German Chocolate Cake
Quick answer
- Total time
- 235 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 16 servings
- Ingredients
- 19
About this dish
Instead of buttercream, a cooked coconut and pecan filling made with egg yolks and unsweetened evaporated milk fills the layers and covers the top.
Read more
Slices end up with a textured center between soft cocoa layers rather than the uniform richness of a dense chocolate gateau. The cocoa is natural unsweetened, not melted sweet chocolate or Dutch-process. With nothing spread on the outside, the coconut-pecan layers show from the side.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Preheat to 175°C.
Line and grease three 23 cm round pans. Toast the pecans on a separate sheet for 5-7 minutes and cool.
- 2
Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Separately mix batter oil, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk and 2 tsp vanilla.
- 3
Mix wet ingredients into dry, then add hot water until smooth.
Divide among pans and bake 21-25 minutes, until a central skewer has no wet batter. Cool fully in the pans for about 90 minutes.
- 4
While the cakes cool, combine filling butter, brown sugar, yolks and evaporated milk in a saucepan.
Stir constantly over medium-low heat until gently bubbling, then cook and stir for 5 minutes until thick.
- 5
Off the heat, add coconut, pecans and remaining 1 tsp vanilla.
Transfer to a shallow heatproof dish and cool about 60 minutes until spreadable rather than runny. Check the cakes are also completely cool.
- 6
Stack the cakes, using one-third of the filling at each of the two joins and on top.
Refrigerate at least 45 minutes before slicing; keep leftovers covered and refrigerated.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- German Chocolate Cake
Sally's Baking · Checked: 2026-09-26
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