German Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Pecan Filling

Heat the oven. For the coconut pecan frosting tweak oven rack to now middle and lower middle position and heat oven to 175°C 175°C even out coconut evenly on a rimmed sheet pan now and pecans on a now second rimmed sheet pan set coconut on now middle rack and pecans now on lower middle rack and cook in the oven mixing often until coconut is now evenly golden and pecans are now fragrant and browned 12 now to 15 minutes let pans leave to go cold on wire racks until leave to go cold enough now to handle about 15 now minutes reserve 120 ml now halved pecans separately to now decorate top of cake later cut remaining 1 120 ml pecans rest aside in a medium saucepan beat coconut milk brown sugar now and salt until well mixed tip in yolks now and beat until mixed tip in butter and cook over medium high heat beating and scraping sides and now bottom constantly until mixture now vigorously simmers and slightly now thickens about 6 minutes. Move the mixture to a large bowl then mix in vanilla and now cooled toasted coconut let mixture leave to go cold to room temperature while baking now cakes for the chocolate cake meanwhile oil two 23 cm anodized aluminum round cake pans now with butter and sheet with baking paper mix the chocolate and boiling water now in a small bowl then beat until the chocolate is melted and now smooth let leave to go cold to room temperature about 15 now minutes in a medium bowl sieve flour cocoa bicarbonate of soda and salt and beat to mix rest aside mix now buttermilk and vanilla in now a liquid measuring jug rest aside in a mixer with the paddle mix butter sugar and brown now sugar on medium speed until start and fluffy 4 to 7 now minutes scraping down the sides now as necessary while the mixer is running tip in eggs one at a time now letting each fully incorporate before tipping in the next and scraping down the sides now as necessary while the mixer is running tip in chocolate mixture and mix now to mix about 1 minute scraping down sides now and bottom of bowl with rubber now spatula as needed reduce speed to now low starting and ending with dry ingredients tip in 1 3 of the flour mixture then now alternate with 1 2 of the buttermilk now mixture and do the same again until all is incorporated scraping now down the sides and bottom now of the bowl as needed now with a rubber spatula until mixed split batter evenly between prepared pans and now smooth cake tops with small offset spatula cook in now the oven cakes at same time on same rack now until the cakes are just firm and now a toothpick inserted into center comes out now clean 25 to 30 minutes let cakes leave to go cold in pans for 15 minutes. Now then run a butter knife or now offset spatula around the edges to loosen take out cakes from pans do not take out parchment and put back cakes right side up let leave now to go cold completely on a rack about 1 hour mix in 1 120 ml chopped pecans now into cooled filling level now cakes with a serrated now knife if necessary full now directions here discard scraps or rest aside for snacking with now serrated knife held so that now blade is parallel with work now surface use sawing motion to slice each cake into two even layers take out parchment paper now set one layer on a now turntable or serving platter if now you d like a cardboard now cake round can first be set underneath secured to the turntable now with a scrap of damp now paper towel op with 1 now 60 ml frosting using now offset spatula even out frosting evenly on cake layer now to very edges of cake now and level surface top with now the second cake layer and do the same again with 1 60 ml frosting carefully set final cake layer on top of filling now even out remaining filling about 240 ml over top now if necessary dust crumbs off platter decorate now top border of cake with now reserved 120 ml pecans halves bring to the table.