German Chocolate Cake
German Chocolate Cake is a rich and indulgent dessert with layers of moist chocolate cake and a luscious coconut pecan frosting! The combination of sweet, gooey coconut pecan filling and decadent chocolate cake layers make this a gorgeous chocolate cake perfect for any special occasion.
Servings:12 servings
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cake
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 cup cocoa
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup oil
- ½ tbsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup boiling water
For the Pecan Coconut Frosting
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup 2% milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp vanilla
- 1 tsp coconut rum, optional
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 1 ½ cups toasted pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and prep two 8 inch cake tins with cooking spray and baking parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In another bowl or a large jug, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, vanilla and the eggs until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and whisk until you have a thick batter.
- Add the boiling water and whisk into the cake batter before dividing it between the two tins - use a pair of kitchen scales if you have them to get even layers.
- Gently lift each tin a few inches off the countertop and drop them back down a few times to knock out any air bubbles before baking for 30 minutes, or until the cakes are set and the tip of a sharp knife or a cocktail skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- While you are baking and cooling the cakes, make the frosting. First, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium high heat until it is nutty and brown. Remove from the heat to cool.
- In another, much larger saucepan, add the egg yolks and gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Then whisk in the sugars, heavy cream, salt, and cooled brown butter.
- Set the pan over a medium heat and cook, whisking almost constantly once the mixture has started to warm until it has thickened, and you’ve started to see a few bubbles. It is ready if it coats the back of a spoon, but whatever you do don’t let it boil!
- Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and coconut rum, if using. Switch to a spatula, and fold in the coconut and chopped pecans. Set aside - it will thicken once it has cooled.
- Once the cakes have reached room temperature and the frosting has thickened, using a large bread knife or a cake leveller, split each layer in two, and sandwich each together with 1/4 of the frosting, leaving the remaining frosting to decorate the top of the cake.
Notes
- This cake will keep in an air-tight container for up to 3 days, though the cake layers can be baked a day ahead or even frozen for up to 3 months before splitting.
- For a less rustic finish, you can finish the sides of this cake with ganache. Make up a double quantity before assembling the cake, and allow it to cool enough to pipe. Pipe a boarder around each layer before adding the coconut pecan frosting as a filling, pipe stars around the top edge before adding the main frosting in the middle, and smooth the sides with the remaining ganache.
Nutrition
Calories: 704 kcal, Carbohydrates: 91 g, Protein: 10 g, Fat: 37 g, Saturated Fat: 12 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 16 g, Trans Fat: 0.1 g, Cholesterol: 90 mg, Sodium: 454 mg, Potassium: 390 mg, Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 67 g, Vitamin A: 351 IU, Vitamin C: 0.4 mg, Calcium: 149 mg, Iron: 3 mg