Recap: German Chocolate Cake

(It's come to my attention, that my blog has been very slow loading. I suspected it was all the clutter, the large pictures or or or what?? I have no idea what else to do now. I have re sized photos, cleaned up some clutter, and even for me it loads quicker (We have high speed internet) but not as fast as it could. I hate that some of my readers are not able to read my blog, I wish I knew what else to do. Any ideas or tips?)

A couple of years ago, I posted about this cake. You can look there if you like, but these photos are much better, haha!

I've made this for my Husband's birthday twice now, and the one thing I remember the most from it is, the frosting! It. is. so. good!
I just wish the cake was more chocolaty brown in color. See, it's not so photogenic when sliced. It's not a dry cake, it's delicate I guess, it just crumbles when sliced, and the colors meld together. I wish I could've photographed a piece for you.
Another thing about this cake, it is HUGE! 3 layers tall. Yes, the cake has been hanging around here all week, it's that big. The recipe for the frosting yields enough to go between the layers and on top, as show. I would double it if you want to frost the entire cake. Or double it, so you can have a bowl of it yourself! ;) haha.

1/2 cup water
4 (1 ounce) squares Baker's German sweet chocolate (Baker's green box)
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease and flour 3 - 9 inch round pans.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat water and 4 ounces chocolate until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.
In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain.
Pour into 3 - 9 inch pans Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto wire rack.

Filling/frosting: (May double to frost entire cake)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut, lightly toasted
1 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon shortening
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, and 3 egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.
Spread filling between layers and on top of cake. In a small saucepan, melt shortening and 1 ounce of chocolate. Stir until smooth and drizzle over of the cake.

~ allrecipes and found here also.