German Chocolate Cake

By draingal

Ingredients

• Topping:
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups coconut, flaked

Preparation

Step 1

Grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, shortening, eggs, and salt and blend until light and fluffy. Sift together cake flour, cocoa, soda, and baking powder. Add to shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk until thoroughly blended.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat egg whites separately with 1/4 cup of sugar until very stiff peaks form. Then gently fold egg whites into chocolate cake mixture. Divide batter evenly among the 3 cake pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until tops of cakes spring back when pressed lightly with a finger.
Cool layers on wire racks for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting.

For topping:
Combine milk, sugar, butter, and egg yolks in a saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened (about 10 minutes). Add vanilla, pecans, and coconut. Stir until cool and of smooth spreading consistency.
Frost the top of each later generously with topping. Stack layers evenly, leaving sides uncovered.