Traditional German Chocolate Cake - Salt & Baker (2024)

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by Whitney //February 13, 2023

This Traditional German Chocolate Cake recipe is made with a rich and moist chocolate cake layered with a homemade coconut pecan frosting that is buttery, gooey, and bursting with amazing texture from the coconut and pecans. This cake has been officially dubbed a “family favorite.”

If you are looking for a smaller cake, then I’d recommend my 6-Inch German Chocolate Cake rather than adapted this recipe to fit smaller pans. If you are looking for an even smaller option, then German Chocolate cupcakes are for you!

Why This Recipe Works

• Made with homemade German chocolate cake frosting. The classic German chocolate cake recipe is served with a frosting made with toasted pecans and sweetened coconut. They are the stars of the show in this highly addictive frosting.
• Incredibly moist chocolate cake layers. This German Chocolate cake recipe is made with ultra moist cake layers. Creaming the butter and sugars + using sour cream are key elements to getting a deliciously moist texture.
• Deep chocolate flavor. We use Dutch process cocoa powder and a semi-sweet chocolate bar to receive an ultra rich chocolate cake flavor for the best German chocolate cake ever!

Ingredient Notes

• Chocolate: Use good chocolate! You’ll be able taste a difference. I would use bar chocolate over chocolate chips.You can use Baker’s German Chocolate if you’d prefer. I used semi-sweet.
• Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder: Yes, it has to be dutch process!For more information on the different types of cocoa powders, when to use them and why, read my post on the Best Cocoa Powder for Baking
• Boiling Water: The hot water will not only help to melt the chocolate, but it will bloom it as well. Blooming cocoa powder will enhance and deepen the flavor.
• Flour: Use regular, all-purpose flour.
• Unsalted Butter: The butter will provide a delicious buttery flavor while also providing the necessary fat for the cake.
• Sugars: Using a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar will give us a moister texture.
• Eggs: The eggs will beat up nice and light to provide a rich and light texture.
• Sour Cream: Adding full fat sour cream will make this an extra moist German chocolate cake recipe!
• 1 Batch Homemade Coconut Pecan Frosting: I highly recommend making my homemade coconut pecan frosting recipe! It’s a million times better than the store-bought frosting. Trust me.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare the cake pans. Move your oven rack to the center position. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with nonstick cookie spray (that contains flour). Line the bottoms with a circular piece of parchment paper. Then spray the parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Combine part of the dry ingredients. To a small bowl add 2 cups flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt. Whisk to combine.
3. Bloom the chocolate. In another small bowl, add 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder and 4 oz chopped chocolate. Boil water then measure 1/2 cup and pour into the chocolate bowl. Cover the bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth then let cool to room temperature.
4. Cream the wet ingredients. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add 12 T unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and 3/4 cup brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl so everything is combined.

5. Add the chocolate mixture. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is combined.
6. Alternate flour mixture and sour cream. Starting and ending with the flour mixture, alternate adding it and the sour cream to the bowl (flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour) while mixing on low. Mix until just combined.
7. Bake. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove the cake pans from the oven and let the cake cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

8. Make the coconut pecan frosting. While the cakes are baking, make the frosting! Follow along in my coconut pecan frosting recipe for instructions.
9. Frost the cake. Slice each cake in half horizontally so you have 4 cakes. Generously slather the frosting between all the German chocolate cake layers. Add the coconut frosting to the top of the cake too. Keep the sides of the cake bare or frost with my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting if desired. Slice and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

The difference between semi-sweet and German chocolate is their sweetness. German chocolate is a sweet baking chocolate with a milder flavor than semi-sweet chocolate. I opted for semi-sweet chocolate out of preference.

For the boiling water, fill a small saucepan with water, bring to a boil and then measure the 1/2 cup of boiling water.

By creaming the butter and sugar together, the sugar is aerating the butter – these air bubbles expand when in the oven and contribute to leavening the cake (helping it rise).

Be sure to use room temperature eggs and room temperature sour cream.

If you want to add a chocolate frosting to the German Chocolate layer cake, I recommend my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. It’s the same frosting I use on my German chocolate cupcakes.

If you still want a naked cake looks, you can layer a small layer of the chocolate buttercream, then add the coconut pecan frosting, and still keep the edges bare.

If I had it my way, there would be equal frosting to cake ratios on this cake. Unfortunately, that may have been a tad overboard for most of you! I just love the frosting so much!

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Store the German Chocolate cake in the fridge (because of the frosting) in an airtight container or covered for 2-3 days. After that, I would recommend slicing the cake and freezing any leftovers.

To freeze cake slices, wrap in two layers plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 months. Remove and let thaw in the fridge overnight.

To freeze the whole German chocolate cake with the frosting, flash freeze until the frosting has set. Then wrap the entire cake in two layers of plastic wrap. Then, if freezing for longer than 7 days, add an extra layer of aluminum foil.

Freeze for up to 2 months. Remove and let thaw in the fridge overnight. Remove the wrappings and store covered at room temperature until the traditional German Chocolate cake reaches room temperature. Then slice and serve.

For information on storing and freezing cakes, check out my How to Store and Freeze Cakes guide!

Recipe FAQs

More Chocolate Recipes

• German Chocolate Brownies
• Texas Sheet Cake with Buttermilk
• Chocolate Buttermilk Bundt Cake
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published on February 13, 2023 // 58 Comments

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