuts or pecans. I only use pecans)
2 tsp. Vanilla

Beat together for about 2-3 minutes (beating cools it faster and makes it a nice consistency).  Cool completely.

It is a good idea if you are making round layers to put them into the freezer with wax paper between them for at least an hour before frosting.  Remove from freezer and gently "saw" across cake tops with a sharp bread knife to "level" if they are uneven.  


For round cake:
Place 1st cake on a platter and spread about 1 inch of chocolate frosting all around the outer edges. Next place 3-4 heaping tablespoons of coconut mixture in the center of the cake and spread around. Top with 2nd cake round. Frost entire cake with chocolate frosting, then pour remainder of coconut frosting on top of the cake. Spread evenly. At this point I usually stick the cake in the fridge to help the coconut frosting stay in place.

For 9x13 cake:
Spread chocolate frosting all over cake, then repeat with coconut frosting. Enjoy! :)