Piece of cake? Not exactly.

My dad's birthday was this past Sunday and he requested a German chocolate cake, which my mom asked me to bake. I was excited to do it, since I rarely make cakes or frosting from scratch. Based on recommendations from the What's for Dinner board on the Nest I used the Baker's recipe for both the cake and the frosting. Things with the cake started off rocky. What a pain in the a@@ that cake was! Separating eggs, melting chocolate, whipping egg whites, folding ingredients. It honestly took me close to an hour to prep my baking pans and mix up the batter for the cake. The cakes went into the oven just fine though, and after 30 minutes they were brown and crisp on the edges and tested done in the center. When I tried to remove them from the pans, however, each layer fell completely apart. They did not seem to be cooked all the way through, although they had seemed to be done... After a mini temper tantrum on my part (which may or may not have included me cursing and hurling broken chunks of cake into the sink) I ended up making the cake with a box mix the next morning. I did, however, proceed with the coconut-pecan frosting, and that turned out wonderfully! And the cake looked beautiful, homemade or not. I'm posting only the recipe for the frosting, because that cake recipe can go to hell. Happy birthday, Dad!

Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting

4 egg yolks
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 pkg. (7 oz.) BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut (about 2-2/3 cups)
1-1/2 cups PLANTERS Chopped Pecans

BEAT egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with wire whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
ADD coconut and pecans; mix well. Cool to room temperature and of desired spreading consistency.
USE to frost your favorite cake or cupcake recipe.