German Chocolate Cake - Coconut Pecan Frosting

• 1/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup pluss 3 TBS. Butter or margarine, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 4 eggs


• 2 cups flour


• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 cup butter milk or sour milk


• Coconut pecan frosting (Recipe follows)


• Pecan halves (optional)
  

*to sour milk: use 1 table spoon white viniger -or- lemon juice to every 1 cup milk.

1. Heat oven to 350*. Grease and flour three 9-in. round baking pans. Combine cocoa and water in small bowl; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.


2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until fluffy. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with chocolate mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture. Mix only until smooth. pour batter into prepared pans.


3. Bake 25 to 30 min. or until top springes back when touched lightly. Cool 5 min; remove from pans. Cool compleatly on wire rack. Prepare Coconut Pecan Frosting; spread between layer and over top. Garnish with pecan halves, if desired.
   

Coconut Pecan Frosting

• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetend condensed milk
  
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten


• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1 1/3 cups sweetend coconut flakes


• 1 cup chopped pecans
  

place sweetend condenced milk, butter and egg yolks in saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickend and bubbly. Remove from hear; stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans. Cool to room temperature.