German Chocolate Cake
My German Chocolate Cake recipe is made up of three layers of my favorite dark chocolate cake filled with coconut pecan filling and frosted with chocolate cream cheese frosting.
origin of german chocolate cake
Contrary to what you might guess from the name, German Chocolate Cake did not originate in Germany, but in America. It’s named after Samual German who worked for Baker’s Chocolate Company. German is credited with creating a new type of baking chocolate named German’s Sweet Chocolate. German Chocolate Cake, however, came along in the 1950s first published in a Dallas newspaper as Recipe of the Day by Mrs. George Calay. (Source: Southern Living)
my german chocolate cake
While I’m not using German’s Sweet Baking Chocolate in my recipe, it’s really the coconut pecan filling that drives home the german chocolate cake flavor for me. That filling pairs perfectly with the chocolate cream cheese frosting. I also like to toast my pecans before adding them to the filling to really bring out the flavor. You can do that by baking the pecans for 7-10 minutes at 350.
This recipe is written for 8″ cake pans, but you can also adjust to make 4 – 6″ layers (bake for 33-35 minutes).
For this cake I am using a board (or acrylic disk) on top of my cake to get even coverage and sharp corners. I have more info in the Recipe Notes at the bottom of the page and you can also check out my Geode Cake highlight and Ruffle Cake highlight to see how I use a disk.
key ingredients
- Coffee – anytime you’re baking something chocolatey adding coffee doesn’t hurt. I often add espresso powder to brownies and for cakes such as this one I add freshly brewed hot coffee. The coffee just enhances the chocolate flavor, the baked cake will not have a coffee flavor. If you don’t have coffee or prefer to to use it you can substitute boiling water.
- Cocoa powder – If there’s one ingredient I usually go for a higher quality on its cocoa. My favorite is Guittard Cocoa Rouge. Another good one, slightly cheaper is Ghirardelli Unsweetened cocoa.
- Buttermilk – If you don’t have store-bought buttermilk you can easily substitute with milk and lemon juice. Add one tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring cup and then add enough milk until you have 1 cup total. Let sit for about five minutes before adding to your batter.
cake tips
- Always grease your pans. When using 6” pans I find that a non stick baking spray is enough, when I use 8” pans (or larger) I usually line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternatively if you don’t have baking spray or parchment paper you can rub the pans with butter and dust with cocoa powder.
- Don’t over mix your batter! You want to mix just until everything is combined and smooth. For this batter I often just use a whisk and mix by hand. You can use a stand mixer just make sure to not over mix.
- Before placing your layers in the oven, tap them a few times on the counter to get the air bubbles out.
- If your layers bake relatively flat then you don’t need to level them. I level all my cakes by gently trimming a small amount off the top with a long serrated knife.
- I only bake with salted butter. Especially when making buttercream salted butter helps to cut the sweet. There can be some discrepancies in how much salt is in different brands but I have yet to come across a brand of butter that is too salty. Just taste the buttercream and add more salt as necessary to get it to your liking. For the buttercream I call for softened butter. You can leave buttercream out on the counter for an hour or so before you need it, or what I often do is microwave my butter between 12-18 seconds. It should be soft enough that you can easily indent it with your finger, but not melted.
making your german chocolate cake layers in advance
I bake all of my cake layers 2 or 3 days before I need to decorate. I do this for a few reasons: one it breaks up the process into a few days so I’m not doing everything the day of. Two, I find that frosting a cold cake is less crumbly and therefore easier. Here is my process for freezing and thawing layers:
Once the layers are out of the oven, let them cool at room temperature. You can cool them completely before freezing, however I tend to wrap and freeze them while still warm. I let them cool in the pans for a few minutes and then invert onto plastic wrap. I think it leads to a slightly moister cake, but it’s not a significant difference so do whichever you prefer.
Wrap each layer in plastic wrap, tight enough so there is no excess air but not too tight to squish or alter the shape. Freeze! It’s that simple. I generally bake and freeze my layers 2-3 days before frosting, but I have left some in the freezer for up to a week and they still tasted as good as if you baked them the same day. I do not recommend refrigerating the layers as they can dry out.
To thaw, take the layers out of the freezer and allow to rest at room temperature for about an hour. I use that time to make my buttercream or fillings and prepare everything else I need for decorating. You want the layers to still be slightly cold so they won’t crumble as much, but thawed enough that you can easily level them. If your cake is too frozen it’s easy to cut yourself while leveling the cake.
my go-to cake tools
German Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate (chopped baking chocolate or chocolate chips)
- 1 cup hot coffee (can sub hot water)
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans, toasted (See Notes)
- 1 ½ cups shredded coconut
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups salted butter (3 sticks)
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract¼
- additional toasted pecans and shredded coconut for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray three 8” cake pans with non stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the coffee over the chocolate and allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the batter.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla oil and buttermilk. The batter will be thick.
- Return to your bowl of chocolate and coffee and stir until smooth. Pour the coffee mixture into the batter and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Divide batter evenly between the cake pans. Bake for 25-28 minutes.
- Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan and then carefully, using oven mitts invert the cake onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and place in the freezer until you’re ready to assemble your cake. I store layers in the freezer for up to a week.
- To make the coconut pecan filling combine the evaporated milk, egg yolks, sugar and butter in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook 5-10 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, pecans and coconut. Set aside to cool completely before assembling the cake.
- To make the frosting beat the cream cheese and butter together for 2-3 minutes or until light and creamy.
- Gradually mix in the cocoa and powdered sugar.
- Add vanilla and beat until smooth.
- To assemble the cake place the first layer on your cake board or plate. Spread a thin layer of chocolate cream cheese frosting on top.
- Pipe a border of buttercream along the inner edge of the first cake layer to create a dam to hold the filling in. I use a piping bag with no decorating tip, just cut about an inch opening.
- Spread ⅓ of the coconut pecan filling inside the border. Stack the next cake layer on top and repeat, ending with the final layer of cake, top side down.
- Using an offset spatula frost a thin layer of of frosting around the sides and top of the cake. Use a bench scraper or icing scraper to scrape off any access. This is the crumb coat and will secure any crumbs so that the final layer of frosting will be smooth and crumb free. Chill for about 20 minutes or until firm to the touch.
- Frost a thicker layer of frosting around the sides of the cake, using an offset spatula, bench scraper or icing scraper to smooth. If you have any additional frosting you can pipe a border around the top circumference of the cake.
- Spoon the remaining 1/3 of filling on the top of the cake, within the piped border, or spread to the edges if you did not pipe a border.
- If desired, sprinkle additional pecans and shredded coconut on top or press onto the sides of the cake. If the frosting is too soft you can chill for about 20 minutes before adding toppings to the sides of the cake.
- This cake is best served at room temperature. It can be stored at room temp 1-2 days or in the refrigerator 3-4 days.
Notes
- To toast the pecans: preheat oven to 350. Spread chopped pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 7-10 minutes.
- The frosting makes enough to cover the cake, if you want to do additional piping or decorations make another 1/4 - 1/2 recipe
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