For years, I always thought that “German” chocolate cake was just a chocolate cake recipe that was developed in Germany, but this unique and widely appreciated cake was actually developed right here in the United States by a Texas homemaker in the 1950’s using “German’s” baking chocolate instead of cocoa powder and the rest is delicious history…
In addition to German’s baking chocolate, an authentic German’s chocolate cake does not contain cocoa powder, it uses buttermilk and whipped egg whites, which results in a beautiful chocolate cake that is both light and rich.
Although the chocolate cake layers are uniquely fabulous, it is the coconut pecan frosting that this cake is most famous for. It is thick, rich and luscious with a great balance of salty and sweet and loads of great textures. You are going to love this cake!
Let’s get started…
Begin by breaking up a 4 ounce bar of German’s baking chocolate into a glass bowl. You can find this mild and sweet chocolate in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
Now that the chocolate has melted, combine 1 cup of softened butter with 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 cup of brown sugar, 4 egg yolks and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract in a large bowl.
Use an electric hand mixer or stiff whisk to cream everything together.
Now add 1 cup of buttermilk and the melted chocolate and mix until fully incorporated.
Add 2 1/2 cups of cake flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the bowl and mix until just combined.
The last step to bringing this cake batter together is to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Place 4 egg whites into a very clean, dry bowl and use an electric hand mixer to whip them to stiff peaks. If this sounds intimidating, have no fear! As long as there is no water or yolks involved, your whites will be whipped into stiff, glossy peaks after about 4-5 minutes at medium to medium high speed.
These are stiff peaks. When you pull your mixers out of the egg whites, the little peaks should stand up nice and steady. If they flop over or lean to the side, continue mixing until they will hold their position.
Once the egg whites are stiff, gently fold them into the batter and divide between two 9″ or three 8″ greased and parchment lined cake pans.
Bake the cakes in a 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes, depending on how large your cake pans are. The cakes are done when a toothpick will come out of the center of a cake clean. Transfer the cake pans onto a cooling rack until they are cool enough to handle and then transfer the cakes directly onto the cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
While the cakes are cooling, make a batch of this toasted coconut pecan frosting…
You can ready a complete run down on this frosting by clicking the link above, but here are the basics:
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- Step #1. Toast 4 cups of sweetened coconut flakes until lightly golden.
- Step #2. Simmer 12 tablespoons of butter with 12 ounces of evaporated milk, 5 egg yolks, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract in a saucepan over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until has thickened slightly.
- Step #3. Combine the buttery sauce with the toasted coconut flakes and 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans.
- Step #4. Let the frosting cool for about 20 minutes to let it stiffen up a bit and then use it to complete your German’s chocolate cake.
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Use a sharp or serrated knife to trim any dome off of your cakes and then let’s start frosting…
Place 1 of the layers onto your cake surface and add a generous layer of that toasted coconut pecan frosting all the way to the outer edges.
Continue to stack and frost until your cake is complete and then maybe garnish the top with a sprinkle of toasted coconut and maybe some shaved chocolate?
It’s already beautiful, but I’ve never heard of “too much chocolate”, so garnish away my friends!
This chocolate cake is tender, moist and fantastic and it is perfectly accompanied by that thick coconut frosting. There is something very special about the flavor of German’s baking chocolate and it is definitely worth the time and effort to make this cake authentically.
Whether you are baking this cake up for some lucky persons birthday or just have a strong craving for chocolate and coconut, you are going to love this wonderfully nostalgic cake.
German's Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 4 ounces of German's baking chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup of coffee, hot
- 1 cup of butter, softened
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 2 1/2 cups of cake flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- chocolate, shaved, optional garnish
Toasted Coconut Pecan Frosting
- 4 cups of sweetened coconut flakes
- 12 ounces of evaporated milk
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 12 tablespoons of butter
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups of pecans, chopped
Instructions
Make the chocolate cake...
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and line your baking pans with parchment paper (two or three 8” or 9” baking pans, depending on how thick you want the layers of your cake).
- Separate 4 eggs into yolks and whites.
- Place 4 ounces of roughly chopped chocolate into a small bowl and pour 1/3 cup of hot coffee or water over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute and then whisk until completely smooth. Set aside for now.
- In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup of softened butter with 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 cup of brown sugar, 4 egg yolks and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until creamy
- Add 1 cup of buttermilk and the melted chocolate mixture and whisk until completely combined
- Sift 2 1/2 cups of cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt into the bowl and mix until just combined
- In a separate, very clean bowl, whisk 4 egg whites until you have stiff peaks and then carefully fold the stiff egg whites into the batter
- Divide the batter evenly between your prepared baking pans.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of your baking pans. The cakes are ready to come out when a toothpick will come out of the center of the cake clean.
- Transfer the cakes onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting (leave the oven turned on for the frosting)
Make the frosting...
- Spread 4 cups of sweetened coconut flakes over a large baking sheet and transfer into a 350 degree oven. Toast the coconut until golden and fragrant (about 8 minutes) mixing every 2 minutes or so.
- Allow the toasted coconut flakes to cool while you prepare the rest of the frosting.
- Combine 12 tablespoons of butter with 12 ounces of evaporated milk, 5 egg yolks, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract in a saucepan and place oven medium heat.
- Cook while stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and becomes slightly golden in color (about 5 minutes).
- Transfer the saucepan off of the heat and fold in the toasted coconut flakes along with 1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans until evenly distributed
- Allow the frosting to cool until the cakes have fully cooled
Assemble the cake...
- Use a sharp knife to remove any dome off of the top of the cakes.
- Place the first cake on a flat surface and add a layer of frosting.
- Continue layering and frosting, as desired.
- Frost the top and/or sides of the cake and garnish with shaved chocolate and crushed pecans (optional)
- Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for ups to 4 days.
