German Chocolate Cake with German Chocolate Frosting

It's called a German Chocolate Cake, but zero German chocolate was used. So what does that make it? Really it's just a good ol' rich chocolate cake with that traditional coconut and pecan frosting. The frosting is CRAZY good. My 5 year old took a spoon to the pan and sat on a bucket in the kitchen scraping off the sides until there was absolutely no trace left.

So, legit German Cake or not, this recipe will be used and used again in our house! Hop over to A Dash of Sanity to check out the background on this amazing cake!

What you will need:

Cake

• 2 C white sugar
• 2 C all purpose flour
• 3/4 c cocoa
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 C milk
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 C boiling water

Frosting

• 1 C evaporated milk
• 1 C white sugar
• 3 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 C chopped pecans
• 1 C coconut
• 1 T cornstarch

Directions:

Cake

• Preheat oven to 350*
• Grease 2 9x9 round cake pans, 3 8x8 round cake pans, or 1 13x9 cake pan (I just made 2 9x9 cakes)
• Add all dry cake ingredients into a mixing bowl or Kitchen-Aid and blend well
• Add all wet ingredients except for boiling water one by one and blend well
• Add in boiling water little by little until mixed in
• Blend for about 1 minute after water has been mixed in
• Pour even amount of cake batter into each cake pan
• Bake about 30-35 minutes
• Allow to cool completely

Frosting

• In a sauce pan, mix evaporated milk and sugar together
• Add in cornstarch, mix well
• Add sugar and eggs, blend well
• Bring to a slow boil
• Start stirring constantly for 12 minutes while it thickens
• Add in vanilla and mix in
• Remove from heat and stir in pecans and coconut
• Let it cool before frosting

Raspberry Sauce

Well, this stuff was a goldmine to find at The Gunny Sack! I made it a few months ago for my daughters birthday because she wanted cake waffles? So I had to think up a few toppings to use for those. This was one of them and everyone loved it.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I tried to make a layered cake for my sons birthday. I made this sauce to layer between the cakes. The cake fell apart and I was left to just go buy a little cake for my son instead. I picked up a cheesecake for everyone else and....tuh duh! Still had some raspberry sauce I could use with it.

So, this stuff is basically a staple. Use it on ice cream! Cake! Cheesecake. Waffles. Pancakes. Whatever you want! It's so incredibly easy and just so darn delicious. My husband goes nuts over it.

What you will need:

• 12 oz. raspberries
• 1/4 C water
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 2 T cold water
• 2 T cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt

Directions:

• On medium heat, cook the raspberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan until the raspberries start to break down (about 5-7 minutes) 
• Combine the cold water and cornstarch in a small bowl and add to the raspberry sauce
• cook for about 30-60 seconds until the mixture is thickened
• Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt
• Let the sauce cool and then store in a container in the fridge

Garlic Bread (Garlic Butter)

A while back I wanted garlic bread but didn't want to go to the store to get some of that pre-made stuff you stick in the oven to warm up. But rubbing some raw garlic all over a piece of toast didn't sound great either (yeah, that's literally what I heard one time....on the FOOD NETWORK. WHAT?). I told myself to just suck it up and figure something out.

I took a pretty simple approach to the whole thing but really wanted the flavors to stand out. What I came up with is extremely fool proof and I have been using it on EVERYTHING. Including the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks. I used it for my Baked Salmon and added in some other seasonings with some lemon juice. It's just so nice to have this recipe on hand!

What you will need:

• 1/2 tsp. butter
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 stick butter, softened
• Any seasonings you'd like. A safe bet would be some thyme or rosemary

Directions:

• Grate the garlic into the 1/2 tsp of butter while it's warming up in a pan
• When the butter is melted and the garlic has swam around for a tiny minute, pour (and scrape every last bit of the butter/garlic along with it) into a small bowl with the softened 1/2 stick of butter
• Mix in any seasonings you like
• Spread over bread slices
• Bake at 375 for about 10-15 minutes

Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks

So I usually make garlic bread with some nice bread from the bakery and my own garlic butter spread. So when I found this recipe for dough to make bread sticks I had to try it out! She and I do our garlic spread a bit different but I'm sure either way will be delicious! My husband was going to be late for dinner and I literally had to bribe my kids to leave him some of these. They were extremely upset, but obliged and left him 3. He took one bite and "MMMMMMMM" with his eyes closed. They're good. Real good.

What you will need:

Bread Sticks (can also be used for pizza dough!)

• 1 C warm water (I aim for 110*)
• 2 1/4 Active Dry Yeast
• 1 T sugar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 T olive oil
• 3 C bread flour (I used all purpose and it still ended up amazing! I only ended up using 2 3/4 C)

Garlic Butter Spread (and cheeses)

• 6 T butter, softened
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 T seasonings of your choice ( I used a blend of some rosemary and thyme but get creative! Or skip this step, it won't matter :) )
• Grated Parmesan cheese to taste
• Grated Mozzarella cheese  to taste

Directions:

Bread Sticks

• In your mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over your warm water and let it activate and foam up
• Add salt, olive oil and half the flour to the mixing bowl and combine
• Add flour 1/2 C at a time until your dough is sticky but won't come off onto your fingers when you touch it
• Knead the dough for 6 minutes exactly 
• The dough will be able to scoop out of the bowl and not be stuck to the sides
• Scoop the dough out and mold it into a bowl
• Spray your mixing bowl with non stick spray and put the ball of dough back in
• Cover with plastic wrap or cover with a towel and place somewhere warm to rise for 1-2 hours
•  Preheat the oven to 500*
• Roll out the dough out into a nice big circle
• Spread the garlic butter all over on top
• Sprinkle both your cheeses on top (I also added a little parsley to mine)
• Bake in the oven for 9 minutes

Garlic Butter Spread

• Grate garlic into the softened butter and mix together
• Add your seasonings (optional) and combine
• Spread over dough
• Top with cheese

Peperoncini Cream Cheese Spread

I've never been a fan of peperoncini's. But I have them in my fridge, and I like the flavor of them. Does that even make sense? This spread is ridiculously delicious. This needs to be at every restaurant stat. I love it sooooo much. It is absolutely unbelievable with chicken milanese!

What you will need:

• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 C. sour cream
• 6 oz. pepperoncini's, minced (you could blend these up really well if you don't want bits in the spread)
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1 T pepperoncini juice
• 1 tsp. Creole seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

Directions:

• Using a mixer or food processer (food processer will get it extra creamy), mix together cream cheese and sour cream
• Add in minced (or blended) pepperoncini's, mix well
• Add in pressed garlic, mix well
• Add in pepperoncini juice, Creole seasoning and onion powder, mix well
• Serve on baguette bread slices, crackers, or use it as a spread for a sandwich