30 Years of Marital Bliss!

Today is a day to celebrate! Its the celebration of two of my most favorite people in the entire world. The two people who have made me what I am today! On this Gorgeous 30th of January my sweet, adorable parents celebrate their 30th Wedding Anniversary

Were they not the most adorable little hippies you've ever seen? 

In honor of their 30 years of marital bliss I decided they deserved a treat! My dad has an obsession with German Chocolate cake, and my mother is just a lover of all things cake. So German chocolate was exactly what I was going to bake for them. Although I knew this certainly was not going to be an easy task, but I was up for the challenge!

The German Chocolate Cake has many different pieces that have to go into creating the batter. Its not your average flour, sugar, eggs, and milk. There are many different steps and you have to take each one carefully and slowly.

I found the recipe for this German Chocolate cake on All Recipes website 

Music: No music today, just enjoying the silence in the kitchen.

I started off by melting one bar of Bakers chocolate with about a 1/2 cup of boiling water. I then set it aside to allow it to cool.

In the Kitchenaid I started the base for my batter with a stick of Butter and sugar. Mixed it together until it was nice and fluffy then added in my egg yolks.

Once the yolks were completely mixed in, I added my completely cooled chocolate mixture.

It looked like the most perfect chocolate mouse. I would have probably eaten it just like this!

Once the chocolate was completely mixed in I had to start to sift my cake flour, baking soda and salt together. Sifting flour and dry ingredients is a task that I loath...

This is why! Sifting 2 1/2 cups cake flour and baking soda through a hand held strainer is not an easy task! I guess its time to upgrade to an actual sifter! 

It was then time to add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter alternating flour and milk. After that was mixed in, I removed the batter bowl from the mixer and switched out for a clean bowl to beat the egg whites until they formed stiff peaks! Once the egg whites were peaks I carefully folded them into the batter. This was a nerve racking task. If you stir them in to fast it can completely ruin your cake. I made sure to take nice slow folds around the bowl until I could no longer see the whites of the eggs.

Half way through and I was feeling good! 

The next step was to add the delicious looking batter to three 9 inch cake pans that have been floured and have parchment paper lining the bottom.

And into the oven they go! I was excited and nervous all at the same time! I was hoping for the best with these little babies!

While the cakes were baking I started on the frosting! The frosting seemed pretty simple, you just have to make sure you get it to be the right consistency. I needed the pecans to be nice and toasty, so I put them in the oven on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes to get the full flavor out of them.

While those were toasting I started to cook the butter, sugar, evaporated milk, egg yolks and vanilla over medium heat until it was all melted together.

Once that is all melted down to a buttery liquid, I added the toasted pecans and yummy coconut flakes.

YUM!!!! It was time to let the frosting sit until it was cooled completely so it would get that delicious gooey consistence

Out of the oven came the cakes and they looked fabulous! I could not have been more proud of myself! The real test of course would be the taste test!

I had to wait patiently for all 3 cakes and the frosting to cool! My excitement grew just waiting to assemble it! Once it was finally time I carefully assembled the triple layer cake with just the right amount of frosting under each layer

TA-DAAAAAA!!!!

How gorgeous is that! I could not wait to take it over to my parents for their anniversary treat! The transport was interesting. Thankfully Jake fashioned a little cake carrier out of an old box and it sat safely on the car floor while I slowly drove to deliver it.

Adorably cutting their anniversary cake with same cake knife they used 30 years ago at their wedding. It does not get much cuter then that!

It was a hit! I believe that was what my parents decided to have for dinner last night and my dad indulged in a piece for breakfast this morning!

The cake took about 3 hours all in all to create, but it was well worth it! It came out perfect and my parents loved it! So Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad. I hope to have as happy and healthy of a marriage as you've had! I love you both more then you'll ever know.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 4 (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
• 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
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 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 low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread.
6. Spread filling between layers and on top of cake. In a small saucepan, melt shortening and 1 ounce of chocolate. Stir until smooth and drizzle down the sides

(Recipe adapted from All Recipes.com)