Cake #4: Chocolate Cola Cake with Toasted Coconut-Pecan Frosting

Yet again this was a very different recipe than any other recipe I have ever done!

I had a little help today from a good friend (shocker #1 - as I don't bake with anybody and nobody wants to be in the kitchen with me when I'm baking! But today was a special exception because I haven't seen this friend in like half a year). I only let him prepare the pans and measure the flour though...that's all I could let him do! ;)

Starting with the frosting. It called for 28 ounces of sweetened condensed milk to which you boil in a glass dish covered with foil sitting in a water bath for 2 hours at 350 degrees F. Yikes! That was a long process in itself. Good thing I read the recipe ahead of time. So before lunch I put it in the oven and let it sit there for 2 hours, stirring it twice just as the recipe said. It got all carmelized and thick.

Next was the cake which called for cherry cola or Dr. Pepper! I had to go to a couple stores to find a small bottle of Dr. Pepper (I actually wasn't able to find cherry cola of any brand!). It's hard to come by apparently. So instead of adding dry and wet ingredients (usually milk) you add the dry ingredients and Dr. Pepper alternately in the last step! Very odd but supposedly very Southern.

I discovered that I don't actually have 9 inch pans (shocking?!) and so I used two 10 inch pans instead. The cake turned out fine but the presentation just wasn't as impressive with just 2 layers. Too bad. I really should have used my three 8 inch pans.

Taste Rating: 8 out of 10 - The super chocolately flavour and the carmelized sweetened condensed milk were good on their own but I don't think the flavours complimented each other. Next time I'd try a chocolate buttercream or any frosting for the same cake.
Texture Rating: 7 out of 10 - I liked the texture of the cake, although P has decided that he likes fudgy cake (like the Sour Cream Chocolate Cake) while some other tasters today liked the drier but fluffy texture of today's cake. I'm more of a fan of this type of cake. The texture of the frosting was okay too - I wasn't really a fan of the bits of coconut or pecans although I thought it would taste really good over vanilla ice cream. And together, the textures just didn't compliment each other.
Overall Rating: 8 out of 10 - I'd make both recipes again, just not together.
Difficulty Rating: 6 out of 10 - Today's recipe wasn't difficult but it was time consuming with needing 2 hours for preparing the frosting.

ETA: Pictures and to say that over time this cake tastes better! The next day, after refrigeration and sitting (as recommended by the recipe) it was more moist and the flavours just came together. This is definitely a make ahead cake.