german chocolate cake

it was my uncle's birthday so i thought i'd try my hand at his favorite kind of cake. after doing a lot of research, i settled on this recipe from allrecipes.com and made a couple of changes per the suggestions given in the comments. one and a half the frosting recipe. also, i used a rectangular cake pan so i reduced the heat to 325 and baked it for 40ish minutes.

• 1/2 cup water
• 5 (1 ounce) squares German sweet chocolate
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour--or all-purpose minus 3T and sifted
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut, toasted
  
• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. To make the Filling: In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 cup butter, and 3 egg yolks. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened--just before you can tell it's about to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.

my uncle also LOVES motorcycles (although he loves hondas and not harleys), so inspired by the above picture, i tried my hand at fondant for the first time. after consulting with a couple friends and watching a bunch of youtube videos, here's what the final product ended up looking like:

considering my lack of experience and general artistry, i was pretty pleased with the result. happy birthday, uncle kevin!