This homemade German Chocolate Cake Recipe is filled and topped with a coconut pecan frosting and all coated in a chocolate buttercream. The Perfect cake for any and all occasions.
This German Chocolate Cake Recipe in my opinion is incredible! It’s extremely moist and very tender, yet still stands up to both of the phenomenal frostings.
It’s packed full of flavor from the toasted pecans, toasted coconut, and German chocolate, but nothing is too overwhelming or overpowers anything else.
This all just works together. My family is obsessed with a good German Chocolate Cake, in fact, we’ve used this cake recipe as multiple birthday cakes this year and it’s been wonderful.
The toasted pecans and coconut just adds a whole other dimension of flavor to the coconut pecan frosting and it just can’t be topped.
But, that homemade buttercream frosting adds a fun touch that while optional, feels totally necessary. I mean I’m a chocolate person and when I can have more of it, nothing will stop me.
If you love a good homemade cake, chocolate and desserts, then you need to try my German Chocolate Cake Recipe, it might just become a new baking staple.
Some of our other favorite cake recipes we have on our site include: Triple Chocolate Cake, Yellow Cake, and Flourless Chocolate Cake.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM)
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Fine sea salt
Baking soda
Granulated sugar
Light brown sugar
Vegetable oil
Eggs
Buttermilk
Vanilla extract
German baking chocolate
Water
Unsalted butter
Egg yolks
Evaporated milk
Toasted sweetened coconut flakes
Toasted chopped pecans
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar
Whole milk
Pecan halves
HOW TO MAKE A GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE, STEP BY STEP:
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Spray the top of the paper with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Whisk in the melted chocolate until combined.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk together until there are no lumps remaining.
- Pour in the boiling water and whisk to combine.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the two cake pans. Bake for 23-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pan completely on a wire rack.
Frosting/Filling:
- While the cakes are cooling, make the pecan coconut frosting. Place the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in a saucepan.
- Whisk until combined, there will be some chunks of butter, that’s normal and fine. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until it comes to a low boil. Continue whisking until it starts to thicken, this takes about 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, toasted coconut, and toasted pecans and stir in until combined. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Once the cakes and pecan coconut frosting are cooled, make the chocolate buttercream. In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and the melted chocolate together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully mixed in.
- Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk, stir it in until combined. Place the mixer on medium-high speed and whip for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. If the frosting seems too thick, add the extra 1 tablespoon of milk.
Assembly:
- Take the cooled cakes out of the pan and trim off the top if it is uneven. Place one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving platter.
- Frost with a thin layer of chocolate buttercream on top of the cake.
- Add half of the coconut pecan frosting on top and smooth it out almost to the edge, leaving a half-inch border.
- Add the other cake, top side down on top.
- Next add a thin layer of chocolate frosting on top and on the sides of the cake.
- Add the remaining coconut pecan frosting on top of the cake, leaving a ½ inch border.
- Pipe the remaining chocolate frosting around the top edge of the cake, I used a 1M star tip. Garnish with pecans halves if desired, serve immediately.
HOW DO YOU TOAST THE PECANS AND COCONUT?
To toast your pecans, preheat the oven to 350°F. In a single layer on a sheet tray, put your pecans down and put them in the oven. Roast them and turn the nuts every 2 minutes, or until they become aromatic, which usually takes about 5-8 minutes.
Remove the sheet of pecans and immediately place them on a plate, they will continue to toast until they become room temperature.
To toast the coconut, preheat the oven to 350°F. Add the coconut in a single layer on a sheet tray, and place the tray in the oven. Toast, turning every 2 minutes until the coconut start to brown, which usually takes about 5-8 minutes.
Remove them from the oven and pour the coconut onto a plate. They will continue to toast on the plate until they cool down to room temperature. I always remove my coconut a shade or two before what I want because the coconut will continue to brown as it cools down.
DO I HAVE TO USE GERMAN CHOCOLATE?
The German chocolate is what makes this cake an actual German Chocolate Cake. If you swap the German chocolate out for a different chocolate, it’s just a chocolate cake with frosting.
It will still be delicious, but it will no longer be an actual German Chocolate Cake. But you can switch out the chocolates for milk chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
HOW DO YOU MEASURE BOILING WATER?
Always be careful when dealing with boiling water. I like to add more water than what the recipe calls for that way I don’t have to worry about anything boiling off.
Add you water to a saucepan, then once it’s boiling, measure it and pour into the batter.
CAN I FROST THE WHOLE CAKE WITH THE COCONUT PECAN FILLING/FROSTING?
Yes, if you want to forgo the chocolate buttercream for this recipe you can absolutely make more of the coconut pecan filling/frosting.
Instead, make 2 – 2 1/2 times the recipe for the coconut pecan frosting. this should give you enough to be able to fill the center and the sides fully.
If you want to just do the center and the top and make a naked cake you can 1 1/2 times the recipe for the frosting.
HOW TO STORE:
German Chocolate Cake can be stored at room temperature covered with plastic wrap or in a cake saver where it will keep for up to 2 days.
Additionally, you can freeze this cake or any leftover cake slices in a freezer safe container where they will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator overnight until thawed, then let come to room temperature before enjoying.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Instead of using semi-sweet chocolate in the buttercream, try using some melted German chocolate for some extra chocolate flair.
- If you can’t find German chocolate, then you can try semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
- While I highly suggest taking the time to toast the coconut, if you don’t have the time, or don’t want to, you can use sweetened coconut flakes out of the bag along with chopped pecans.
- The buttercream frosting is optional and I feel it really makes this cake, but if you don’t want to use it you don’t have to. Instead, make 1 1/2 times the recipe for the coconut pecan frosting and you will still add half of the coconut pecan frosting between the cake layers and use it on top as well. This will be more of a naked cake, if you want you can make even more and frost the sides.
- This cake is easier to cut once you’ve chilled it. But I still suggest serving it at room temperature if possible.
- You can freeze this cake, see above on how to do that.
Ready for something different than your traditional Chocolate Cake? Then you must make this moist and flavorful German Chocolate Cake Recipe!
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German Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces German baking chocolate chopped and melted
- 1 cup boiling water
For the Pecan coconut frosting:
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 ¼ cup toasted sweetened coconut flakes
- 1 ¼ cup toasted chopped pecans
For the chocolate frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted and cooled
- 4 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
- Pecan halves for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 9-inch cake pans with baking spray. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Spray the top of the paper with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Whisk in the melted chocolate until combined.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk together until there are no lumps remaining.
- Pour in the boiling water and whisk to combine.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the two cake pans. Bake for 23-28 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pan completely on a wire rack.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the pecan coconut frosting. Place the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in a saucepan.
- Whisk until combined, there will be some chunks of butter, that’s normal and fine. Place over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until it comes to a low boil. Continue whisking until it starts to thicken, this takes about 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, toasted coconut, and toasted pecans and stir in until combined. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Once the cakes and pecan coconut frosting are cooled, make the chocolate buttercream. In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter and the melted chocolate together until smooth. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully mixed in.
- Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk, stir it in until combined. Place the mixer on medium-high speed and whip for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. If the frosting seems too thick, add the extra 1 tablespoon of milk.
- Once the cakes and pecan coconut frosting are cooled, make the chocolate buttercream. Take the cooled cakes out of the pan and trim off the top if it is uneven. Place one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving platter.
- Frost with a thin layer of chocolate buttercream on top of the cake.
- Add half of the coconut pecan frosting on top and smooth it out almost to the edge, leaving a half-inch border.
- Add the other cake, top side down on top.
- Next add a thin layer of chocolate frosting on top and on the sides of the cake.
- Add the remaining coconut pecan frosting on top of the cake, leaving a ½ inch border.
- Pipe the remaining chocolate frosting around the top edge of the cake, I used a 1M star tip. Garnish with pecans halves if desired, serve immediately.
Notes
- Instead of using semi-sweet chocolate in the buttercream, try using some melted German chocolate for some extra chocolate flair.
- If you can't find German chocolate, then you can try semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
- While I highly suggest taking the time to toast the coconut, if you don't have the time, or don't want to, you can use sweetened coconut flakes out of the bag along with chopped pecans.
- The buttercream frosting is optional and I feel it really makes this cake, bu if you don't want to use it you don't have to. Instead, make 1.5 times the recipe for the coconut pecan frosting and still add half of the coconut pecan frosting between the cake layers and use it on top as well. You'll find that it may end up more of a "naked" cake.
- This cake is easier to cut once you've chilled it. But I still suggest serving it at room temperature if possible.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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