Butter, then line bottoms of three 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Over low heat in a small saucepan, gently melt chocolate with coffee or hot water, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Combine lemon juice with milk in a glass and set aside to curdle.

Separate eggs and beat whites until stiff peaks form but the whites aren’t dry. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in cooled, melted chocolate/coffee mixture and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together gfJules Flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add flour mixture to creamed sugar mixture, alternating with lemon/milk mixture and beating after each addition until smooth. Gently fold in egg whites and be sure not to over-work the batter. (See photos above recipe card)

Distribute batter evenly between the three pans. Bake in preheated oven for 24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.

Remove to cool on a wire rack before removing to fully cool after the first ten minutes in the pans.

Arrange chopped pecans in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 5 minutes, stirring once to prevent burning (remove if you start to smell the pecans cooking). Remove to cool completely.

In the meantime, combine sugars, evaporated milk, butter and egg yolks in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to help the butter melt and prevent the mixture from burning.

Continue to cook once it begins to bubble, stirring constantly for 15 minutes until the mixture is light brown in color and has thickened somewhat. If using coconut evaporated milk, whisk in 1 tablespoon sifted gfJules Flour after about 12 minutes of stirring in order to thicken the mixture. Continue stirring until all lumps are smoothed.

Remove pan from the stovetop and stir in pecans, coconut and vanilla extract. Transfer to another pan to help dissipate the heat and place pan in a larger pan filled with ice water to help the frosting chill faster or cover and refrigerate overnight. Be sure frosting is completely cooled before frosting cakes.

Cover the tops of each of the three cake layers with frosting and refrigerate the cake if the room is particularly warm.