coconut pecan frosting

  

here is the frosting i use for german chocolate cake. this recipe has nothing to do with Germany, as far as i can tell. I believe the german chocolate cake was invented by the company now called German's (the unsweetened and sweet bar chocolate, in the baking aisle of the grocery store) as a marketing tool in the 1850's. the original frosting consisted of a cooked caramel with pecans and coconut added. since homemade caramel is a serious undertaking, this recipe is more of a cooked custard. if you're a really big butterscotch/caramel fan, you may like to substitute 1/4 cup of the white sugar for brown, or add a half teaspoon of molasses.

the traditional decoration for this cake is to use chocolate buttercream on the sides; and decorate it with chocolate buttercream, maraschino cherries, and maybe some chocolate curls. personally, i prefer a simple ganache (2/3 c heavy cream + 1 c semisweet chips melted together) with toasted coconut and pecan halves to decorate. oh, and maybe some pizzelles...

this recipe only makes enough for the filling and the top of a two-layer 8" cake. i suggest you double it for any other scenario.

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup white sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter, soft
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

1. in a small mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until pale and frothy, then add 1/4 cup (half if you're doubling) of sugar and beat until thick.
2. if you're really trying to impress someone, toast the coconut and pecans (separately, as the pecans take longer). otherwise, measure out the coconut and pecans into a large heat-proof bowl.
3. in a small-medium saucepan, heat the evaporated milk with the remaining sugar until just before boiling. temper the egg yolks by pouring some of the hot milk in (maybe 1/4 cup or so. again, half if doubling) and whisk, then add the now tempered yolks to the hot milk and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened (it will be bubbling).
4. add the butter in pats, then the vanilla,
5. dump the saucepan contents into the pecans and coconut and mix together.
6. use this frosting as soon as you can manage it, usually after cooling for about 30 minutes.

alternately, if you are only making a single size recipe, you can dump everything but the pecans and coconut in a saucepan and cook it until thick. it doesn't seem to get quite as thick as the above method, nor will it make you feel as much like a pastry chef.