Originally published in May 2019.

My Grandma Carole is a strong and lovely human.

She will (rightfully) make fun of me if I’m too sentimental here, so I will just casually list off some facts about her:  Carole taught elementary school and also played guitar. She has a lovely voice and can harmonize flawlessly. Recently, she harmonized to “This Land Is Your Land” with my husband. I had emotions about it, but I will not list those along with these facts. Carole has perfect pitch, like her son, my father. She read me fairy tales growing up, but they were the real ones, not the watered down ones. Carole used to make all her grandchildren birthday cakes that were shaped like sailboats and dogs and covered in coconut.  Carole tolerates my phone calls. She likes detective novels and reruns of Friends. She recently got Amazon prime and a new knee. She sends a card for every holiday and never forgets a birthday. She is great at keeping track of everything on a calendar. She writes down every suggestion or recommendation anyone gives her.  Carole has dealt with a fair amount of loss throughout her life. She will hate that I put that here, I think. But, Grandma, I have a point to make. You are more clear about perspective than anyone I know. You always teach me to be grateful for the people I have in my life. And you somehow do it in quite a matter-of-fact way.  Carole also has the sweetest smile and such a good laugh. Every now and then, she curses more than one might expect.   Before we continue, I have to say I know how late this post is… It comes post-graduation. I am officially a Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders. I bring this up because I think part of my decision to pursue this career came from everything I learned about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as a result of Carole’s husband, Al’s, death. Al died before I was born. I’m lucky to know and adore three grandparents, but since I never knew Al, I was kind of obsessed with learning about him as a child. I learned he was a psychologist who loved chocolate. He could be kind of stern, but also quite funny. He had dark brown hair. His family fled Antwerp, Belgium when the Nazis invaded. He was a little boy when Antwerp was bombed. According to my dad, Al heard the noises and woke his older brother, who told him it was nothing– that they should go back to sleep. And then it wasn’t nothing. And then they left. He lived in New York, Wisconsin, and Hawaii. He married my wonderful grandma. They had two children, my father, Steve, and his sister, Lisa. Both are amazing. Al served in the army. He was one of the first members of the American Psychological Society. The National Register of Health Service Psychologists presents a Lifetime Achievement Award named for him every year. He had ALS for a short period of his life. A blip really, except not really because everything about his life, including the way it ended, has impacted his loved ones and their loved ones. My dad, for example, has volunteered for the DC chapter of the ALS Association for years. I pursued a career in speech-language pathology. My grandma moved out of the home they shared. And anyway, according to Atul Gawande’s important work, “Being Mortal,” which details, among other things, the importance of end of life conversations, “endings matter.” And they do. According to my dad, Al kept working as a psychologist for as long as possible until he died about a year post-diagnosis.  ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that more people know about post-ice-bucket-challenge. It impacts the body’s motor system, leaving cognition intact. Because of this, ALS patients are ideal candidates for augmentative and alternative communication devices that offer a way to communicate in increasingly technologically complex (and increasingly pricey) ways (e.g., eye tracking) as the disease progresses. Swallowing, another motor function we greatly take for granted, is also impacted. ALS affects both patients and their loved ones. There are wonderful organizations that offer support to both patients and caregivers facing this disease. For more information about ALS and to donate, I encourage you to visit the DC/MD/VA chapter of the ALS Association’s website, here.  Transitioning from degenerative disease to a cake recipe is tricky (despite the importance of levity), so forgive me for this abrupt topic change resulting from my only vaguely compatible dual interests in speech/swallowing disorders and baking… Let’s see… My grandpa liked chocolate… He married my grandma… Last year, my grandma let me bother her while we made a German Chocolate Cake together? This is a recipe she has been using and perfecting for years. It is my father’s birthday cake every year. She refuses to not make it.   So, first of all, this recipe originally comes from an old General Foods Kitchens cookbook, entitled “Baker’s Chocolate and Coconut Favorites.” But, as you can see, she has made some changes, including an index card with information about tempering eggs.

To start, set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter, flour, and line three 8- or 9- inch layer pans. And grab your ingredients.

My grandma likes to use the Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate and Swan’s Down Cake flour because the original recipe calls for those. 

Next, melt chocolate in boiling water. Yes, you heard me: chocolate in water. Not a double-boiler situation. I’ve been reading more and more recipes lately that actually call for this combination (e.g., water ganache for dripping down a cake), a strange phenomenon given the fact that I was always taught that chocolate + water = seizing disaster. There is even that movie, “Like Water for Chocolate” because it is so not something you are supposed to do. Do it anyway. Live life on the edge. 

Now, go ahead and cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, followed by the vanilla and then the melted chocolate. Blend. Then, mix together your flour, baking soda, and salt. My grandma does the best thing ever for this step. She learned it in Home Ec in high school. She scoops the flour with a spoon into the measuring cup and then levels it off with a knife over wax paper. Like, lots of people scoop and then level off with a knife– that’s normal– But this is just the most extreme level of care ever. And I am here for it. 

Next, add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the chocolate mixture, beating after each addition until the batter is smooth.

Finally, fold in the egg whites. Now, you can pour your batter gently into your prepared pans. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes for 8- inch layers or 30 to 35 minutes for 9- inch layers. Set them aside to cool.

In the meantime, you can prep the frosting. 

Heat the evaporated milk, sugar, butter, and vanilla over low-medium heat. 

Remove the mixture from the stove and add egg yolks gradually, starting with just 1 tablespoon at a time.

Heat the mixture, with the yolks incorporated, on the stove.
Last, add pecans and coconut.

Frost the cake once it has cooled.

Serve to strangers, loved ones, or anyone in between. Enjoy! Ingredients for the ‘Sweet Chocolate Cake’ from “Baker’s Chocolate and Coconut Favorites” – 4 oz German Sweet Chocolate – 1/2 c boiling water – 1 c butter – 2 c sugar – 4 egg yolks – 1 tsp vanilla extract – 2 1/2 c cake flour – 1 tsp baking soda – 1/2 tsp salt – 1 c buttermilk – 4 egg whites, stiffly beaten when you’re ready to use them  Instructions for the ‘Sweet Chocolate Cake’ from “Baker’s Chocolate and Coconut Favorites” 1. Set oven to 350 degrees and butter, flour, and line three 8- or 9- inch layer pans. 2. Melt chocolate in boiling water. Set aside to cool. 3.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy 4. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition 5. Add vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix until blended. 6. Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. 7. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to chocolate mixture, beating after each addition until batter is smooth. 8. Fold in egg whites. 9. Pour batter into three 8- or 9- inch layer pans, lined with parchment paper. 10. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes for 8- inch layers or 30 to 35 minutes for 9- inch layers.11. Cool, and then fill and frost with ‘Coconut-pecan Filling and Frosting.’  Ingredients for the ‘Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting’ – 12 oz evaporated milk – 1 1/2 c sugar – 3/4 c butter – 4 egg yolks, slightly beaten – 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract – 7 oz coconut flakes – 1 1/2 c chopped pecans  Instructions for the ‘Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting’ 1. Heat the evaporated milk, sugar, butter, and vanilla over low-medium heat. 2. Remove the mixture from the stove and add egg yolks gradually, starting with just 1 tablespoon at a time. 3. Heat the mixture, with the yolks incorporated, on the stove. 4. Remove from heat. 5. Add in the pecans and coconut.