I have a secret to share with you... I've never really liked German Chocolate Cake. I think the root of it is that I never really cared for coconut. I love chocolate. I love nuts. I love frosting. But I did not love coconut. Until I did.
I'm not sure when my tastes changed but when I started this cake business 4 years ago - I didn't like almond flavoring... and now I can't get enough of it. I didn't like coconut in my desserts... and now I could eat German Chocolate Cake Balls or Italian Cream Cupcakes every.single.day. I really couldn't tolerate Red Velvet Cake... well, I still hate Red Velvet, but that's another story for another day.
Anyway... I rarely make German Chocolate Cake - it's just not requested that often, but I was really happy that this last time I made it, I had a little extra batter and that's when I made these German Chocolate Cupcakes.
And boy-oh-boy where they amazing! I mean really, really that good. And the frosting is from scratch and it's good enough to eat straight from a spoon! Anyway, I'm getting off-track.
My uncle asked me to make this cake for him. He had never asked me to make a cake before, so I really wanted to do a good job. He asked for lots of the Coconut Pecan Frosting - so I doubled down and put LOTS of it between the layers. You don't have to do that - but I'm not going to tell you that you could ever have too much frosting, so go for it!
Anyway, if you're ready... here's the recipe:
PrintRecipe
German Chocolate Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 (4 oz.) bar of German’s sweet chocolate (I prefer Baker’s brand OR you could also substitute 4 oz. of milk chocolate chips)
- 1 (16.5 oz.) box of German Chocolate cake mix
- 2 oz. all-purpose flour
- 1 (3.5 oz.) box of instant vanilla pudding
- ½ cup water
- 4 oz. sour cream
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
For the frosting:
- 1 (12 oz) can of evaporated milk
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 12 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly spray (3) 8″ round pans with cake release spray (or use [my homemade version|http://rosebakes.com/wfmw-homemade-pan-release-ie-bakers-joy/]).
- Break the milk chocolate bar into pieces (or milk chocolate chips) and place them in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted chocolate, cake mix, flour, pudding mix, water, sour cream, oil, and eggs. Beat on low until the ingredients are incorporated and then on high for 2 more minutes. The batter will be smooth and thick.
- Divide the batter evenly into (3) 8″ pans.
- Bake until the top springs back when touches, usually for 28-32 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, make the frosting:
- Place the evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks and vanilla in a large boiler over medium heat.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and golden brown. This took about 12 minutes for me.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut and pecans. Allow it to cool to room temperature (I stuck mine in the frig – it got a little too thick, but it worked!). It’ll take at least 30 minutes to cool to room temperature if left out.
- Assemble the cake by alternating layers of cake and frosting. I love the look of piling up the frosting between layers and then a big pile on top OR you could do thinner layers between the cakes and cover the entire outside with frosting. I recommend covering the entire outside if you will not be serving immediately so the cake does not dry out.
- Enjoy!!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
This recipe was slightly adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor Returns cookbook.
If you have any questions, leave me a comment!
PS. If you’re not already subscribed to my blog, would you? You can sign up here for my free email updates and then you’ll never miss a cake or dessert or deal or any other quirky thing I choose to post here! 🙂
Here are some other chocolate recipes you might enjoy:
Chocolate Cookies with Biscoff Cookie Butter Filling
Wendy
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just had a request for a German chocolate cake and have been looking for the perfect recipe. Like you I am a BIG fan of the doctored cake mix. Thank you for positing this recipe just when I needed it!!!!!!!!
Rose
YAY!! You're welcome 🙂
Cindy
my husband has always gotten a German chocolate cake for his birthday. I have his mothers recipe but I just never liked coconut. One year making the cake, the coconut was very long strands so I put it in the food processor and pulsed it so the coconut was pretty small. I made the cake and everyone said it was the best I had ever made so I tasted it. I figured out it was not the taste of the coconut I didn't like but the texture! The cake truly tastes better!!
Rose
Wow that's great! I'm so glad you can enjoy it now!
Christina
Hi there. I plan to make this for my dad's birthday. Will this cook ok in two 9" pans instead of three 8". Would i need to change baking time any. It looks super tasty. Can't wait to try.
Rose Atwater
It should do just fine. I'd bake close to the same time, but check it with a tooth pick during the last 10 minutes for doneness.
Jord
I just made this cake and I'm so happy to now have this one in my library! This cake is amazing and tastes nothing like a box cake! Thank you!
Mad
Can I make this into a bundt cake? If so do you have any suggestions? I never bake and want to make a perfect super chocolatey cake for my friend whose father just passed away.
Rose
I've never tried it as a bundt cake - I'm not sure if it would hold up.
Hema
Thanks Rose your recipes are awesome. Can I make cake layers ahead of time by freezing them?
Rose
Yes, just wrap them tight in plastic wrap and you should be good to go!
Cindy Richter
This post made me think of my dad. He's been in Heaven about 4 years and anything German Chocolate was his fave. I haven't ever made anything like that but since the hubby likes it too, I'm going to give it a try. Found you on the Moonlight and Mason Jar Link Party and sooooo glad I did.
Rose
Awww, thank you Cindy! I hope ya'll enjoy the cake 🙂
Amanda
Suggestion for timing on cupcakes?
Rose
I bake 18-19 mins for all of my cupcakes.
Nicole
This was frustrating. I’m a little confused by some of the measurements. There are no box cake mixes that come in the stated 16.5 ounce size, at least none at target. Every box mix was 15.25. Jello also comes in 3.4 ounces not 3.5. I know this recipe is almost 4 years old so maybe the ounces these things are sold in has changed since then? And I don’t have a kitchen scale so measuring the flour in ounces was also concerning to me - google helped a bit and I used half a cup but considering the way things went from there, I assume that might have been wrong. Keeping the slightly smaller dry ingredients portions in mind I slightly decreased the amounts of my liquid ingredients as well. It came out thick and smooth like you mentioned so I assumed I wasn’t good to go. I do wish you’d specified how much to fill the 8 ounce cake pans though. I’m not an expert baker but I thought the general rule of thumb was halfway. I guess I should have thought to fill them less when the batter would only fill up 2 instead of 3 8 ounce pans halfway, but I just stuck the 2 in the oven thinking it wasn’t a big deal to have it be 2 layers instead of 3. The cakes baked up like crazy, almost like a soufflé (Perhaps from the length of time mixing the batter on high - it was thick and smooth but also very much a whipped consistency). After 32 minutes in the oven - an oven that has consistently baked things at their normal baking times with lots of other recipes - neither was even close to being done. One of them even started deflating like a soufflé when I took it out. I cooked for another 10 minutes to get them both done all the way through. I’m going to make the icing tomorrow so I can’t speak to that recipe, but the cake one did not work for me.
Valerie
The cake was delicious but my frosting was not thick enough what did I do wrong?