This German Chocolate Cake is made with three layers of tender chocolate cake and a buttery coconut pecan filling. The frosting has a caramel note from the cooked mixture, and the cake stays soft and moist for days, making it perfect for birthdays, holidays, and any time you want a special dessert.
A Cake I Make Every New Year
I am so excited to finally share this one! It started as a simple NYE treat, and then my family kept asking for it year after year until it quietly became our New Year tradition. Here’s the cake I made for 2025, along with my homemade Italian cream cake.
At some point, this German Chocolate Cake also became the cake we made for birthdays, and I realized I had been making it for so long without ever writing it down for the site. Well, that changes today!
What keeps me coming back to this recipe is how well it always turns out. The chocolate layers stay soft, the coconut pecan filling comes together easily, and the whole cake tastes even better after it rests. I usually make the filling the night before and bake the layers earlier in the day, and it always turns out just right.
Every time I set it on the table, someone says it feels like “our cake”, which is why I am finally sharing it here.
Ingredient Notes
This perfect chocolate cake recipe is the same one that I use for my Easter Nest Cake. The only change is that this one omits the espresso (the kids say they can taste it, so I leave it out!)
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
For the Cake Layers
- Flour and Cocoa Powder: For this rich chocolate cake, use regular unsweetened cocoa powder, rather than Dutch process cocoa. The natural acidity of the cocoa powder reacts with the leaveners in the recipe to create a moist, springy texture.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Use both in this recipe to achieve the best lift and texture.
- Granulated Sugar: This adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
- Eggs: With all baking recipes, I let the eggs come to room temperature before I get started. This makes them easier to mix smoothly into the cake batter.
- Milk and Vegetable Oil: The main liquid ingredients for this cake batter ensure that the cake stays moist and tender.
- Vanilla Extract: You may not think that you need to add vanilla to a chocolate cake recipe, but it is definitely a key ingredient! Vanilla enhances the flavor of the chocolate, making it even better.
- Boiling Water: To bring the batter together seamlessly, I pour in a half cup of boiling hot water at the very end.
German Chocolate Cake Filling
- A creamy Caramel-like Base is made with evaporated milk, egg yolks, light brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and a bit of salt. We’ll cook this together on the stove for about 5 minutes until it gets thick and luscious.
- Shredded Coconut: Use sweetened shredded coconut rather than coconut chips, which are too large. Dessicated coconut is also a good option, although it will make a coconut frosting with a bit less chewy texture.
- Toasted Pecans: Some recipes call for the nuts to be left whole, but I prefer to chop them up so that every single bite has bits of nutty pecans in it. If you prefer, walnuts can be used instead. Toasting the nuts gives them their best flavor.
Tip!
To toast the nuts: Place whole pecans on a small sheet pan and toast in a 350°F (180°C) oven for about 7 minutes. Let them cool before chopping.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Follow my perfect chocolate buttercream frosting recipe! You can get away with only making a half batch of it, since we only need it for icing the sides of the cake.
I’ve also made this cake several times “naked”, or without the chocolate frosting, and it’s delicious that way too! The flavors and sweetness are perfectly balanced without the frosting, and extra rich and sweet with it.
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German Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- Rubber Spatula
- Cooling racks
- Cake stand or serving plate
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 ¾ cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (75 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- ½ cup (120 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water
For the coconut pecan filling
- 1 12-ounce can (354 ml) evaporated milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (150 g) sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) toasted chopped pecans
For the buttercream (optional)
- Chocolate Buttercream Half or full recipe
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), or 160°C fan oven. Grease three 8-inch (20cm) round pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a second large bowl, whisk the sugar with the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and whisk until blended and no dry streaks remain.
- Add the boiling water and whisk again until fully combined. The batter will look thin at this stage, and this is correct.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three pans. Weighing the pans helps create even layers.
- Bake for 21-25 minutes or until the centers spring back when lightly pressed. Ovens vary, so begin checking early.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes out, peel away the parchment, and let the layers cool completely on wire racks. The layers must be fully cool before filling.
- Make the filling by adding the evaporated milk, egg yolks, brown sugar, and butter to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon and thickens slightly.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans.
- Let the filling cool until it becomes spreadable. It should be thick enough to hold between the layers.
- If using buttercream prepare it while filling and cake cool.
- Place one cake layer on a stand and spread a generous layer of the coconut pecan filling on top. Add the second layer and repeat with more filling.
- Add the third layer and spread the remaining filling on top of the cake. Coat the sides with buttercream if you choose to use it.
- Chill the assembled cake for 1 hour before slicing so the layers stay neat.
Notes:
- The chocolate buttercream in this recipe is technically optional, and isn’t included in the nutritional estimates here. If you’d like to add frosting, half of this chocolate frosting recipe should be enough to lightly coat the outside of the cake.
- With the frosting, the cake is richer and sweeter. Without it, the cake stays balanced and not overly sweet.
- For simplicity, bake this as a two-layer cake rather than three. Use the same recipe, and bake for a bit longer, 30-35 minutes.
- You can also use three 9-inch cake pans rather than 8-inch pans. The cake will just be wider and a bit shorter. Bake for a few minutes less.
- Or, make a 9×13-inch sheet cake! Bake for 32 to 38 minutes. Add the filling to the entire cake once the cake cools.
- This cake can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Recipe Tips
- Prepping Cake Pans: Cut parchment paper into circles that fit into the bottom of each pan, then cut strips to go around the sides. Using parchment will ensure that nothing sticks to the pan and that the cakes are easy to remove when they’re cool. Avoid using springform pans for this recipe, as the batter has a fairly thin consistency and could leak out.
- Sifting the Dry Ingredients: You can sift the flour, leaveners, and cocoa powder together, but I find it easier to just add them to a large bowl and use a whisk to evenly distribute everything.
- Cooling: Flipping the baked cake layers upside down to cool on wire racks will flatten the slight domes and result in neat, even layers.
Is this a recipe from Germany?
Actually, no! German chocolate cake is not a German recipe; it’s an American one. The classic German chocolate cake recipe is named for a man named Samuel German, who created a specific type of sweet baking chocolate back in the 1940s. You can still buy “German’s Chocolate” from the Baker’s Chocolate Company, but I’ve developed my recipe to use cocoa powder because I think that ingredient is more accessible to bakers everywhere.
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