German Chocolate Cake is a rich, layered chocolate cake famous for its sweet coconut–pecan frosting (despite the name, it’s actually American in origin, not German).
Here’s a classic, reliable version you can make at home:
🍫 German Chocolate Cake (Classic Recipe)
🧁 Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (or milk + 1 tbsp vinegar)
- 1 cup hot coffee or hot water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Coconut-Pecan Frosting (signature layer):
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- ½ cup butter
- 1½ cups shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
🍰 Instructions
1. Bake the cake
- Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
- Grease and line two or three cake pans.
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.
- Slowly mix in hot coffee/water (batter will be thin).
- Pour into pans and bake 30–35 minutes.
- Cool completely.
2. Make the frosting
- In a saucepan, whisk evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, and butter.
- Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until thick (10–12 min).
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, coconut, and pecans.
- Let it cool until spreadable.
3. Assemble
- Spread frosting between layers and on top
- Traditionally, the sides are left lightly frosted or even bare
- Let it set before slicing
🍽️ Tips for best results
- Don’t skip buttermilk—it keeps the cake moist
- Coffee enhances chocolate flavor (it won’t taste like coffee)
- Let frosting fully cool before layering or it will slide
If you want, I can also give you:
- A quick boxed-mix hack version
- A no-egg or eggless version
- Or a bakery-style ultra-moist upgrade recipe
