Sorry this took so long. It just slipped my mind. I figured I'd post it here instead of PMing you in case anyone else wanted it.
Cake:
0.5 cup water
4 (1 oz) squares German Sweet Chocolate
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
2.5 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
0.5 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
Frosting:
1.5 cups white sugar
1.5 cups evaporated milk
0.75 cup butter
4 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups flaked coconut
1.5 cups chopped pecans
1.5 teaspoons vanilla
Preheat over to 350F. Generously spray 3 nine-inch round pans with cooking spray. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat water and 4 ounces chocolate until melted (I do this in a double boiler). Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks, one at a time. Blend in the melted chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing until just incorporated. In a large glass mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites in the batter, then quickly fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. Pour into 3 nine-inch baking pans. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pans then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting/filling: In saucepan, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened (will take at least 25 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in coconut, pecans and vanilla. Cool until thick enough to spread - refrigerate or 30-60 minutes. Frost between layers then all over cake. Chill to set frosting. Let cake come to room temperature before serving.
The frosting is the tricky part. It needs to cook long enough to be thick enough to stay on the cake, or else you just get a sticky runny mess. I put some on a spoon and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to check the consistency when cool.