German Chocolate Cupcakes

As a kid, one of my favorite things to do was to go to my grandma’s house for homemade German food.  To this day, my dad practically drools when he talks about my grandma’s German cooking, and I have a standing promise to smuggle a doggy bag each time I go over.  :)  In addition, each time we visit Leavenworth, he makes a comment about how their food has nothing on grandma’s.  I think some of the cooks in that town are going to ban him if they overhear him say that again.  ;)  One thing I will admit is that I never cared for German Chocolate cake as a kid because I swore I didn’t like it.  Little did I know what I was missing!

A couple of months ago, a friend asked me to make her some German Chocolate cupcakes for a birthday party.  I said yes, thinking it would be a great new recipe to try.  Holy smokes – I practically poured the frosting directly in my mouth!  It was phenomenal and Your Cup of Cake is to thank for the frosting.  I used my chocolate cake recipe and pair those two together and we had magic in a cupcake liner!

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Sift the cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.
3.  In alarge bowl, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.  Add eggs in one at a time.  Mix in the sour cream and milk until there are no streaks, then add vanilla.
4.  Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until completely combined.
5.  In cupcake liners, fill them 2/3 full by using a regular sized ice cream scoop.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

German Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1 1/2 cup flaked coconut

Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, constantly stir evaporated milk, sugar, yolks and butter until thickened (basically until it boils – about 15 minutes)  Stir in the vanilla, pecans and coconut.  Let the frosting cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.