We celebrate with cake!

Traditions...

It’s that time of the year for Tracy’s birthday cake. Decadent German Chocolate Cake I might add. In 19 years we have never made anything else.
October 22nd means we get to enjoy this yummyness!

Note to my hubby...
I can’t believe that it’s been 20 years...(October 18th, 1989) since I saw the most handsome young man in my Pearl of Great Price class at Rick's College. Wearing a navy blue and white striped turtleneck, a white cardigan sweater with burgundy and navy blue stripes around the neck and black penny loafers with your curly hair and trendy eyeglasses! It truly was love at first sight and I can’t believe that out of all the all the girls at Rick’s College that I got to be the lucky one to date and marry you!!

Birthday Highlights...

NOW to the cake....

VERY yummy and easy to make!
Other than the occasional Angel Food Cake, I have never made a cake from a mix from the store. Flour, sugar, salt, soda, eggs, butter, cocoa powder, vanilla and milk are the ingredients used to make a chocolate cake from scratch.

Taking staple ingredients and turning them into something yummy and enjoyable is so much fun for me!
The German Chocolate topping is actually staple ingredients at my house as our food storage always has sugar, cans of evaporated milk, coconut, butter and walnuts available to grab.

German Chocolate Cake
(Cake)
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
In a mixer bowl stir together flour , sugar, baking soda and salt.

1 cup butter
1 cup water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
In a saucepan combine butter, water and cocoa powder. Bring just to boiling, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Add cocoa mixture to flour mixture; beat with electric mixer on low speed until just combined.

2 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Add eggs , buttermilk and vanilla; beat on low speed for 1 minute. (batter will be thin). Put batter in greased/floured 9x13 inch pan (OR 2 round cake pans).
Bake in 350 degree oven until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (30-35 minutes)
Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan if desired.

(German Chocolate Frosting)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
pinch salt
1 cube REAL butter
1 can evaporated milk
Boil ingredients until it thickens. Cool.
Then add
2 tsp.vanilla, 2 cups coconut and 1 cup chopped walnuts OR pecans. Then put on top of chocolate cake. After I put the topping on the chocolate cake, I always chill it for 1 to 2 hours to set it up.

Enjoy!
I just LOVE Tracy's birthday cake tradition.
SO yummy, so easy and SO good!