You will love this moist and delicious German Chocolate Cake from scratch recipe! This decadent cake has become a tried and true favorite in our family.

HOW TO MAKE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

*See the Full Printable Recipe Card at the Bottom of this Post

One of my favorite things about this cake is that it actually incorporates German Chocolate. Some recipes use plain chocolate layers instead. I love the mild, sweet flavor the German Chocolate brings to the recipe!

First, break the German chocolate bar into pieces and place in a bowl.

Melt the chocolate by pouring ½ cup boiling water over the chocolate. Let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes to soften then stir until completely melted. Set Aside.

Next, separate the 4 eggs and beat the whites in a small bowl on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set Aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer) beat the butter until smooth. Then, add the sugar and beat until fluffy (two to four minutes). Add egg the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Add the melted German chocolate and vanilla and blend.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk beginning and ending with the flour mixture (3 additions of dry ingredients, two additions of wet), beating at medium speed until well blended after each addition.

Gently fold and stir in the egg whites and pour into the prepared pans

.Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then turn out. Cool layers completely and they are ready to fill and frost.

German Chocolate Cake- Coconut pecan Filling

German Chocolate Cake wouldn't be German Chocolate Cake without the amazing coconut and pecan filling! It is thick, flavorful, and as an added bonus, it is easy to make!

Whisk egg yolks, milk and vanilla in a saucepan until blended. Add sugar and butter and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened, stir constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut and nuts. Allow to cool before spreading on the cake.

This German Chocolate filling recipe makes enough to fill and frost three (8 or 9 inch) cake layers. It is very rich so it can be used as a filling and on the top layer, leaving the sides unfrosted.

For our pictured cake we use as a filling and frosted with chocolate buttercream.

Decorating the German Chocolate Cake

Traditionally, German Chocolate Cakes are often filled with their signature coconut & pecan filling, but not frosted around the sides. We decided to change things up & frost our cake with our delicious Classic Chocolate Buttercream!

Either way, you're going to love this cake, but frosting it with buttercream not only adds an additional layer of deliciousness and beauty (we've piped shells with a 2D piping tip) it also helps to seal in the freshness!

The German Chocolate flavor of the cake layers when paired with the coconut and pecan filling is simply heavenly.

You are going to love this classic German Chocolate Cake!

GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE- BOX MIX VERSION

We have a delicious doctored cake mix option for German Chocolate Cake! It is super moist, light and delicious. You can find the recipe here!: German Chocolate Cake Mix Recipe

MORE CLASSIC CAKES

Red Velvet Cake

Italian Cream Cake

Carrot Cake

Hummingbird Cake

Black Forest Cake

Pound Cake

Lemon Cake

Enjoy the Recipe!

We hope that you enjoy this delicious German Chocolate Cake from scratch! If you give it a try, we would love for you to leave a comment and photo below!

Make sure to hop over to print out our Classic Chocolate Buttercream Recipe! Find it here: Classic Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

German Chocolate Cake Recipe! {Scratch}

This German Chocolate Cake tastes amazing! Moist German chocolate cake layers with a flavorful coconut and pecan filling. This recipe is always a crowd pleaser!

Ingredients

FOR THE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE LAYERS

1 pkg. (4 oz) (113 g) Bakers German Sweet Chocolate Bar
½ cup (118 g) boiling water
4 eggs separated
1cup (226 g) butter softened
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
2 ½ cups (285 g) cake flour
1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) salt
2 teaspoons (8 g) vanilla
1 cup (242 g) buttermilk

COCONUT PECAN FILLING/FROSTING

1 ½ cups (171 g) pecans, chopped
2 ⅔ cup (7 oz) (198 g) flaked coconut
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk, (you could also use 1 ½ cups heavy cream)
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1 stick (8 T.) (113 g) butter

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING (OPTIONAL)

2 sticks (226g) unsalted butter, softened (do not soften butter in the microwave)
6 c. confectioners sugar (icing sugar) (796 grams) ** For cupcakes, I like to use 5 c. (675g) for a softer frosting
1 c. cocoa, sifted (86 grams) measure then sift
⅓ c. milk (75 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla (8 grams)

Instructions

For the German Chocolate Cake Layers

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour 3 (8 or 9 inch) pans

Break the chocolate bar into pieces and place in a bowl.
Melt the chocolate by pouring ½ cup boiling water over the chocolate. Let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes to soften then stir until completely melted. Set Aside.
Separate the 4 eggs and beat the whites in a small bowl on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set Aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of your electric mixer or hand mixer beat the butter until smooth then add the sugar and beat until fluffy and light ( 2 to 4 minutes) Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and blend.
Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk beginning and ending with the flour mixture (3 additions of flour mixture, two additions of buttermilk mixture), beating at medium speed until well blended after each addition.
Gently fold and stir in the egg whites and pour into the prepared pans
.Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then turn out. Cool layers completely and they are ready to fill and frost. To freeze for later use, cover individually with plastic wrap while still warm to the touch and wrap in aluminum foil. Can be frozen for 2 months.

COCONUT/PECAN FILLING INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk egg yolks, evaporated milk and vanilla in a saucepan until blended.
Add sugar and butter and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened, stir constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in the coconut and nuts. Allow to cool before spreading on the cake.

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

Add butter and beat for approximately 1 min. on medium speed. Add vanilla and blend into the butter.
Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add most of the milk.
Begin beating at low speed so you won’t have a cloud of powdered sugar in your kitchen. Beat at medium speed 1 minute.
Reduce speed to low and beat an additional two to three minutes, adding remaining milk as needed. Makes approximately 4 cups of frosting.

Notes

The coconut pecan filling and topping was just enough to fill and top our chocolate cake layers. German Chocolate Cakes are often unfrosted around the sides (as we did in our German Chocolate Cake Doctored Mix Recipe)- but today, we applied chocolate buttercream around the sides.

If you are using chocolate buttercream, it is a good idea to pipe a dam of chocolate buttercream (using a disposable piping bag or ziplock bag with the tip/corner snipped away). Then, fill within the dam with the coconut pecan filling. Add the second layer and repeat. Add the third layer, top with coconut pecan topping (leave room for a frosting border), and frost around the sides of the cake.

Another popular way of serving this cake is to frost the entire cake with coconut pecan frosting. If you go this route, you will need to double the recipe.