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German Chocolate Cake Recipe

German Chocolate Cake Recipe photo by Taste of Home

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Many folks in our area of Ohio are of German descent, so this recipe is especially appropriate for our region. This cake is my husband's favorite!

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German Chocolate Cake Recipe

Prep: 30 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling

Yield: 12 Servings

30 30 60

Ingredients

4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup water
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
FROSTING:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups evaporated milk
3/4 cup butter
5 egg yolks, beaten
2 cups flaked coconut
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
ICING:
1 teaspoon shortening
2 ounces semisweet chocolate

Directions

Line three greased 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper. Grease waxed paper and set aside. In small saucepan, melt chocolate with water over low heat; cool.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 4 egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl and with clean beaters, beat the 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of the egg whites into the creamed mixture; fold in remaining whites.
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a small saucepan, heat the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut, pecans and vanilla extract. Cool until thick enough to spread. Spread a third of the frosting over each cake layer and stack the layers.
In a microwave, melt chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth; drizzle over cake. Yield: 12 servings.

Nutritional Facts 1 slice equals 910 calories, 53 g fat (28 g saturated fat), 237 mg cholesterol, 511 mg sodium, 103 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 11 g protein.

Originally published as German Chocolate Cake in Country December/January 1991, p47

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Reviews for German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake

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Reviewed on Sep. 30, 2012 by coffeemama_11

I have an Aunt who for years made german chocolate cake and I looked sooooo forward to going to the farm for this cake. I have been looking for the ICING for this cake for a long time, I was thrilled to find this and it did NOT disappoint!!! the icing in this recipe is exactly as I remember it, gooey, sweet and delicious! I make my own chocolate cake and use this icing and I just cant get enough, delicious on chocolate cupcakes also. LOVE IT!!

Reviewed on Jun. 14, 2012 by FarmerGig

Excellent flavor and texture, especially the frosting. My only concern was that it stuck to the wax paper when left too long. Be careful to remove the wax paper shortly after you pull it from the oven.

Reviewed on May. 08, 2012 by cocoalady

My son requested a German Chocolate cake for his B'Day so I found this one a tried it! Wonderful! I subed 1/2 cup of the sugar with Truvia. Made 1 1/2 times the frosting and will double it if not using the Icing. Excellent and will make it again for sure!

Reviewed on Apr. 16, 2012 by Stacey4

I made this cake for my boyfriends birthday. It was so good! I normally don't like nuts in my dessert, but this cake was excellent. It was my first time making a three layer cake and making a cake from scratch. It was well worth the effort. I put the cake layers under the broiler for a few minutes after I frosted them as some of the other reviewers suggested. Great cake thanks for the recipe.

Reviewed on Apr. 14, 2012 by cogmom63

I've been making this recipe for quite awhile. One of my changes is to replace the 1/2 cup of water that you melt the chocolate in with 1/2 cup of brewed coffee. It's great!

Reviewed on Apr. 12, 2012 by sstetzel

I prefer unsalted butter, but either one will work.

Reviewed on Apr. 12, 2012 by ballofjoy2006

Can you please tell me, is the butter salted or unsalted? (for the frosting)

Reviewed on Feb. 04, 2012 by demccoy

Just made this cake for my son's birthday and it is oh, so good! The only thing I changed was that I did not make 3 layers but 2 instead I used 10" cake pans. I will definitely make this cake again and will NEVER use boxed mix or canned frosting for a German Chocolate cake again! Thanks for the recipe.

Reviewed on Jan. 15, 2012 by lizeck

The best German Chocolate Cake I've ever eaten. Super moist, even days after I made it! Will Make this again and again!

Reviewed on Dec. 26, 2011 by Floridaysgirl

The best cake ever! Very rich, but oh, so good!

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