Thick and moist German chocolate cake layers, filled with the signature pecan coconut filling, and frosted in german chocolate buttercream, this German chocolate cake will satisfy your die-hard chocolate cake lovers, as well as those who just don’t know how much they love it yet!

Sticking with the back-to-basics recipes I’ve been posting lately, I wanted to share a recipe that I’ve had requested more than I can count on both hands. This cake is a twist on my double chocolate cake in my 2019 Cookbook Cake Confidence, and uses a TON of German Chocolate bars to get as close to that true “German chocolate” taste as possible. I use it in both the cake batter and buttercream, and love how creamy and heavenly it smelled while preparing it for the recipes. You can usually find German Chocolate in the baking section next to the other bars of chocolate (cocoa, white chocolate, dark chocolate, etc). If you don’t have German Chocolate, you can always use milk chocolate, or semi sweet if needed. But to get that signature sweet chocolate taste this cake has, go for gold, and try to find the German Chocolate baking bar.

For me, the filling really is the star of the show. I love shredded coconut and I’m a sucker for toasted nuts in desserts, so while creating this filling, I knew we needed to not skimp on anything, and use as much of it as possible. The filling takes just a couple minutes to stir together on the stovetop with some butter and sugar (and evaporated milk, yeah!), and will need about an hour to fully cool in the fridge before you can add it to your cake. So I recommend making the filling while your cake is baking (the day before is when I usually make all the fillings and bake the cake layers). It also gives the filling a chance to meld together in texture and flavor. Making it the day before and refrigerating it long enough gives it enough time to thicken up (much easier to add it as a filling that way!). I couldn’t stop stacking on the filling, even when I tried to hide it out of sight! It was just too good. You’ll have a little extra when you make your cake, so feel free to snack all you’d like, or save some for serving! Can’t get enough of this filling, and I love that it’s the traditional praline-esque filling for German cake. I love putting twists on cake flavors, but this one is SO DANG GOOD as is, why change it?

Remember when you make this cake, let it bake all the way through before peeking in the oven to see if it’s finished. Chocolate cake tends to be more temperamental, and can easily sink in the middle if you open the oven too early. You don’t want to overbake and dry out your cake either, so just find a happy medium. 🙂

When filling the cake with that heavenly filling, make sure to add on a small thin layer of German Chocolate Buttercream down before adding on your filling. This gives it a really nice barrier between the filling and cake. Because this filling is so thick, I say pile it on! Usually you want to err on the side of less-is-more with the filling (less filling makes it easier to stack, etc), but with this stuff, you really can’t go too wrong by using more of it. Pipe a dam around the outside (you can see this best with the sliced pic below between the layers), and save some of the filling to pile right on top.

For the top decor, I used a Wilton 1M star tip. I started by piping on a single star, and then pulled the end of the star towards the inside of the cake. This left a really pretty decorative border on top, but also made way for more of the filling to be piled right on top of the cake. I used my cake spatula starting from the bottom rim of the cake and pulled it up vertically to create the texture pattern along the bottom. And of course, added more of that filling on the bottom.

I absolutely love how the signature flavors in the cake turned out. The buttercream was soft, sweet, and so light and fluffy! The filling gave the cake such a fun texture between the soft cake layers, and I was tempted to drizzle on a little bit of melted German Chocolate ganache while serving! I’m still obsessed with the drip on cakes, but I’m trying to share some that don’t have it, haha. Anyway, hope you love this cake as much as we did! I brought my sister a slice a couple weeks ago when we saw Thriller downtown Salt Lake City, and she inhaled the entire thing by the time we hit intermission. And you guys, it was a pretty big slice, too. 😉 That’s definitely a good sign, right?

Enjoy, friends! Make sure to tag me on Instagram with #bakingwithblondie or @bakingwithblondie so I can see. I LOVE seeing what you create in the kitchen. 🙂

Here’s a little video of the assembly/decorating process:

 

And here’s the full recipe!

German Chocolate Cake
Recipe Type: Cake
Author: Mandy | Baking with Blondie
Classic German Chocolate cake never tasted so so delicious, and it’s never been so easy to make, too! Thick soft chocolate layers, the most addicting praline filling, and German Chocolate Buttercream will have you hooked at first bite!
Ingredients
  • German Chocolate Cake [br]
  • 1 stick (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter, Melted
  • 4oz German Chocolate Bar, chopped
  • 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
  • 3 Eggs + 1 Egg White
  • 1 Tablespoon Mexican Vanilla
  • 1 Cup Buttermilk
  • 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/4 Cup Cocoa
  • 1 Dark Chocolate or Devil’s Food Cake Duncan Hines Cake Mix
  • [br]
  • Filling:[br]
  • 1 Cup brown sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 can evaporated milk (8 or 10oz)
  • 1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
  • 2-3 Cups sweetened coconut flakes/shreds
  • 1 1/2 Cups toasted and chopped pecans
  • [br]
  • German Chocolate Buttercream
  • 8oz German Chocolate (2 4oz bars), chopped
  • 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream + more for thinning if needed
  • 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
  • pinch of Salt
  • 1/3 Cup Sifted Cocoa
  • 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
  • 5-7 Cups Sifted Powdered Sugar
Instructions
  1. For the German Chocolate Cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Prep 3 6″ cake rounds with a swipe of shortening and a dust of flour. Set aside.
  3. In a medium glass microwave-save bowl, melt the chocolate and butter, for about 1 minute, then stir, then another 20-30 seconds, then stir again until smooth.
  4. Add to a large bowl and whisk in the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk. Soft in the flour, cocoa, and cake mix until just combined (don’t overmix!). Batter will be thick.
  5. Divide between three prepared cake pans, and bake for 30-32 minutes until center has baked through. Let cool in the cake pan on the counter for at least 3-5 minutes, then flip out onto a cooling rack until they are room temperature. I usually bake mine the day before, so at this point I wrap them twice in plastic wrap and then place them in the freezer.
  6. [br]
  7. For the filling: Place all the ingredients into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until bubbling. Stir often. Once the mixture has thickened up quite a bit, set aside and let cool completely before adding in as a filling.
  8. [br]
  9. For the Buttercream: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat up the chocolate and heavy cream for about 1 minute until hot, stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.
  10. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add in butter and whip up until it’s light and fluffy. Add in the salt, cocoa, vanilla, and chocolate ganache you made. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whip up until it’s thoroughly combined.
  11. Slowly, about 1/2 cup at a time, add in the powdered sugar. If you’ve added about 5 cups and it’s too thick, add in a touch of heavy cream (1/4 cup).
  12. Whip up on high speed for about 3 minutes. It will thicken, and lighten in texture and color. Hand stir with a wooden spoon to get out any air bubbles.
  13. [br]
  14. To assemble, tape a 6″ cake board to an 8″ one, and place in the center of a cake turntable.
  15. Add on a touch of buttercream in the center to act as glue. Place on first cake round. Add on a small amount of buttercream and spread flat. Pipe a dam on the outside rim of the cake round, then add in the filling. Repeat with the last 2 layers.
  16. Crumb coat the entire cake, then freeze for 10 minutes.
  17. Add on final coat, adding decorative elements with the Wilton 1M tip and more filling on the top and sides.
  18. Serve room temp or cold, with the extra filling. Enjoy!