German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1/2 cup boiling water;

4 oz German's Chocolate, coarsely chopped;

2 cups all-purpose flour;

1/4 cup cocoa powder;

1 teaspoon baking soda;

1 teaspoon salt;

2 cups sugar;

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, salted;

4 large eggs, separated;

1 teaspoon vanilla;

1 cup buttermilk.

For the filling:

1 cup sugar;

1 12-oz can evaporated milk;

1/2 cup unsalted butter;

2 large egg yolks;

1 teaspoon vanilla;

2 cups flaked coconut (about 7 oz);

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven for 350F. Thoroughly coat 3 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. set pans aside.

In a medium heat-proof bowl, pour boiling water over chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combined flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the sugar and butter together on medium speed until light 3-5 minutes. Without stopping the mixer, add egg yolks, one at a time, until well incorporated. Reduce mixer speed to low and add chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add flour mixture and buttermilk in five 1/4-cup portions, alternating, and ending with dry ingredients. Pour mixture into the flour bowl and set aside.

Thoroughly clean and dry the mixer. Beat egg yolks until they form soft peaks. Gently fold half of the egg whites into the batter, using a rubber spatula. When combined, fold in the remaining whites.

Divide batter equally between the three prepared pans and spread gently to level. Bake on the middle rack of the oven 27-28 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of each comes out clean. Depending on the size of your oven, you may have to do two cakes first, and then the remaining cake afterward; this is better to do than putting one cake on a bottom rack.

Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan and turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

White the cakes are cooling, make the filling. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter, egg yolks and vanilla in a wide saute pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and golden brown. This will take 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans. Transfer filling to a bowl allow to cool to room temperature.

Finish the cake by placing one layer on a cake plate and top with 1/4 of the filling. Spread it evenly across the top and add another cake layer. Repeat, finishing the cake with the last layer of filling on top. I highly recommend refrigerating this cake overnight (stored in airtight container or covered in plastic wrap to prevent drying out) before serving to allow the moisture from the filling to absorb into the cake. It's pretty amazing. Bring the cake back to room temperature before serving.