This Authentic German’s Chocolate Cake is the original recipe for this super moist, mild chocolate cake, and it’s frosted with the most delectable Pecan Coconut Frosting that you’ll ever eat!!   

Back in the 1950s, this wonderful cake became very popular, and I requested it for several of my childhood birthdays.  Oops, I’m telling my age.  Today it is still just as popular as it was back then, although we now see many variations of the recipe, and most of them called German Chocolate Cake, dropping the “s” on German.

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This original recipe is made using Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate,  The chocolate is a bar of mild sweet chocolate, thus resulting in a mild chocolate cake.  The recipe can be found on the inside wrapper of the Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate Bar.  Many bakers today, replace the chocolate bar with dark chocolate.  Sorry, I just can’t do it.  I’ve enjoyed this authentic German’s Chocolate Cake for years, and I’m not changing a thing.  Besides, if you’re substituting the chocolate with any other chocolate, you’re not making an authentic German’s Chocolate Cake.

It takes a few minutes to prepare the cake filling for this cake, but trust me when I say it is totally worth the effort.  Here’s how I made this Authentic German’s Chocolate Cake.

Top Left – I separated 4 egg whites from the yolks and reserved the yolks for the batter.  I placed the egg whites in a large bowl and used the whisk attachment to whisk them to stiff peaks.  Then I placed them in my refrigerator until I was ready to fold them into the batter later.

Top Right – I mixed up my batter.  This involved melting the chocolate bar in some hot water and melting it.  I creamed together some butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Then I added the chocolate, egg yolks, some sugar & vanilla.  I mixed everything together and added some buttermilk and dry ingredients alternately to the mix.

Bottom Left – Then I gently folded in the beaten egg whites, using a spatula.  It’s important to gently fold in the egg whites.  If you mix them with the mixer, you’ll deflate them, and you want them to remain fluffy.

Bottom Right – I lined three 9-inch cake pans with rounds of wax paper.  I greased the pans and instead of lightly flouring the pans, I dusted them with cocoa.  I do this with all chocolate cakes.  I divided the batter equally between the pans and baked the cakes.

A delicious pecan coconut frosting completes this wonderfully moist chocolate cake.  Note:  This cake is not frosted on the sides.  If you want to frost the sides, simply double the frosting recipe.

I don’t frost the sides.  However, I make 1 1/2 batches of the frosting, because I love to tuck plenty of frosting between the layers.  I also like to eat a spoonful or two.  It’s so hard not to!!

Here’s how I made the frosting…

Top Left – In a medium saucepan, I combined butter, evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla.  I cooked it over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickened.  This takes about 12 minutes for a single batch, and 3 to 4 minutes longer if you make 1 1/2 batches.

Bottom Left – I removed the pan from the heat and added lots of coconut and pecans.

Right – I mixed everything together and spread it onto the cooled cake layers.  I had to steal a few bites and lick the pan clean too.

This recipe was updated and reposted on May 12th, 2019.  Originally posted on June 11th, 2016.

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Authentic German’s Chocolate Cake

  • Author: Cindy @ My Country Table
  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 90
  • Yield: 14 Servings 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Bake
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Description

This is Authentic German’s Chocolate Cake, made with German’s sweet chocolate.  It’s a very moist and sweet light chocolate cake, slathered with a to-die-for pecan coconut frosting!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cake

  • 1 package, Baker’s German’s sweet chocolate, 4 ounces
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • 2 sticks real butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon soda

For the Frosting

  • 1 cup evaporated milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 stick real butter
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cups flaked sweetened coconut
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the Cake

  1. Prepare three 9″ round cake pans, by lining them with rounds of wax paper. Grease and the insides of the pans and the wax paper rounds and dust them with cocoa.
  2. Place the water in a measuring cup and heat in a microwave until it’s very hot. Break up the chocolate bar and drop into the water. Stir it once or twice with a spoon and set it aside to cool.
  3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, placing the yolks in a small bowl and the whites in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, or use a hand mixer.
  4. Sift the cake flour into a bowl. Remeasure and place back into a sifter or wire mesh strainer. Add the salt and baking soda and sift again. Set aside.
  5. Using the whisk attachment, mix the egg whites on high speed for a couple of minutes until they form stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to fold into the cake batter.
  6. Place the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until they are light and creamy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and mix until incorporated. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla and mix until they are incorporated.
  7. Add the buttermilk and dry ingredients alternately, starting with the buttermilk and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients only until incorporated. Do not over mix.
  8. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites with a spatula.  It’s okay if you see specks of egg white in the batter.
  9. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake layer, comes out with only a moist crumb on it.
  10. Transfer the cakes to a countertop. Let sit for five minutes. Run a sharp knife around the inside edges of each cake pan. Slightly shake each pan to ensure that the cake is not sticking to the pan. Invert each cake layer onto a wire cooling rack. Peel off the wax paper rounds and let the cake layers cool while making the frosting.

For the Frosting

  1. Place the milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat while stirring slowly but constantly until the mixture has thickened. This usually takes about 12 minutes. If you double the recipe, it takes 3 to 4 minutes longer.
  2. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the coconut and pecans. Mix to combine and frost the cake as desired.
  3. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Notes

  • The frosting recipe is meant to frost the top and in between the layers of the cake. If you desire to frost the entire cake, you might want to double the recipe.  This will increase the cooking time by about 3-4 minutes.  I make 1 1/2 batches of the frosting and I don’t frost the sides.  I love the frosting and like lots of it between and on top of the layers.
  • The cake and frosting hold up well at room temperature. The frosting will not break down as some frostings do after a couple of days.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 14

Keywords: German's Chocolate Cake, Authentic, chocolate, cake, original,