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My dad’s favorite birthday cake is German Chocolate Cake. I’ve made a few tweaks since I’m making it from scratch by increasing the chocolate flavor and covering this layered chocolate cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting and Chocolate Coffee Buttercream. This breaks the tradition for a German chocolate cake recipe.
Here are more chocolate desserts to sink your teeth into: Texas Sheet Cake, Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls, Blackout Cake, Chocolate Pound Cake, Chocolate Parfaits, and Chocolate Banana Pudding.
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Who invented German Chocolate Cake?
Perhaps the name should be called Texan German chocolate cake, as the cake was created by a Texan in 1957.
The first mention of the cake was in the Dallas Morning News in 1957 when Mrs. George Clay submitted her recipe for German Sweet Chocolate Cakes in hopes it would be featured in the “Recipe of the Day” section.
The cake was quickly picked up by several newspapers across the country, and as they say, the rest is history.
The cake has no roots in Germany but is as American as apple pie.
What is German Chocolate?
German chocolate is a bar of 48% cocoa that is a blend of chocolate and sugar. It was created by Samuel German, an employee of Baker’s Chocolate in 1852, who created the sweetened mild chocolate sensation.
The recipe included in the Baker’s Chocolate German Chocolate bar is very close to the original recipe created by Mrs. George Clay for German chocolate in 1957.
What is German chocolate cake?
A German chocolate cake signature ingredients include sweet chocolate, buttermilk, and a pecan coconut frosting.
How to Make German Chocolate Cake
If you're looking for another recipe for the same traditional German chocolate cake your grandma used to make, this is not it. I've added some different notes to spice up the dish.
German Chocolate Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cayenne until well mixed.
In another bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the oil and sugar on low until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the eggs, melted chocolate, and vanilla. Alternatively, add the flour mixture and buttermilk, finishing with the flour, until the mixture is combined and thick.
Evenly pour the batter into two greased 9-inch cake pans and bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The edges of the cake will slightly pull away from the pan when finished. Cool the cakes for 20 minutes before releasing them from the pan.
Coconut-Pecan Frosting
While the cake is baking, add the sugars and water to a pot over medium heat and cook until the sugars have melted into a light caramel color. Remove from the heat, then add the evaporated milk and bring to a boil. Stir over medium heat until the sauce has smoothed out.
Beat the egg yolks and vanilla together. Mix two tablespoons of the caramel into the egg mixture, then pour back into the pot. Constantly stir until the mixture thickens. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Frosting will thicken as it cools.
Chocolate Coffee Buttercream
While everything cools, in a large bowl, cream butter until smooth. Sift powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the powdered sugar mix to the butter; add the vanilla to the coffee. Then alternate between powdered sugar and coffee, and finish with the coffee. Buttercream is finished when it is light, fluffy, and you have stiff peaks.
Assemble the cake
Spread a thin layer of chocolate coffee buttercream evenly over the top of the cake. Then evenly spread half the coconut pecan frosting across the top of the cake. Repeat with the next layer.
Spread the buttercream evenly around the edge of the cake. Place the remaining buttercream in a decorating bag and pipe decorations along the top of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before cutting.
Storing Leftover German Chocolate Cake
Fridge: German Chocolate Cake: You can make the cake one to two days in advance. Wrap each cake in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.
Coconut-Pecan Frosting: You can make the signature German chocolate cake frosting one day in advance. Frosting will thicken as it cools. Stir in ¼ - ½ cup of milk to loosen for easy spreading.
Chocolate Coffee Buttercream: You can make the chocolate coffee buttercream one to two days in advance. Keep in an airtight container for 30 days.
Freezer: German Chocolate Cake: You can make the cake one to two days in advance. Wrap each cake in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours before using.
Pro Substitution Tips & Tricks
Here's some things to keep in mind while baking this double-layered German chocolate cake.
- Use granulated sugar in place of raw cane sugar.
- Feel free to use light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar.
- If you cannot find a bar of German chocolate, don't worry, use a bar of semi-sweet chocolate instead.
- You can use vegetable oil, coconut oil, or grapeseed oil as a substitute for canola oil.
- I love the flavor of evaporated milk in baked goods, but if you have milk in your fridge, you can use that instead.
- If you're a chocolate lover like me, consider using dark cocoa powder instead of regular cocoa powder. Hershey makes one that is usually available in most stores.
More Dessert Recipes
You'll want to add these to your dessert rotation.
- Blueberry Lemon Tart
- New Orleans Bananas Foster
- Cinnamon Rolls with Mascarpone Icing
- Strawberry Hand Pies
- Coffee Cake
- New Orleans Pralines
- Butter Rum Cake
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📖 Recipe
German Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Coffee Buttercream
Ingredients
German Chocolate Cake:
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 4 oz. German chocolate chopped, melted
- 1 ½ cup canola oil
- 1 ½ cup raw cane sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
Coconut-Pecan Frosting:
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup raw cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup water
- 6 oz. evaporated milk
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 oz. unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¾ cups chopped pecans
Chocolate Coffee Buttercream:
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons brewed coffee
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. In a bowl, mix the flour, coco powder, baking soda, salt, and cayenne until combined.
- In another bowl with a hand, mixer beat oil and sugar on low until combined. The mixture will look like wet sand. Add the eggs, beat until combined; the mixture will look like yellow wet sand. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla, mix for 10 seconds—alternate adding the flour mix and buttermilk, finishing with the flour. Mix on low, and scraping the sides of the bowl in between each, mix until combined and thick.
- Evenly pour batter between 2 greased 9-inch cake pans and bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway at 17 minutes 30 seconds. Make sure to stagger cakes when baking for even baking. Cakes are finished once the edges of the cake slightly pull away from the pan. Cool cake for 20 minutes, flip cakes over to them release from the pan.
- Make coconut pecan frosting: While cake is baking; turn on the heat to medium-high in a medium pot add the brown sugar, sugar and water, cook for 5 minutes, until sugar melts and turns a light caramel color. Remove from the heat, add the evaporated milk sugar will steam and bubble up bring to a boil over medium heat, and stir until sauce smooths out.
- While sauce is coming to a boil in a small bowl beat egg yolks and vanilla together. Mix 2 tablespoons of the caramel in the egg mixture, then pour back into the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, constantly stirring until mixture thickens. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Frosting will thicken as it cools.
- While everything cools, in a large bowl cream butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Over a medium bowl sift, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar mix to the butter, mixture will look clumpy. Add the vanilla to coffee. Then alternate between adding 1 cup of powder sugar and coffee mixture, finish with the coffee, mix until smooth before adding next addition. Buttercream is finished when light, fluffy, and you have stiff peaks.
- Assemble the cake: Add one cake to cake stand, evenly spread a thin layer of chocolate coffee butter cream over the top of cake. Then evenly spread half the coconut pecan frosting across the top of cake. Repeat with the next layer.
- With an offset spatula, evenly spread buttercream around the edge of the cake. Hold the spatula upright against the side of the cake and press gently as you turn the cake slowly. Place the remaining buttercream in a decorating bag with a 1M tip. Pipe star decorations along the edges of the top of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before cutting.
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