My mother has always been known for her sweet tooth, and particularly her love of cake. Any family dinner or church covered dish dinner, everyone always wants to know what kind of cake Eva Mae baked. These are three of my mom’s best layer cake recipes, all family favorites: German Chocolate Cake, Red Velvet Cake and Strawberry Cake.

This may be my favorite of all of my mom’s cakes. She uses the Baker’s German Chocolate package recipe, but I have tasted German Chocolate Cake from others who also said they used this recipe and it didn’t measure up in taste. Their layers were dark where Mom’s layers are pale chocolate colored. I think they cheated and used a cake mix for the layers. Only my friend Marsha’s mom Mary Sue’s cake tasted just like my mom’s! This cake has fairly thick layers and therefore makes a relatively large cake.

1 4-oz package Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate

½ c boiling water

1 c butter

2 c sugar

1 c buttermilk

4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

2 ½ c sifted Swan’s Down Cake flour

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1. Melt Baker’s chocolate in boiling water. Cool.

2. Cream sugar into butter until fluffy.

3. Add 1 egg yolk at a time, until all 4 are added. Beat mixture well after the addition of each egg yolk.

4. Add melted chocolate and vanilla to butter, sugar, egg yolk mixture. Mix well.

5. Combine flour, salt, and soda and sift together. Add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk to chocolate mixture, beating after each addition until smooth.

6. Fold in the egg whites which have been stiffly beaten.

7. Pour into three 9-inch layer cake pans, which have been greased and floured.

8. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until layers are done, at 350 degrees.

9. Cool cake layers. Frost tops only.

COCONUT PECAN FROSTING

1. Combine 1 c evaporated milk, 1 c sugar, 3 egg yolks, ½ c butter, and 1 tsp vanilla.

2. Heat about 12 minutes in saucepan over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.

3. Add 1 1/3 c Baker’s Angel Flake coconut and 1 c chopped pecans.

4. Beat until frosting mixture is thick enough to spread. Apply to tops of cooled cake layers.

This cake makes medium sized layers.  I like chocolate frosting, but I have included the original coconut and nut frosting recipe. 

1 c butter

2 c sugar

3 eggs beaten

1 T cocoa

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp soda

2 ½ c plain flour, sifted

1 c buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2 oz red food coloring

1 T vinegar

1.  Cream butter and sugar. 

2.  Add beaten eggs.  Beat mixture until fluffy. 

3.  Make paste of cocoa and vinegar, and add butter. 

4.  Sift flour together with salt and soda.  Add this to mixture, alternating with milk. 

5.  Add red food coloring and vanilla. 

6.  Pour into 9-inch greased and dusted layer cake pans.  Makes 3 layers. 

7.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes until done, at 350 degrees. 

CHOCOLATE FUDGE FROSTING

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

½ c butter

1 lb pkg powdered sugar

½ c milk

2 tsp vanilla

1.  Combine butter and chocolate over low heat until just melted. 

2.  Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and milk. 

3.  Stir until smooth.

4.  Set bowl with icing in another bowl of ice and water. 

5.  Beat frosting until it is smooth enough to spread. 

COCONUT AND NUT ICING

1 c sweet milk

2 T plain flour

1 c butter (1 lb)

1 c sugar

1 c coconut (Mom only uses Angel Flake)

1 ½ c chopped pecans

1 ½ c black walnuts (These have a really strong taste.  You may want to use English walnuts instead.)

1.  Heat milk and flour, whisking to combine, until thick.  Set aside to cool. 

2.  Mix butter and sugar.  When mixture is completely cool, add to sugar and butter. 

3.  Beat until whipped cream texture. 

4.  Add coconut and nuts. 

5.  Frost tops of cooled layers. 

This makes a small cake. The layers are relatively thin, but packed with deliciousness.

1 box white cake mix

1 box strawberry jello

½ c frozen strawberries

4 eggs

½ c vegetable oil

½ c water

1. Mix cake mix with strawberry jello.

2. Add eggs to mix, 1 at a time.

3. Add other ingredients.

4. Bake layers according to times given on the package.

FROSTING

This frosting can be tricky. Mom says it is the humidity, that sometimes makes it runny, so you would need to add more sugar or less of the strawberry juice.

1 stick butter

½ c frozen sliced strawberries in syrup

½ box powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

1. Melt butter.

2. Add strawberries in syrup, powdered sugar and salt.

3. Mix thoroughly.

4. Frost layer tops and sides.

So now you have 3 of my mom’s best layer cake recipes, German Chocolate Cake, Red Velvet Cake and Strawberry Cake. Happy baking!