German Chocolate Cake & a Wedding Anniversary

Kirk and I celebrated 7 years of marriage today 🙂 We were married in the botanical gardens at our town’s park by the now-husband of one of my good friends, who had been a minister in a earlier part of his life. It was a very low-key wedding, no debt, no real worries. Just friends, a few family and a mostly nice weather day. I am proud to say we did it for under $500 and no one had to sit through an insufferable long-winded ceremony (er, wait, everyone was standing anyways!). It was as someone said “the shortest sermon/ceremony ever”. No snooze-inducing candle lighting or prayer readings here 😉

 

I had a hot date with glue gun and designed the cake stand for my cakes (by designed I mean glued a bajillion things all over it….) I did a forest scene which you can’t see from this view, a glade in the forest, complete with a lake, deer, tent, backpack  dog, birds and even a bear. And so much fake ivy 😉 My poor husband. Hey, he got lucky. He didn’t have to wear a tux or even a tie….so he was happy with whatever I did. DId I mention I was so frugal our cakes came from Sam’s Club and cost $13.50 each? And were really good? I looked at it this way: I could go into debt for something that didn’t really mean a lot to me (having a huge wedding) or I could put it into our mortgage and go to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons for vacation. The choice wasn’t hard. And I had a great trip in the Rockies…hah!

 

So that brings me to making a cake. I just needed an excuse I guess. I love baking (duh) and once in a while I break out the full octane cakes. This weekend at the market sealed that deal, when the lady who raises turkeys saw me and smiled. She had an entire dozen of them under the counter, for me. Turkey eggs are something that is better than the best chocolate. They are huge eggs, with deep golden orange yolks. The shells are so thick you have to rap them hard to break. Turkey eggs are not commercially viable, the lady turkeys are nearly wild and only lay eggs when they feel like it. Her turkeys roam freely, she has to hunt for their nests to even collect the eggs. Some weeks she has none. Some weeks she might have a 6 pack. Then I get a dozen at once. As of tonight we have 2 left. Oops.

As I have said, I don’t have an issue if what I consume was produced ethically, morally and with love for what one does. I support local and get a rare reward for it 🙂

 

So with my treasured eggs, I made Kirk a German Chocolate Cake for our anniversary.

 

German Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 4-ounces sweet baking chocolate (labeled German Chocolate), chopped
• 1½ cups milk
• 1½ sticks unsalted butter (¾ cup)
• 3 large eggs
• 1¾ cups granulated sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 batch Coconut Pecan Frosting (see below)

Directions:

Allow butter and eggs to warm up to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Heat milk and chocolate over medium-low in a small saucepan, until chocolate melts. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly oil or spray the bottom of two 8×8″ square cake pans, place a square of parchment paper cut to fit into each pan. Oil or spray the paper and pans, set aside.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking power and salt in a small bowl, set aside.

Add butter to a stand mixer bowl, beat on low for 30 second, then on medium-high for 2 minutes.

Add sugar, ¼ cup at a time, on low, until beaten in and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, until beaten in, add in vanilla.

Alternately add chocolate mixture and flour to butter mixture, beating on low-speed after each addition, until just combined. Beat on medium for 30 seconds after last addition.

Divide batter into pans.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from center.

Let rest on a wire rack for 10 minutes, gently flip over and remove pans, peeling off parchment paper. Let cool fully before assembling.

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 10 ounces evaporated milk (non-fat or whole, comes in 5 and 12 ounce cans)
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter (½ cup)
• 2 2/3 cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup pecans, diced

Directions:

Beat the eggs together, add to a medium saucepan with the evaporated milk, sugar and butter. Heat over medium, whisking often, until bubbling and thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Take off the heat, stir in coconut and pecans. Cover tightly with a lid, set aside to cool completely. Stir well before frosting cake.

To assemble:

Place one layer of the cake on a serving platter/plate, spread half the frosting on top, place second layer on top, frost with remaining mixture.

Let set up before slicing.

Makes 1 lovely and very large cake!

PS: I am going to Disney Social Media Moms Celebration “On The Road” in Bellevue, Washington next week!

 

I am very excited to attend the half-day conference. There is a Facebook group page up and it is amazing how supportive these ladies are! It’s been a few years since I was at Disneyworld (and even more so for Disneyland) and while I am not a rabid Disney-aholic, I love how Disney really works with Moms to encourage them to be what they could be. And the networking should be wonderful.

 

I still want to live in a castle just like that. I was in love with it my entire childhood!  (Me at Disneyworld before I got pregnant with Walker).

~Sarah