Momma made cakes weekly. She never wanted our table to be empty should someone stop by for a visit. She was a great hostess. Now the serving dishes never matched. Some were even chipped. If anyone noticed, no one ever said a word because they were too busy getting a second helping.

Her cakes were usually always from scratch. While I love making scratch cakes, I have also discovered some cake mixes that I love to use. I “doctor” them up as Momma taught me. This cake was made using the Perfectly Moist German Chocolate Cake from Duncan Hines. While their cake calls for 1 cup of water, 3 large eggs, and 1/3 cup of oil, Momma’s voice in my ear will not allow me to do that. I use 4 large eggs, 1 cup of milk, and 6 tablespoons melted and cooled butter. Sorry Duncan Hines but Momma believed in “improving” everything.

Now, she never measured anything but this frosting is pretty close. She believed in “Pet” milk which is evaporated milk in a can by Carnation. She often substituted margarine because butter was so expensive.

This frosting is so easy. All your ingredients (except pecans and coconut) go into a saucepan on medium heat. Make sure that your egg yolks are just the yolk. Any white of the egg will scramble and you will have to dip out.

When you add the ingredients, stir well and get to cooking. It will thicken fairly quickly. Stir frequently and take off the heat and add your nuts and coconut. That will absorb all of the goodness you just cooked.

My cake depicted in the picture is an 8-inch three-layer so I chose not to frost the sides. I love to add some chocolate buttercream topping with some additional garnishments to give the appearance of a “fancy” cake.

I hope you will try this cake. Consider cutting a few slices and giving to someone that may be having a hard time, a shut-in, someone that may have just had surgery or the like. Life is about choices. Choose being a giver. Choose thinking of others. Sometimes this helps our own feeling about ourselves and gets us out of the doldrums. That’s what Momma said.

Yield: Enough for 2 or 3 layer cake

EASY COCONUT PECAN FROSTING

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Cooked coconut-pecan frosting for your German Chocolate cake

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes 15 seconds

Total Time 25 minutes 15 seconds

Ingredients

• 1 cup Carnation evaporated milk
• 1 stick (4 oz) butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 egg yolks (room temp)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups Baker's coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, add butter, milk, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla.
2. Cook on medium heat stirring frequently until it thickens. As it thickens, you will see bubbles forming and you will see consistency change.
3. Take off heat and add pecans and coconut and stir in with a heavy spoon.

Notes

Be sure the milk is evaporated and NOT sweetened condensed milk.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 223Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 55mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 2gSugar: 23gProtein: 3g

Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.

“A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend.” – Unknown