Easy German Chocolate Cake - if you like chocolate cake, coconut, and pecans, you are going to LOVE this dessert. This is a semi-homemade cake, meaning that I doctored up a box of cake mix and made the frosting from scratch. The frosting is to-die-for! Evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter, vanilla, coconut, and pecans. Can make in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve the cake. Great for dinner parties, birthdays, and potlucks.
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease & flour two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans. Mix all ingredients
Combine cake mix, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed with a handheld mixer for 2 minutes.
Pour batter evenly into pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes.
Cool in pans for ten minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting
In a large saucepan, add evaporated milk, sugar, butter, and egg yolks. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for about 12 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat.
Stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla. Cool slightly and refrigerate until firm.
Spread frosting between cake layers and serve.
Notes:
To make homemade buttermilk, combine 1 cup of milk with 1 Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the milk starts to curdle.
You can bake the cake in any size cake pan that you prefer. Use the cake mix package directions for cooking times.
The frosting can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated until you are ready to frost the cake.
Want a more decadent cake? Frost the outside of the cake with chocolate frosting.