I have an absolute mob coming over for dinner on Sunday, as I posted
earlier (the menu, anyway) and I changed my mind about doing my tried
and true German's chocolate cake in favor of a twist on it that I read
about a while ago: "Inside Out German Chocolate Cake." El Jefe (my
boss) had a CLE class all day today ("Continuing Legal Education"), so
after running to the office this morning to put out whatever fire
needed dousing, I played hooky most of the day.

This led me to making the above labor-intensive dish that I've been
itching to try. I learned a few things just from the initial baking of
the cake, but #1 is OMG IS THIS CAKE DELICIOUS!!! <shouting necessary
to convey degree of enthusiasm> I'm kind of pushing the boundaries of
"Cake keeps...3 days," but it's the only way I'm going to get
everything made by Sunday. I made a couple of cupcakes so I could do a
taste test - yum! I think if I changed anything, I might use
buttermilk instead of milk to make the cake a little more dense, but
other than that, it's absolutely wonderful:

@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format

Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake

desserts

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened; dutch-process cocoa powde
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup boiling-hot water
7 oz sweetened flaked coconut
4 oz coarsely chopped pecans (1 cup)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
10 oz fine-quality semisweet chocolate; finely chopped
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
special equipment: 3 (9-inch) round; cake pans

Make cake layers:

Preheat oven to 350°F and oil cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with
rounds of parchment or wax paper. Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa
powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk
together whole milk, butter, whole egg, yolk, vanilla, and almond
extract in another large bowl until just combined. Beat egg mixture
into flour mixture with an electric mixer on low speed, then beat on
high speed 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and beat in water until just
combined (batter will be thin). Divide batter among cake pans (about 1
1/2 cups per pan) and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven,
switching position of pans and rotating them 180 degrees halfway
through baking, until a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes
total.

Cool layers in pans on racks 15 minutes.

Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks.
Carefully remove parchment or wax paper and cool layers completely.

Make filling:

Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Spread coconut in a large shallow baking pan and pecans in another.
Bake pecans in upper third of oven and coconut in lower third,
stirring occasionally, until golden, 12 to 18 minutes. Remove pans
from oven. Increase oven temperature to 425°F.

Pour condensed milk into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and cover
tightly with foil.

Bake milk in a water bath in middle of oven 45 minutes. Refill baking
pan with water to reach halfway up pie plate and bake milk until thick
and brown, about 45 minutes more. Remove pie plate from water bath.
Stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla and keep warm, covered with foil.

Make glaze while milk is baking:

Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan.

Remove pan from heat and add chocolate and corn syrup, whisking until
chocolate is melted. Transfer 1 cup glaze to a bowl, reserving
remaining glaze at room temperature in pan. Chill glaze in bowl,
stirring occasionally, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour.

Assemble cake:

Put 1 cake layer on a rack set over a baking pan (to catch excess
glaze).

Drop half of coconut filling by spoonfuls evenly over layer and gently
spread with a wet spatula. Top with another cake layer and spread with
remaining filling in same manner. Top with remaining cake layer and
spread chilled glaze evenly over top and side of cake. Heat reserved
glaze in pan over low heat, stirring, until glossy and
pourable, about 1 minute. Pour glaze evenly over top of cake, making
sure it coats sides. Shake rack gently to smooth glaze.
Chill cake until firm, about 1 hour.

Transfer cake to a plate.

Cooks' notes:

* Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days.

* Bring to room temperature before serving.

* For easier handling when assembling cake, place bottom layer on a
cardboard round or the removable bottom of a tart or cake pan.

* Using 2 ovens and simmering the condensed milk on the stove cuts the
time in half.

Contributor: Epicurious/Gourmet 03/00

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
--
"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

To reply, replace "meatloaf" with "cox"