Delicious German Chocolate Cake

My wonderful husband just turned 50!  Happy Birthday Gunnar!

 c

When I asked my husband what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday I really already knew...duh, a german chocolate cake.  What else for a guy born and raised in Germany?  So his answer was no surprise for me.  Now usually I just pick up a cake mix from the store, add a bit of this and that to add flavor and moistness, then top it off with some store-bought frosting from a can.  That just didn't seem good enough for a 50th birthday cake so I scoured the internet for recipes and found, I think, a true winner.  I must admit, baking the cake from scratch was labor intense but SO worth it!  It was moist, delicious and rich...divinely decadent!  My hubby loved it and we've been enjoying it all week, though my waistline is starting to complain!

melting the chocolate was fun!

I couldn't help but try it!  Yum!

Here is the recipe, which I tweaked only slightly by adding an egg, using dark brown sugar and substituting light sour cream for the full fat variety.

Ingredients for cake:
2 1/4 cups all- purpose flour  (I used cake flour)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
5 large eggs
4 oz. sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/2 cup milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour two 9" cake pans.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, butter, sour cream, eggs, chocolate, milk and vanilla.  Beat with mixer on low speed until well blended.  Increase mixer to high speed and beat for another 2-3 minutes.  Spoon batter into prepared pans.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.  Remove to racks to cool completely.

Ingredients for frosting:
3/4 cup evaporated milk (1 small can)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 oz. flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:
In a saucepan over medium heat bring evaporated milk, brown sugar and butter to a full boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.  DO NOT attempt to frost the cake until both the cake and frosting are COMPLETELY cool...it will not frost well as you can see from the picture of my completed cake. I was too anxious!  It may not have looked pretty but it sure tasted heavenly.

Gunnar enjoyed his 50th birthday cake!  I hope you will try the recipe and let me know how your family like it!