German Chocolate Cake

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!

This is a well kept family secret...

German Chocolate Cake IS my favorite birthday cake!

Somehow I was dubbed someone

who loved Black Forest Cake

for their birthday and I'm not entirely sure how it happened. With that said,

there is nothing wrong with a

well done Black Forest Cake,

but it's not my favorite cake:)

So, today on the day of my birth - I begged James to let me make my own birthday cake. He was so willing to go to the bakery and buy me a GC cake, but really?

I wouldn't be as good as the one

I am more than willing to make!

I won...it is after all MY birthday and

I can do anything I want including

making my own scrumptious cake.

German Chocolate Cake:

1 boxed German Chocolate Cake mix + ingredients to make it.

Frosting:

1 c. evaporated milk
1 1/3 c. white sugar
2 eggs
4 T. butter
1/4 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. coconut
1 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

In a heavy saucepan combine the milk, sugar and eggs. Whisk until well combined. Add the butter and salt, cook on medium low heat until thickened. I stir pretty much constantly until the mixture starts to boil. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Add coconut and nuts. Set aside until it has cooled.

Note: This is not the kind of frosting you will be able to frost around the sides of a cake beautifully. I prefer to make a 9x13 pan and then spread a nice THICK layer of the frosting on top. Some prefer to frost 2 - 8 or 9 inch rounds with frosting in the middle. Just be aware that this type of "frosting" will have more of a "dripping" effect over the sides of the cake. There is just no way around it...unless you frost the sides of the cake with a regular chocolate frosting, which I must say I don't like. I prefer dripping GC frosting any day to any other type or flavor of frosting on my GC cake. Boy. This is a long note.

Macaroon Brownies

Chocolate and coconut, two of my favorite things. So a recipe that combines the two has to be good-- and this one is! It's from the Taste of Home collection.

1 C butter, softened
2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:

1 pkg flaked coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

3/4 C sugar
1/4 C milk
2 T butter
1 C mini marshmallows
1 C chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa and cream of tartar. Add gradually to the creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if you are using them. Spread half of the batter into a greased 9X13" pan.

Mix the filling ingredients together and spread carefully over the chocolate layer. Top with the remaining chocolate mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick near the centre comes out clean. Cool.

For the frosting, combine sugar, milk and butter in a saucepan. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir until chocolate chips and marshmallows are melted. I take it off the heat while I am stirring to ensure that the chocolate doesn't harden up and burn. Cool for about and half hour and spread over the cooled brownies. Yummm!!

Billie's Italian Cream Cake

I don't know who Billie is, but she makes one heck of a cake! I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman website and knew I had to try it. Curiously, I found the cake was even better the next day - almost like a marriage had taken place.




Billie's Italian Cream Cake:

Cake:

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. sugar
5 eggs, separated
3 t. vanilla
1 c. coconut
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 c. buttermilk

Frosting:

2 - 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
3 t. vanilla
2 lb. powdered sugar
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1 c. coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 - 9 inch cake pans, set aside.
Beat egg whites until stiff, set aside.

In a large bowl combine butter, oil and sugar, beat until fluffy. Mix in egg yolks, vanilla and coconut. Add dry ingredients and finally add buttermilk. Gently fold in egg whites.

To make frosting, combine cream cheese and butter - mix well in Kitchen Aid bowl. Add, vanilla, then powdered sugar. Once well blended add nuts and coconut.

Evenly pour cake batter into the 3 prepared cake pans, sprinkle with 2 T. sugar. Place cake pans in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool in pans for 15 minutes then turn cakes out on a wire rack. These cakes are rather delicate, so be careful not to break them. Cool completely.

Once cooled frost between layers.

Bon Appetit!

No-Knead Raspberry Coconut Rolls

I found these in a magazine the other day originally made with Nutella. Since I didn't have any Nutella, I decided to use up some raspberry jam that has been in my fridge for a while. It makes about 14 rolls, but they are only good the day you make them so be prepared to eat a lot or have some friends or company nearby.



4 C flour
1 pkg yeast
1 C milk
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C butter
2 eggs
2/3 C jam or desired filling
1 C shredded coconut

In a large bowl, combine 2 C of the flour and the yeast. Set aside.

In small saucepan, heat and stir milk, sugar, butter, and 1/2 tsp salt just until warm and butter has just about melted. Add this mixture and the eggs to the flour mixture. Beat with mixer on low to medium for 30 seconds, scraping bowl as needed. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour. Cover; let rise in warm place for about and hour until it doubles in size.

Turn dough onto a well-floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Lightly grease baking sheets and set aside.



Roll dough into a 10X16 inch rectangle. Spread 2/3 C filling over dough, leaving a 1-inch edge along one of the long sides. Sprinkle coconut over the jam. Roll up rectangle, starting from the long side with the filling spread edge to edge. Seal the seam by pinching dough together.





Slice into 16 pieces. Arrange 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Cover; let rise until nearly double in size, about 45 minutes.



Bake at 350 degrees. Bake 15 or so minutes until golden. Cool about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Drizzle with some icing. Enjoy!