Crazy for Coconut!

     I have never been a fan of German Chocolate cake, because I don’t like coconut.  Mr. Bloom on the other hand loves German Chocolate Cake.  I have made the box mix before, but it recently dawned on me that I had never thought to attempt a homemade one.   I have never even made a chocolate cake from scratch before.  The only thing that really scared me away from it was melting the chocolate.   When I was younger, I had a bad chocolate melting experience.  This was before I knew what I double boiler was! So, being that it is one of his all time favorite cakes, I decided to go for it!  I turned to a KitchenAid Cookbook that my friend bought me for my birthday.  I have made a few recipes from it (that you will see in other posts soon!), and everything that I tried has turned out to be amazing.  This cake, even for a non-coconut liking person like me, did not disappoint.

Cake Ingredients

- 1/2 cup hot water

- 4 squares (1 ounce each) semi - sweet chocolate

- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

- 2 cups sugar

- 4 eggs

- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup buttermilk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

• This is the chocolate that I picked.  There were a few brands of course, but Mr. Bloom likes Ghirardelli.  So, I chose that one.  I am sure people prefer different chocolates, but in the baking aisle it seemed all the same to me! 

• In true Mrs. Bloom fashion.. I was already sort of aware of how to make my own double boiler, but I googled it just in case.  I didn't have any bowls that would work.  So, I had a friend bring over a bowl that she had, and I matched the pot to the bowl.  This is what mine looked like.  You can buy a double boiler, but this worked fine for me.  I filled the water a quarter of the way.  This was one of those trial and error things.  It looked like it would work, and it did! 
• Place water and chocolate in double boiler.  Stir constantly over boiling water until chocolate melts; set aside.

• This only took a few minutes.  Make sure that you constantly stir the chocolate.  You don't want it too clump together.  It shouldn't burn either.  It actually seemed funny at the end how easy it was.  Mr. Bloom had not yet requested a chocolate cake, but if someone does.. then I know what I am doing now! 

• Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer about 2 minutes or until fluffy.  Stop and scrape bowl.  
• Turn to medium speed and add eggs 1 at a time, beat 15 seconds after each addition.  
• Continuing on medium speed, add chocolate mixture, and beat 15 seconds more or just until incorporated.  Stop and scrape bowl.

• Add flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk and vanilla.  Turn to low speed and mix until well blended, about 30 seconds.  

• Divide batter evenly between two greased and floured (9 inch - I used 8 inch) cake pans.  
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
• I forgot to take a picture of the batter!! But I DO remember what it looks like! This is the fluffiest batter I have seen.  It reminded me of a mousse.  It was definitely a light and fluffy mixture.  Hope that helps a little! When I make another one, I will edit and add the picture of the batter.

• Cool in pans 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire racks.

Coconut Pecan Frosting Ingredients

- 1 cup sugar

- 3/4 cup evaporated milk

- 3 eggs, beaten

- 1/3 cup butter

- 1 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)

- 1 cup chopped pecans

• Combine sugar, evaporated milk, eggs and butter in large saucepan.  
• Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture begins to thicken.
• Make sure to stir constantly! The last thing you want is scrambled egg icing.. I wasn't aware that you cooked the icing, and was a little worried I would do it wrong.. but it came out fine...

• Remove from heat and place in large bowl; add coconuts and pecans.  
• Beat with electric mixer on low speed until thick and spreadable.
• Refrigerate until ready to use.  
• I refrigerated it until the cake was fully cooled.  Maybe only like 20 minutes.  I think they just state this so you know you can if needed.. but I don't think it's totally necessary. 

• Frost the middle layer and then the whole cake! 
• I felt that I needed a little more icing.  I would make double the recipe.  Just to make the recipe additions easier.  Really I only needed about a half cup more of icing.  You could see the cake peeking through on some parts, but you can't really tell in the picture.  It may be that I used too much in the middle.  I don't feel I did, so I rather just double the recipe! 

     This cake came out beyond moist! I did taste some of the icing.  After the initial getting over the coconut texture, I did enjoy it!  Mr. Bloom said he wants another one ASAP!  So, I guess y'all will get the picture of the batter sooner than expected!  Like I said, I rather enjoy my KitchenAid Cookbook and I am looking forward to picking some more recipes from it.  And... I hope you are looking forward to seeing them come to life! 

With that, Enjoy!