Partners in Crime!

That's what my husband calls my best friend and me! We aren't so much partners in crime, but we're definitely best of friends, confidants and especially shopping buddies. Whether it be craft shows, thrift stores, antique shops or even the grocery store...seems it's always more fun to shop with a friend. We have so much in common, but the most ironic thing we have in common is our husbands boast the very same birthday. Which happened to be today. And to top it off, German Chocolate is both their favorite cake. So today we decided to put away the cake mixes and leave those tubs of frosting on the shelf. Today we were making cake FROM SCRATCH! I've had this wonderful home made German Chocolate cake recipe for over 30 years now, and use to make it for my husband in our earlier years of marriage. It wasn't long, though, before the scratch cake made way for the easier, more convenient cake mixes. So when we decided to take on this task of making not one, but TWO of these cakes, I knew what we were in for! After a trip to the grocery store and shopping for all the ingredients we needed, we came back to my house and went to work mixing, and measuring, adding this and adding that. And I discovered something very fast...it's so much easier and a lot more fun to bake with someone else. It wasn't long before our cakes were done and she was out the door with hers in hand to enjoy with her hubby.

My friend went with the sheet cake....much easier to frost, at least! And this way she didn't have to wait before the frosting cooled completely before frosting the cake.

I went with the traditional two layers I always make. I just like them better this way.

This is the best cake....down to the home made frosting! The recipe is below if you're interested in trying it. It's a little time consuming, but if you grab a friend to bake along with you, you'll be amazed at how fast the time will fly by and how much fun you will have in the process!

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 cup butter
2-1/2 cups AP flour
1 tsp. soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 full package German chocolate blocks
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs, SEPARATED
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar

Dissolve soda in buttermilk. Melt chocolate in boiling water. Beat butter and sugar until creamy; add egg yolks that have been slightly beaten. Add flour and buttermilk alternately. Add melted chocolate and then add egg whites that have been slightly beaten with salt. (I beat until frothy, not like a meringue.) Spray pans heavily or butter pans and flour. Bake at 350 degrees until layers spring back when touched in the center. It took our about 35 minutes. I also did the toothpick test.

FILLING:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 lg. can evaporated milk
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup coconut
1 stick butter
3 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla

Pour all ingredients into a heavy saucepan. Cook slowly until thickened. Remove from burner and let cool before frosting cake.