A traditional homemade German Chocolate Cake made from scratch with layers of moist and delicious chocolate cake and topped with lots of a rich coconut and pecan frosting!
German Chocolate Cake
Any time I share a cake recipe with you guys, it’s always a great day! I just love cakes, they make me happy. As a matter of fact, whenever there’s a family gathering, I always volunteer myself to bring dessert, just so that I can make a cake or a trifle. One of my favorite cakes is German chocolate cake. I don’t make it often, but when I do, it’s a really good day, heck it’s a good week if I don’t give it away to family or friends, because I’ll be eating from it the whole week.
The chocolate cake is my usual buttermilk chocolate cake that I use all the time. I even used this recipe for my red velvet cake and modified it a bit. What can I say, it’s a no fail recipe and it always comes out perfect time after time. Why mess with a good thing? The only thing I did do different is cut out the sugar a bit in the cake by 1/2 cup only because there’s plenty of sugar in that coconut pecan frosting.
What Is German Chocolate Cake
Which is what this cake is all about, that coconut pecan frosting. I seriously could eat that on its own, no cake needed, it’s just that good. I mean it has two of my favorite ingredients, coconut and pecans. You just can’t go wrong.
But believe it or not, German chocolate cake is really not German. It’s actually from the US and it’s a chocolate cake filled wand topped with coconut-pecan frosting.
How to Make German Chocolate Cake
It really is easy to make this cake. There are two steps to making it.
Make the cake and let it cool completely. I’ve made this cake many times before, and I’ve made it in different pans, but I prefer this 3 layer cake most of all just because I think it looks prettier.
You can however make it in a 9×13 inch pan, though I would still cut it in half to make it into a 2 layer cake because you do want this frosting incorporated throughout the cake.
While the cake is cooling you can make the coconut-pecan toping. Make sure to let everything cool completely before assembling the cake.
Can You Make German Chocolate Cake in Advance
Yes, you can make this in advance. You can make the coconut pecan frosting at least a day in advance and then store it in the fridge until ready to use.
You can also make the cake and bake it then let it cool completely. You can then wrap the cakes in plastic wrap tightly then stick them in a ziploc bag or freezer bag. Freeze for up to a month.
How Do You Store German Chocolate Cake
I prefer to cover the cake and then refrigerate it. You can also leave it on the counter if it’s covered, but I would recommend keeping this cake in the fridge for up to 4 days.
I really hope you give this cake a try, it really is simple to make, basic cake ingredients, but if you follow the recipe exactly you will end up with one of the most moist, tender and fluffy cakes. Trust me, it’s really worth your while.
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German Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Cake batter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot coffee
Coconut-Pecan Topping
- 12 oz evaporated milk (1 can)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup butter unsalted
- 2 2/3 cups sweetened coconut shredded or flaked
- 2 cups pecans , coarsely chopped
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- You will need 3 cake pans, each 8 inches in diameter. Cut out 3 parchment paper circles that will fit inside the cake pans. Place the parchment papers inside and using some melted butter or cooking spray, butter each pan well.
- In a large size bowl or the bowl of your mixer combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. With the mixer still on low speed, slowly add the coffee and continue mixing until everything is well combined and smooth. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula and mix as needed. Pour the batter into the 3 prepared pans, equally.
- Bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until baked through. Do the toothpick test, insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, it’s done. Let the cake cool in the pans for about 30 minutes then turn them out onto a cooling rack or a cutting board and cool completely. To get nice flat layers, cut the top of the cakes (the dome part) with a very sharp knife.
Coconut-Pecan Topping
- In a medium heavy saucepan combine evaporated milk, and vanilla, sugar and butter; cook on medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly so mixture does not burn. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans. Cool to room temperature.
- To assemble the cake, place one cake on a serving platter and spread about 1/3 of the frosting evenly. Repeat with the 2nd cake layer and frosting, then place the last cake and spread the rest of the topping. Drizzle with chocolate syrup if preferred.
We love German chocolate cake so we can’t wait to make this! You stated that we can make this in a 9 x 13 pan as well but are we adjusting the baking times at all?
It should still take about 30-35 minutes, but do the toothpick test and insert it in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean it’s done.
This cake was AWESOME…CHOCOLATY….SUPER MOIST. Since I do not care for evaporated milk I used heavy cream and used egg yolks and I toasted the coconut and pecans…it CHANGED THE GAME! I also loved your presentation of your cake. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this cake for my birthday. It was very good. It was not my favorite cake I have made but it was definitely good. I guess I am spoiled as I have made a carrot cake that is prized in our family. I also just found a chocolate peanut butter cake that is close to my carrot cake. I loved your cake but not the frosting as it was not my cup of tea. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I appreciate it.
This cake is a hit. Easy enough to prepare and assemble and tastes great. I used walnuts instead of pecans and had to make a buttermilk substitute because I didn’t have any buttermilk on hand,