German Chocolate Cake is easily one of my favorite chocolate cake variations! This recipe features rich, ultra-moist chocolate cake layers paired with a sweet, nutty coconut-pecan frosting—how delicious does that sound?!
What is German Chocolate Cake?
German Chocolate Cake is made up of moist chocolate cake layers paired with a decadent coconut-pecan frosting that’s so good, you could literally eat it by the spoonful!
Despite its name, the cake doesn’t actually originate from Germany but is named after Samuel German, an American chocolatier who developed a special type of sweet chocolate used for baking (known as Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate). Authentic versions of this cake feature Samuel German’s chocolate bar in the batter (typically mixed with hot water to melt the chocolate before adding it to the batter) and buttermilk and egg whites (whipped to stiff peaks) are often used as well. It has a milder chocolate flavor with a light crumb, which is why I prefer to use a richer, dark chocolate cake base for this recipe—the recipe for the cake layers are adapted from my chocolate sheet cake recipe which has rave reviews, so you know it’s going to be good!
What really sets a German chocolate cake apart from other chocolate cakes, though, isn’t the cake itself but the frosting! Made with caramelized sugar, butter, egg yolks, coconut, and pecans, it creates a sweet, nutty, and slightly chewy texture. If you haven’t tried it yet, you need to—like, right now! You can thank me later 🙂
Some versions of German Chocolate Cake also have chocolate buttercream or chocolate ganache on the edges as an additional frosting, but when trying this out, I found that the chocolate frosting overpowered the coconut-pecan frosting (most of taste testers also felt the chocolate frosting wasn’t needed). Because of this, I decided to stick to the more authentic version which only has the coconut-pecan frosting!
How to Make German Chocolate Cake
You can find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card at the end of the blog post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is just a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (recipe video is also provided in the recipe card below).
Chocolate Cake
Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional and grease two 8 inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release). Line the bottoms with parchment paper as well.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined and set aside for now.
In a large bowl add in brown sugar, white sugar, milk, melted butter, unflavored vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until well combined.
Add in presifted dry ingredients from earlier to the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.
Add in hot coffee and mix with a whisk until well combined. The consistency should be smooth, but avoid overmixing.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans from earlier. Drop the cake pans lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
Allow the cakes to cool in the cake pans for 20 minutes, before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Coconut-Pecan Filling
To a medium sized saucepan, add in light brown sugar, evaporated milk and egg yolks. Mix with a whisk until well combined. Add in butter and place the pan over a medium heat.
Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently to make sure nothing is burning on the bottom of the pan.
Once it starts to gently boil (the butter should be completely melted by now), continue to let the mixture thicken for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remember to keep it on a low boil (reduce heat if necessary).
Once it’s slightly thickened, take the pan off the heat and add in vanilla, pecans and shredded coconut. Stir in until well combined.
Pour into a shallow dish and allow to cool to room temperature. You can cover with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for quicker cooling.
Assembly
Level the tops of the cake layers if necessary. Place the first cake layer onto your cake stand/serving place and place half of the frosting on top. Spread out using an offset spatula or spoon.
Place the second cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting on the top. This cake is decorated as a ‘naked cake’ so has no frosting on the edges, though you can make extra frosting and cover the sides if you like! Slice and enjoy 🙂
How to Store German Chocolate Cake
German Chocolate Cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days. For longer storage, place it in the refrigerator, ensuring it is well-sealed to prevent it from drying out. It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to a week.
German Chocolate Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1¾ cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (75 g) cocoa powder - I use natural cocoa for this recipe (see note 1).
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt - only use 1/2 tsp if using salted butter in this recipe
- 1 cup (200 g) soft light brown sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (180 g) milk - room temperature, whole milk
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter - melted
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavored vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 2½ tsps vanilla extract/essence
- ¾ cup (180 g) strong hot coffee - I use 1 tbsp instant coffee powder in 180g (¾ cup) hot water, but you can use espresso as well.
Coconut-Pecan Frosting
- ¾ cup (150 g) soft light brown sugar
- 1 cup (240 g) evaporated milk -
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- 2 tsps vanilla extract/essence
- 1 cup (100 g) pecans - roughly chopped
- 1½ cups (120 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease two 8 inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release). Line the bottoms with parchment paper as well.
- Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined and set aside for now.
- In a large bowl add in brown sugar, white sugar, milk, melted butter, unflavored vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until well combined.
- Add in presifted dry ingredients from earlier to the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Add in hot coffee and mix with a whisk until well combined. The mixture should be smooth, but avoid overmixing.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans from earlier. Drop the cake pans lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles and bake for 38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the cake pans for 20 minutes, before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
Coconut-Pecan Frosting
- To a medium sized saucepan, add in light brown sugar, evaporated milk and egg yolks. Mix with a whisk until well combined. Add in butter and place the pan over a medium heat.
- Bring to a low boil, stirring frequently to make sure nothing is burning on the bottom of the pan.
- Once it starts to gently boil (the butter should be completely melted by now), continue to let the mixture thicken for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remember to keep it on a low boil (reduce heat if necessary).
- Once it's slightly thickened, take the pan off the heat and add in vanilla, pecans and shredded coconut. Stir in until well combined.
- Pour into a shallow dish and allow to cool to room temperature. You can cover and place into the fridge for quicker cooling.
Assembly
- Level the tops of the cake layers if necessary. Place one cake layer onto your cake stand/serving place and place half of the frosting on top. Spread out using an offset spatula or spoon.
- Place the next cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting on the top. This cake is decorated as a 'naked cake' so has no frosting on the edges, though you can make extra frosting and cover the sides if you like! Slice and enjoy 🙂
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
17 Comments
Hi MK. I have tried some of your recipes and it really turns very well. I wanted to check if the coconut filling can I omit the egg yolk. Is that will be ok without using the egg.
Thank you again for sharing so many recipes.
So happy you’re enjoying the recipes Prema! 🙂
I wouldn’t recommend omitting the egg yolks as they add to the texture and flavor. I haven’t tried a substitute yet unfortunately so can’t recommend anything at this stage sorry!
Your recipe looks amazing and I would love to make it. One question about the cocoa powder. Can I use dark cocoa powder or does it taste better with the regular cocoa powder? Thanks!
Thanks so much Marie!
I would recommend using natural cocoa powder as dark cocoa powder will intensify the color and flavor of the sponge cake layers 🙂
This is the first cake I made from scratch. I couldn’t find a bakery to make it in time.
I’m quite pleased with the result, even though I didn’t sift the sugars. I didn’t manage to get all the lumps out with my pestle. The cake was taller than I expected. I didn’t level it as you did. I may try 9-inch pans next time.
I notice the ingredient amounts automatically change when 1/2X or 2X are selected, which is nice. We are on our own for the cooking times though.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Will! 🙂
Ahh yes so with the change in quantities, the pans should be adjusted e.g. 1/2 would be enough for one 8-inch pan and 2x would be enough for four 8-inch pans. Because the pans are the same the cook time will be the same 🙂
If you decide to make a thinner cake then reduce the cook time, for a thicker cake increase the cook time. May take a bit of trial and error to get the perfect cook time but hope that helps!
Thanks so much again for the great feedback 🙂
This cake was AMAZING! I wouldn’t change anything. The chocolate cake is soft and moist and the frosting is perfectly delightful. 10/10 recommend this recipe!
Aww yay! Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback Anna 😀
Would it be okay to use three eight inch pan? I don’t have any pans that are three inches deep.
Hi Judy! 🙂
You could use three 8 inch pans, just keep in mind the cake layers will be thinner and will bake up a bit faster. You can try distributing the batter between two pans and if there is some space at the top of the cake tin then it should be fine as two layers, however if the pans seem over full then yes 3 pans may work better 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
You forgot the milk! In the instructions. So I forgot the milk🙈 will see how it turns out with no milk
Hi Alex! The milk is stated in the third step (after the white sugar) – sorry to hear you missed it, but just be sure not to overbake the cake (it will probably require less time to cook) and hopefully it should be okay 🙂
Hi where can I buy unsweetened coconut? Is it tbe fresh coconut?
Hi Margaret! 🙂 For this recipe you want to use dried, shredded coconut, which you can usually find in the baking section at the grocery store 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Do I have to use coffee?
Hi Anna! You can omit the coffee if you prefer and just use the hot water on it’s own (3/4 cup – 180g of hot water) 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
When making a similar cake using the hot coffee,. I substitute the same amount of hot water and a couple of tablespoons of the cocoa.