Classic German Chocolate Cake vs Maritozzi con la Panna (Sweet Buns with Cream)

Both desserts lean on butter, sugar and eggs, but put them to very different work. In the German chocolate cake, egg yolks, butter and evaporated milk are cooked into a thick frosting loaded with shredded coconut and chopped pecans, spread over cocoa layers made with buttermilk and oil. Maritozzi use butter and egg to enrich a yeasted, orange-zested dough kneaded until smooth and elastic, saving the yolk for a glossy egg wash. The cake is rich, nutty and chocolatey; the golden buns are soft and puffy, split open and generously filled with vanilla whipped cream.