Kicked-Up German Chocolate Cake From a Mix with Homemade Coconut Pecan Frosting
My hubby's favorite chocolate cake. I didn't know who it was that first thought of combining a chocolate cake with coconut-pecan frosting, but it sure was a good idea, wasn't it? 😉
Some things pair so well that you'd think that they grew up together! Like kids on the same block! Maybe that's how it happened? I'll trade you some chocolate for some of that coconut?
Well, I decided to do a little research, because I love the history of food and just had to find out how this wonderful cake was first created and by whom! I was quite surprised to find out the facts, as this cake didn't actually originate in Germany. Nope.
It actually originated in Texas by a housewife! You see, the first part, "German" is actually the last name of Sam, the man who created the mild, dark baking chocolate for the Baker's Chocolate Company back in 1852.
Then in comes the second part. In 1957, a Texas homemaker named Mrs. George Clay came up with a cake recipe for Baker's German's Chocolate and it was published in her hometown Dallas newspaper.
It was an enormous hit, and the rest, as they say, is history! (The chocolate company dropped the 's from Mr. German's last name and shortened the title of their chocolate baking bar from German's Chocolate to German Chocolate, so that's where the confusion of origin came in for German Chocolate Cake as it was originally called, "German's Chocolate Cake".)
Whew. Make sense? 😀
Cool story, huh?! 😀 Soooooo, maybe I might not be that far off after all! 😉 But I sure would like to thank her! It's one of the most popular cakes out there and doubt that it's adoration will ever fade.
So anyways, my hubby came home from the store with another boxed cake mix. *sigh* I really don't very much care for them.
They bake up full of air with almost no flavor. So I really doctored it up, and it came out pretty darned good actually.
Homemade is still always better, hands down, but if you find yourself in the same situation, this might just surprise you and lend a hand to making that mix taste a whole lot better! 😉
I switched out all of the flavorless ingredients for "real" ingredients such as butter, milk and an extra egg yolk for richness.
And I also gave it a bit of a flavor boost by adding some espresso powder, cocoa powder, chocolate fudge pudding mix and a little vanilla extract.
As for the frosting, he knows I'd about shoot him if he came home with one of those plastic tubs of goo. I make a wonderful homemade coconut-pecan frosting, so at least the frosting was homemade from scratch. 😉
Once the cake was done and frosted, it looked like it was going to leave the house half-dressed! So I had originally thought to decorate it a bit with some pecans, but I was out.
So I made up a small batch of ganache and that worked so well that I may just do it this way for awhile. 😀 😉 But you can decorate your cake how ever you'd like.
You can also cut the frosting recipe in half and only frost the top and between layers if preferring the more traditional look.
Or you can make the full batch, and do three layers dividing the batter into three pans, or make four layers by slicing two layers in half horizontally.
I was in a bit of a hurry and should've done that. Forgive me, but it was still really good. 😉
---> Frosting lover here. Never too much frosting. 😉
So here's to Mrs. Clay, the genius behind this classic cake that combines the match-made-in-heaven flavors of chocolate, coconut and pecans! Huzzah Mrs. Clay! Well done!
And I promise to sometime share my homemade version that doesn't use a boxed mix. 😉 But for now, this one ain't too shabby! 😉
Have a wonderful weekend all, and I'll see you all next week! 😀 Take care! ~Kelly
*I used 2 (8" round) dark non-stick pans, greased and floured, and baked at 325º for 40 minutes.
Kicked-Up German Chocolate Cake From a Mix with Homemade Coconut Pecan Frosting
Ingredients
For Cake:
For Frosting:
For Chocolate Ganache:
Instructions
Notes
Can I add vinegar to the milk to make it buttermilk?? Or will it mess the cake up??
Going to try to make this for someone's birthday this Friday. Also can I put dark
cocoa powder instead of regular as that is what I have in my cabinet. The way you
decorated it took me right in. Love it. Thanks/Mary
My frosting is like soup! I had it on medium high, stirring constantly for 15 minutes.
Your receive is perfect, baked this cake for a friend, so excited for him to try it!!! I cheated I've already had a piece and it is delicious. Thank you
Just made both per your instructions ,wonderful the icing was to die for. Thanks for sharing
I will be incorporating my recipe with your recipe because I love the way you have decorated your Germans Chocolate Cake. I have never used the ganache drizzle on my cake. Germans Chocolate Cake is my favorite cake to make. It always make my guest happy...and love for my guest to be happy. Love your site!
cannot wait to make this!! sounds so delish!
I have tried the recipe twice, and it starts to curdle after about 5 minutes cooking it on medium, stirring constantly. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong!
Wow, that's really strange. I've never had that happen before! I honestly don't know what to tell you, except to try it at a lower heat? Without being there, I can't see to know what's going wrong. I'm so sorry this isn't working for you, I honestly don't know what could be causing this to happen to you.
Thanks Kelly. I was super perplexed too. I had it on medium heat, but the only thing I could think of is that maybe my gas stove gets hot faster than a normal stove and got it to the perfect consistency after only 5 minutes, but because I thought it needed more time, I kept it on and it overcooked it. I'll have to try it again another day. Looks delicious!
Yes, that could certainly be! As all stoves sure are different! So sorry, hon!
Can u put this recipe in a 9x13 pan?
You sure could!
Can you make cupcakes out of this recipe?
Definitely!
p.s. Love the way you frosted and decorated your cake. It's beautiful. That's what reeled me right in. 🙂
How fun! Like your hubby, though I bake most cakes from scratch, I cannot always resist those Betty Crocker cake and brownie mixes for a dollar on the end caps at the grocery store! So this time I bought a German Chocolate...and sat for weeks at home looking at it thinking, "Now why did I do that? It's going to taste bland and synthetic." Though I've never "cake doctored" a mix before, I thought I would google it and found your recipe. First of all, the cakes puffed up taller and more beautiful and glossy than EVER before. Then they tasted pretty great, too, when I shaved off a piece to even up a layer. But the "from scratch" frosting, I have to say, is what absolutely made it. I made a half batch (I'm returning the tub of goo from the store; it tasted old), frosting between layers and the top, then made a chocolate buttercream for the sides, and scattered a few chocolate chips on the top. Beautiful and delish. We sliced into it right away while it was still tender, and can't wait to try it tomorrow after it sits overnight. But...I can tell you, though the cake was delish, it was not at the same level as that wonderful frosting, so if you are still inclined to share your "from scratch" German Chocolate *Cake* recipe to go with that frosting, I would love to have it! Either way, thanks for the fun. What a great idea! 🙂 (And I'm after making that spinach tomato tortellini soup of yours next....yum. Glad I found your site.)
Hello, Fiordelisa! Yay! I found your comment! I actually do have a German Chocolate cake recipe somewhere! (It may take me awhile to find it, though! I have a small LIBRARY of cookbooks, magazines, and hand-written recipes all over the house! Ha!) But I *will* find it for you!! I promise! I'll start the hunt today!! I have a feeling I shoved my old recipe card in the front of a cookbook...but I have several places to look for it! Sorry I missed your comment! Recipe will be coming as soon as I find it! 🙂
Oh, thank you! 🙂 I've set my heart on it for our next family get together in February. I have an uncle who is a cake lover and my goal is always to "knock his socks off. " 🙂
Well, after hunting and hunting, ....I finally found it! YAY!!! But here's the funny part! It's the Original German's Chocolate Cake Recipe that's the same one that's now on the internet! Ha! The only thing that I could see that was different, was that I add 2 tsp. vanilla instead of just one, because I LOVE vanilla! But here is a direct link to the exact same one that I've been making since the 1980's! (*It does take time, and uses a lot of pans, I'll warn ya! But it really is worth making for special occasions!) And I of course frost it with my homemade coconut pecan frosting that's above.
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/original-bakers-germans-sweet-chocolate-cake-51120.aspx
*You might also want to check out my Hummingbird Cake and my Old Fashioned Carrot Cake! (Also very good!!)
I will absolutely check out your other cake recipes! You are a pro! (Seriously, this Kicked Up German Cake forever sealed my confidence in your recipes.) Thank you very much for searching for your GCC recipe for me. I saved it off at Kraft and added your note about the vanilla. It was kind of you to hunt it down for me. Best regards, F.
Thank you been looking for recipes for desserts for Denver Five Point Lions Clubs.I make all of the desserts for our fish fry.
I quadrupled this icing recipe for a groom’s cake and it worked beautifully and all the guests raved about it! 10 stars!!!!!!
I wish I could figure out how to send you a pic.
Awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing
My husband requested German chocolate cake for his birthday. I wanted to jazz up a plain old box of cake mix and ran across this recipe. It was amazing. I tweaked it just a bit with 1/2 butter and 1/ 2 coconut oil and used buttermilk instead of regular milk. Didn't have any powdered expresso, but hubby had a cup of coffee sitting on the counter and I poured a bit of that into it and added about a tablespoon of dark chocolate cocoa powder. It came out very moist and flavorful, like a bakery cake. I had to use canned frosting because of time constraint, but tweaked that with extra nuts, and frosted the sides with a chocolate fudge frosting with some sour cream and extra cocoa powder added in and OMG I wanted to eat more than one slice, but did I mention I made it a four layer cake using two boxes of mix. Simply divine!
I also used buttermilk instead of milk- how was the consistency of your batter? I felt as if mine is more like pudding rather than cake batter. I’m still awaiting the finished product. Fingers crossed.