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Homemade German Chocolate Cake, with two layers of scratch made cake, a sticky coconut pecan topping, and fudge frosting is everyone’s favorite cake!
Everyone loves a good homemade cake. Some may consider it the best dessert there is. And if you’re as big of a fan of cake as I am, you’ll surely want to make a Perfect Tres Leches Cake or a Marble Bundt Cake.
German Chocolate Cake
I love homemade cake. I can always tell the difference between a homemade cake where everything was made from scratch. I grew up on boxed mixes and frosting from a tub, but once I realized how wonderful scratch baking was, I’ve never looked back.
I had some extra cake and asked my friends if they wanted any. I could not believe how many people said that German Chocolate was their absolute favorite! For many people, they said it’s been their favorite since they were a kid!
What is different about German Chocolate Cake?
There are actually quite a few differences between a German Chocolate Cake and traditional chocolate cake.
First of all, the chocolate in the cake portion was intended to come from a sweet chocolate. This is different than milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate. If you see any recipes that call for chocolate chips or cocoa powder, know that you’re not going to get a cake that tastes like authentic German Chocolate Cake. In my opinion, milk chocolate is the closest you can get, unless you did what I did and use a combination of semi-sweet and blonde chocolate (which I think is the perfect combination for this recipe). Do you see how light brown the cake color is? Buttermilk is also a common ingredient of German Chocolate Cake.
Second, German Chocolate Cake is known for the custard-like topping that is full of pecans and coconut. I am a huge fan of coconut, and also love making coconut ice cream and coconut pudding.
Third, chocolate frosting is often seen on German Chocolate cake, however it is totally optional. I’ve seen cakes that are smothered in the coconut pecan topping without any frosting, and for me, that’s just too much. I also think a super creamy shortening frosting (like what you might get from a grocery store bakery) is a really bad choice for this cake. No. The only way to go is with a dark, rich, fudge like chocolate frosting like the one I’ve used. It’s the perfect compliment to the subtle chocolate flavor in the cake.
Why is it called German Chocolate Cake?
Think this cake originated in Germany, and that’s why it’s called German Chocolate Cake? Nope.
This cake was originally called German’s Chocolate Cake, after an American baker named Samuel German.
Does German Chocolate Cake need to be refrigerated?
This cake is most definitely best enjoyed right away, but I was surprised at how well it kept. I stored my cake in an air tight container at room temperature, and we were enjoying it for days.
If it makes you feel better to refrigerate the cake, you can certainly do so, but I kept it at room temperature and it was fine.
Love homemade chocolate desserts? Try these:
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!
- Chocolate Chip Banana Cake
- Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars
- German Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Watch how to make a German Chocolate Cake HERE:
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German Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 ounces milk chocolate
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 egg whites
Coconut-Pecan Filling and Topping
- 3 egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flaked and unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup softened unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Cut rounds of cooking parchment paper to fit each pan and then line the bottoms of the pans with the paper.
- Coarsely chop the 4 ounces milk chocolate. Gently heat the ½ cup heavy cream on the stove over medium heat until almost boiling. Pour the heavy cream over the chopped chocolate and allow to sit, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. Stir to combine and melt the chocolate. If the chocolate hasn't melted completely, microwave the mixture in 30-second intervals, stirring well between heating.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the 2 cups granulated sugar and 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter with the paddle attachment on medium to high speed until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down once to properly beat the mixture.
- Reduce the speed to medium and add the 4 egg yolks, 1 egg yolk at a time, into the sugar mixture until mixed. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate mixture and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- With the speed still on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and 1 cup buttermilk until fully incorporated. Once all ingredients are mixed in, increase the speed to high for just a few seconds to whip it together. Transfer this batter to a large clean bowl and wash the stand mixer bowl.
- Add the 4 egg whites to the cleaned stand mixer and attach the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Do not overmix. The whites should be light and fluffy; when you pull the whisk away, the peaks should hold a soft shape. Ff they are overmixed, they will break.
- Add egg whites to the batter and gently fold in using a rubber spatula to turn the batter over the egg whites, continuing until all of the egg whites are fully mixed in. Be sure to be as gentle as possible using the least amount of mixing required to fully incorporate.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans, using a rubber spatula to scrape the batter from the bowl. Smooth the tops of the batter with the spatula.
- Ensure oven racks are adjusted so that cakes bake in the center of the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cakes should also start pulling away from the sides of the pans once baked.
- Cool the cakes in the pans on a cooling rack. When the pans and cakes are still hot but cool enough to touch, flip cakes out of pan by placing your hand on the cake, inverting pan to release, then set back down on cooling rack with parchment round side down. Allow the cakes to cool fully on the cooling rack.
Coconut-Pecan Filling and Topping
- In a medium-sized saucepan, stir the 3 egg yolks, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup packed brown sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup evaporated milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract until well mixed. Cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently, until thick and bubbly.
- Stir in the 1 cup flaked and unsweetened coconut and 1 cup chopped pecans. Cool for 30 minutes, beating occasionally with a spoon until the mixture is spreadable.
Chocolate Frosting
- Add the ½ cup softened unsalted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle or whisk attachment, whisk until light and fluffy.
- Add the ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 cups powdered sugar and mix on low speed to combine. With the mixer running, add the ⅓ cup evaporated milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Once combined, increase the speed to high and blend until fully mixed and smooth. The frosting will be thick.
Assemble
- Remove the parchment rounds from the cakes. Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on a cake plate. To keep the plate clean, you can slide strips of parchment paper under the edges of the cake while you frost and then remove them once the cake has been decorated.
- Spread half of the coconut mixture over the top of the cake. Add second layer and spoon the rest of the coconut mixture on top. I left about an inch of space around the edge of the cake for the frosting.
- Add the chocolate frosting to a pastry back with a star tip. Pipe stars around the top edge of the cake. Pipe remaining frosting around the sides to coat and then use a spatula to smooth, taking care not to touch the stars on the top.
- Store cake in airtight container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
OMG…I didn’t make this recipe, but I had to try to offset Tera’s low rating – Tera, it doesn’t sound like you made this cake either, but what’s worse is that it doesn’t sound like you ever even read this recipe….in which she explains that it isn’t a German cake, it’s an American cake named for someone with German as a last name. If you are going to go around trashing cake recipes (and why?), at least read them first. Also, this recipe seems well constructed and worth a try. I’d love to hear from someone who gives it a go!
I am making it tomorrow, I wish I could post pictures. I have made a different scratch German Chocolate and the cake isn’t as moist as I like but my topping is crazy good! I want to try Alyssa’s and the recipe is different than mine and in hopes of a different result. I will definitely review it tomorrow!
I appreciate this very much, but contrary to what everyone thinks… I visited germany for 2 weeks, in search of “the best chocolate cake” for my pallet and to recreate when i returned to the states and… they dont use coconut. It’s not a thing. At all.