German Chocolate Cake (Coconut-Pecan Frosting)
Not from Germany at all: three light layers made with sweet baking chocolate and buttermilk, stacked with a cooked coconut-pecan custard frosting, the cake a 1957 Dallas newspaper recipe made famous.
German chocolate cake is American, and the "German" is a man's name. Wikipedia says Samuel German introduced a sweet baking chocolate for the Baker's Chocolate Company of Boston, sold as "German's Sweet Chocolate"; it gives 1853, other sources say 1852. A century later, in 1957, The Dallas Morning News ran a reader's recipe for "German's Chocolate Cake" as its Recipe of the Day, from a Dallas homemaker Wikipedia names as Lucy Clay, often cited as Mrs. George Clay. General Foods, which owned Baker's, sent the recipe to newspapers across the country, and sales of Baker's chocolate reportedly rose by as much as 73% (Snopes, 1998, as cited by Wikipedia). Along the way the possessive "German's" was dropped, and the name started sounding like a country. Wikipedia also notes an earlier "Summer German Chocolate Cake" printed in The Irving News Record, near Dallas, in May 1956, so who was first is DISPUTED. The cake we make here is the one Baker's still publishes.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Not from Germany at all: three light layers made with sweet baking chocolate and buttermilk, stacked with a cooked coconut-pecan custard frosting, the cake a 1957 Dallas newspaper recipe made famous.
🇦🇹 The original
Vienna's original is a dense chocolate sponge spread with apricot jam under a hard, glossy chocolate glaze, served with unsweetened whipped cream. See the Sachertorte (Viennese Chocolate Apricot Torte) recipe.
🗳️ Black Forest or German chocolate cake? Vote: Black Forest cake vs German chocolate cake →
📖 Myth check: Is German Chocolate Cake German? The Man Behind the Name → 📖 Myth check: Why Is Red Velvet Cake Red? Cocoa, Beets or Food Coloring →
Why it works the kitchen science
Beaten whites in a butter cake
Folding in stiff whites makes the sweet-chocolate layers unusually light, which keeps three layers of cake and custard from feeling heavy.
A cooked custard frosting
Egg yolks and evaporated milk cooked with sugar and butter turn into a thick caramel-colored custard that holds the coconut and pecans in place, nothing like a buttercream.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment and grease the sides.
- Step 2
Microwave the chocolate and water in a large bowl on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
- Step 3
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the yolks one at a time, then the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, beating well after each addition.
- Step 4
Fold in the beaten whites gently until just blended. Divide among the pans and bake 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the centers comes out clean.
- Step 5
Run a spatula around the edges at once. Cool 15 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto racks and cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Step 6
For the frosting, whisk the yolks and evaporated milk together in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 12 minutes, until thickened and golden. Off the heat, stir in the coconut, pecans and vanilla, and cool to a thick, spreadable consistency, about 30 minutes.
- Step 7
Stack the layers with frosting between them and over the top. Leave the sides bare, the classic look.
German Chocolate Cake (Coconut-Pecan Frosting)
Serves 16 · one 9-inch three-layer cake · 1 hr 30 min total
Cake
- 1 bar (4 oz, 113 g) sweet baking chocolate (German's sweet chocolate), chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 227 g) butter, softened
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk
Coconut-pecan frosting
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 can (12 fl oz) evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 170 g) butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 2/3 cups (7 oz, 198 g) sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 1/2 cups (170 g) chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment and grease the sides.
- Microwave the chocolate and water in a large bowl on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks in a small bowl and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the yolks one at a time, then the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, beating well after each addition.
- Fold in the beaten whites gently until just blended. Divide among the pans and bake 30 minutes, until a toothpick in the centers comes out clean.
- Run a spatula around the edges at once. Cool 15 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto racks and cool completely, about 1 hour.
- For the frosting, whisk the yolks and evaporated milk together in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 12 minutes, until thickened and golden. Off the heat, stir in the coconut, pecans and vanilla, and cool to a thick, spreadable consistency, about 30 minutes.
- Stack the layers with frosting between them and over the top. Leave the sides bare, the classic look.
Adapted from "BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate Cake" and "Coconut-Pecan Filling and Frosting", published by Kraft Heinz for the Baker's brand: and. We read the cake page directly; the frosting amounts and its 12-minute cook come from a search summary of the frosting page, which we could not open. Gram weights, the 16 servings and the cooling times are ours. We call for any 4 oz bar of sweet baking chocolate, since the brand name is not needed. kraftheinz.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Stir the frosting the whole time it cooks; the yolks scorch on the bottom if you stop.
- Toast the pecans first for a deeper flavor.
- Frost only the top and between the layers; the bare dark sides are part of the look.
- Keep it refrigerated after 2 hours because of the custard frosting (see the Food safety baseline).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- German chocolate cake comes from Germany. Documented as false: Wikipedia traces the name to Samuel German's sweet chocolate and the dropped possessive in "German's Chocolate Cake". Say it plainly on the site.
- The 1957 Dallas recipe was the first. Disputed: the 1957 Dallas Morning News recipe made it famous, but Wikipedia cites a May 1956 "Summer German Chocolate Cake" in The Irving News Record.
- Samuel German made his chocolate in 1852. Disputed: many sources say 1852; Wikipedia says 1853.
- Baker's sales jumped 73%. Folklore until checked: Wikipedia cites Snopes (1998) for sales that "increased by as much as 73%".
- Never frost the sides. Folklore: the bare sides are tradition, not a rule; Baker's says to frost between layers and the top.
Every other chocolate cake
Sachertorte (Viennese Chocolate Apricot Torte)
Vienna's famous chocolate torte: a light, dark chocolate sponge split and filled with apricot jam, brushed with more jam and covered in a glossy poured chocolate glaze, served with unsweetened whipped cream.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake)
The real Black Forest cake: three layers of chocolate sponge brushed with kirsch, sour cherries and a light vanilla cream, covered in cream and dark chocolate shavings, the way the Black Forest's own tourism board makes it.
French Mi-Cuit Chocolate Cake (Pierre Hermé's Five-Ingredient Fondant)
France's soft-centered chocolate cake, the way pastry chef Pierre Hermé shared it in 2020: butter, sugar, eggs, a little flour and a lot of dark chocolate, baked until the edges set and the middle stays fudgy.
Torta Caprese (Italian Chocolate Almond Cake from Capri)
Capri's chocolate cake made with ground almonds instead of wheat flour: dark chocolate, butter and whipped egg whites baked into a cake with a crackly top and a dense, moist middle.
Kladdkaka (Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake)
Sweden's café favorite: a quick chocolate cake with no rising agent, baked just long enough to set the crust while the center stays gooey and sticky, served with whipped cream and berries.
Devil's Food Cake
America's dark chocolate layer cake, the opposite of angel food: a dense, moist cocoa cake in two layers with a rich, fudgy chocolate frosting.
Red Velvet Cake
The burgundy-red, mildly chocolate layer cake with buttermilk and a touch of vinegar, stacked four layers high with a fluffy white frosting the 1950s way.
Texas Sheet Cake
A big, thin chocolate buttermilk cake baked in a half-sheet pan and covered with a fudgy chocolate icing, the cake for church suppers, funerals and crowds.
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
The 1990s restaurant dessert at home: individual chocolate cakes baked hot and fast so the outside sets and the center flows when you cut in, with a make-ahead option.
Mississippi Mud Cake
A dense, dark cocoa sheet cake spread hot with marshmallow, drizzled with chocolate ganache and covered with toasted pecans: messy, rich and built for a crowd.
Palmer House Brownies (Walnut and Apricot Glaze)
The fudgy, walnut-topped chocolate bars Chicago's Palmer House hotel says it first made for the 1893 World's Fair, finished with a thin, shiny apricot glaze.
One-Bowl Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (Weeknight)
A moist, tender chocolate snack cake mixed in one bowl in 10 minutes, with mayonnaise standing in for both the eggs and the oil, ready to eat in about 45 minutes with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Brooklyn Blackout Cake (Inspired by Ebinger's, Not Official)
Inspired by, not official: a homage to the lost Ebinger's bakery's famous cake, with dark chocolate layers, a thick chocolate pudding filling, fudgy icing and a coat of chocolate cake crumbs.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.