german chocolate cake

A few months ago, my fiancee and I were watching Bobby Flay's "Throwdown" on Food Network, 

and he made this cake. The theme was german chocolate cake. Bobby's creation looked amazing, 

and we knew we had to make it. My fiancee decided that my birthday celebration 

(this past weekend) was the perfect occasion.

We decided to make a few changes to Bobby's recipe. We simplified the filling/topping 

by using a can of dulce de leche flavored cajeta mixed with toasted coconut and pecans, 

and a little bit of coconut milk. We also substituted agave nectar for corn syrup in the ganache. 

(I have a thing against corn syrup. Just go with it.)

I prepped the pans with butter and parchment paper while my fiancee started the batter. 

Unfortunately, I do not have photos of everything step-by-step. For one, we were 

on a time crunch. Two, many of the steps are done on the stovetop and in fast succession... 

things would have been messed up if we pulled them off the stove or stopped for photos. 

Third, like most normal people, he is not used to stopping every 30 seconds and taking the

pot/pan/bowl over into the natural light by the window to take pictures.

So, please ignore the poor quality and lighting and lack of artistic value of these photos, 

and focus on how delicious and awesome this cake is instead:

the filling. caramel, pecan, coconut. I could eat just a bowl full of this stuff.

the ganache. made with agave, not corn syrup.

the cake. with filling. so beautifully dark and dense and decadent.

pouring on the ganache. yumm.

dripping in molten goodness.

and of course, freshly whipped cream.

a slice of heaven.