Absolutely Perfect German Chocolate Cake
I don’t really like coconut. I’m not a huge fan of nuts. Or caramel, or other things that are too sweet. And yet…somehow I’ve always loved German chocolate cake.
Truth be told, I’d never had a homemade German chocolate cake. Ever. Even though my family was an “ingredients” household growing up and baked everything from scratch, German chocolate cake and brownies were the two boxed/store-bought exceptions for some reason. But WOW, this recipe is so good!
Annndddd….say hello to my new place! It know it’s been a bit quiet here the past few weeks, and that’s because I was very rapidly packing up my entire life, buying a house, selling a house, and moving halfway across the country to start a new job. Shew, it’s been an intense couple months.
I already REALLY miss my gorgeous green sunroom rug, but am excited to have a kitchen that actually gets natural light and will let me take prettier photos as I cook.
Okay okay, back to the cake, which my sister asked for as her birthday cake. The recipe I adapted was intended for a layer cake (which honestly I’ve never seen for a German chocolate cake). It also, bafflingly, called for a chocolate buttercream in addition to the traditional frosting. No thanks.
I ended up going lazy and doing a 9×13, which I think suits this better. I did feel like there was too much frosting vs. cake, and so my final recipe decreases it by about a third. And trust me, it is still plenty. The only challenge with this is that it leaves you with some leftover evaporated milk, but throw it in your coffee and call it a day.
(Side note…did I accidentally make the frosting with sweetened condensed milk once instead of evaporated??? Yes, yes I did…)
In fact, even with decreasing the frosting, I still felt it was a bit sweet, so I added some bigger-crystal sea salt to the frosting and went a tiny bit scant on the sugar in the cake. After a few different versions, I believe that this is PERFECTION.
What kind of chocolate is used in German chocolate cake?
As the name suggests, it uses German chocolate, which is apparently a thing. But not a thing I’ve ever seen at the store. It is an American invention, by a guy named Samuel German. It’s sweeter than most baking chocolate, and seems lighter (in color).
What can you substitute for German chocolate?
You can easily buy it online, but if you’re pressed for time and don’t have it—like me the first time I made this cake—you can use Bakers semi-sweet chocolate plus 1/2 tablespoon of sugar for every ounce of chocolate.
How to make homemade German chocolate cake
Make sure to read through the recipe below and the timing notes that I’ve provided. I did the timings wrong a couple times, and it is salvageable but not ideal…
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 pan and set aside.
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the German chocolate (broken into pieces) and hot water, and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with whisk attachment), mix the buttermilk, sour cream, and oil until combined. Then whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, Postum or espresso powder, sugar, and salt, along with the melted chocolate mixture. Gently mix until everything is incorporated. It will be a very liquid batter.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and (carefully) bang the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool mostly or entirely before frosting.
To make the frosting, first you’ll toast the coconut and pecans in the oven. Spread them on two ends of an extra-large baking sheet (keeping them separate) and bake for 5-7 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until toasted. Once they’re cool enough to handle, chop the pecans very fine.
In a large saucepan, add the butter, brown sugar, egg yolks, evaporated milk, and fine salt.
Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, as the mixture comes to a low boil. Once boiling, whisk constantly for 5 minutes (I suggest setting a timer), until thickened. It should be thickened to a custard-like consistency…thick but pourable.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and large-crystal sea salt, then add the chopped pecans and toasted coconut. Stir everything together and let it cool completely before using, around 2 minutes. If it doesn’t seem quite thick enough once it’s cooled, you can stir in a bit more coconut.
Frost the cake. It’s best served at room temp, though you should store it in the fridge if you’ll be keeping it more than a day or two.
This cake is entirely too dangerous to have around the house. I ate like…seven pieces, sneaking one bite every so often and then it was just…gone.
This German chocolate cake makes any occasion seem special, and is a great make-ahead dessert option for a big gathering (since it stays super moist)!
Other insanely delicious chocolate cakes:
- Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Cake With Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Blackberry Red Wine Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone Frosting
- The Best, Easy Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
- Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake With Peanut Butter Glaze
- Chocolate, Cinnamon, & Almond Loaf Cake
- Chocolate Stout Cake with Ganache
Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings
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The Best Homemade German Chocolate Cake
You'll never go store-bought again! This homemade German chocolate cake is insanely delicious and super easy to make. Pair a rich, fudgy chocolate cake with the iconic caramel pecan coconut frosting for a special treat that's perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
- CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 4 ounces of Baker’s German sweet chocolate
- 3/4 cup of hot tap water
- 1 cup of buttermilk, room temp
- 1/2 cup of full-fat sour cream, room temp
- 1/2 cup of olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 eggs, room temp
- 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
- 219 grams (1 ¾ cups) of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 2 teaspoons of Postum or espresso powder (NOT instant coffee)
- 1 2/3 cup of granulated sugar (I still go a bit scant)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- COCONUT PECAN FROSTING
- Slightly heaping 1 3/4 cups of sweetened coconut
- 1 cup of whole pecans (NOT chopped yet)
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup of light brown sugar, packed
- 4 large egg yolks
- 8 ounces of evaporated milk
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon of big crystal sea salt (not regular fine salt)
Instructions
- TIMING NOTES: Before we start, let's talk timing...you don't want to frost the cake when it's super hot, AND the frosting needs to set for 25 minutes once it's done, before putting on the cake. So your best bet is to pull the cake out of the oven and then make the frosting, let it sit for ~25 minutes, and it should be perfect. Or you can bake the cake a bit ahead of time and then it will be totally cool when you frost it.
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 pan and set aside.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the German chocolate (broken into pieces) and hot water, and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with whisk attachment), mix the buttermilk, sour cream, and oil until combined. Then whisk in the eggs and vanilla.
- Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, Postum or espresso powder, sugar, and salt, along with the melted chocolate mixture. Gently mix until everything is incorporated. It will be a very liquid batter.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and (carefully) bang the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let cool mostly or entirely before frosting.
- Make the frosting: Spread the coconut and pecans on two ends of an extra-large baking sheet (or a large one and a half-sheet, separately). You want to keep the pecans separate, as you'll need to chop them later. Bake for 5-7 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until toasted. Once cool enough to handle, chop the pecans very fine.
- In a large saucepan, add the butter, brown sugar, egg yolks, evaporated milk, and fine salt.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, as the mixture comes to a low boil. Once boiling, whisk constantly for 5 minutes (I suggest setting a timer), until thickened. It should be thickened to a custard-like consistency...thick but pourable.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and large-crystal sea salt, then add the chopped pecans and toasted coconut. Stir everything together and let it cool completely before using, around 2 minutes. If it doesn't seem quite thick enough once it's cooled, you can stir in a bit more coconut.
- Frost the cake. It's best served at room temp, though you should store it in the fridge if you'll be keeping it more than a day or two.
Notes
If you can't find German chocolate, you can use Bakers semi-sweet with 1/2 tablespoon of sugar per ounce.
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