German Chocolate Roll Up

First toast the coconut and pecans. Spread coconut and pecans on two separate cookie sheets and bake in a 350-degree oven. Stir every 2-3 minutes for 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown. The pecans may toast sooner than the coconut. Watch carefully!

Grease bottom sides of a jellyroll pan; line bottom with waxed paper. Grease and flour waxed paper. Set aside.

To prepare the cake roll, beat egg yolks at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick and pale. Gradually add 1/4 cup cocoa, beating well. Stir in the vanilla.Set aside.

Beat egg whites at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until stiff peaks form.Fold about 1/4 of beaten egg white into yolk mixture; gradually fold in remaining egg white. Sift cake flour over batter, and gently fold until combined.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Don’t over bake, it will make the cake dry. Sift 1 to 2 tablespoons cocoa on to a 15″x10″ rectangle on a cloth towel. When cake is done, immediately loosen from sides of pan, and turn out onto towel. Peel off waxed paper. Starting at the narrow end, roll up cake and towel together; cool seam side down.

Prepare the filling. Pour sweetened condensed milk into a medium size heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-low to medium heat, stirring constantly, 20 minutes or until milk turns a light caramel color. Remove from heat, and stir in coconut (reserve some for topping), pecans, vanilla and half-and-half.

Unroll cake, and remove towel. Spread cake with coconut filling. Carefully re-roll cake. Place cake, seam side down, on a plate. Place waxed paper under edges of cake.

Stir together whipping cream and corn syrup in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat, and add chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Spread chocolate mixture over cake; don’t forget the ends, letting excess drip onto waxed paper. I did this slowly to keep most of the frosting on the cake and not on the waxed paper. Garnish with reserved toasted coconut.