So, one of my friends wanted German chocolate cake for his birthday, and I have delivered! Two cakes, actually, to split it between our households evenly (we're observing it later in the week, but are giving it tomorrow). It's a complex recipe that requires a lot of steps, but despite never having made this kind of cake before, it was a great success!

Traditionally, the sides are unfrosted so that the pecan-coconut frosting shows through, but I chose to whip some ganache into a light, sweet frosting to look more like a standard cake, and balance the extra sweetness with some extra-dark ganache drizzle.

The cake itself is a special flour ratio of my own creation using cake flour, bread flour, and corn flour. It came out light, tender, springy, and ULTRA chocolatey.