cooking with ree

German Chocolate Cake

Jump to recipe HERE.

I got a call one day, way back in the 90’s, from my friend Monique. She was looking for a German Chocolate Cake recipe for a family event, and wanted to know if my Baba had one. I had been going through her recipes around that time and had seen one, so I was able to share it with her. I had never made it.

Monique called me back sometime later after the event, and said it was a HUGE HIT! She doesn’t like chocolate, but said she loved this cake! She made it as a sheet cake with the icing spread over the top. I have since made it several times, and it is always well received. Last summer I made it for a friend’s birthday and got very good reviews. I chose to bake it in 3 layers that time, and modified it a bit by icing the sides of the cake with a chocolate buttercream and used the filling for the layers and the top. If you choose to make it with the buttercream on the sides, make enough of a lip at the top for the filling so it won’t fall over the sides.

This is a cheater recipe; no one will believe it is a modified cake mix unless you tell them!

German Chocolate Cake Recipe

German Chocolate Cake

  • Servings: 12-16
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
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Ingredients

  • 1 box white cake mix (I prefer Pilsbury)
  • 1 box instant chocolate pudding mix
  • 3 egg whites
  • 2 cups milk

Directions

  1. Grease and flour pan(s).
  2. Beat cake mix, pudding mix, egg whites and 1 cup of the milk on medium speed for 2 minutes.
  3. Then add the remaining 1 cup milk; beat well.
  4. Pour into greased and floured pans and bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out with light crumbs.
  5. If baked in layers, let cool in pan about 5 minutes, remove to cooling rack to cool.
  6. If baked as a sheet cake, leave in pan to cool.
  7. Let cool completely before frosting.

Ingredients

Filling

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan.
  2. Bring to a simmer over medium-low to medium heat.
  3. Simmer for 12 minutes.
  4. It will thicken as it cools.
  5. Let cool completely before filling layers or frosting cake.

Ingredients

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup salted butter, slightly softened (Butter should be still cool to the touch but you can press a finger into it).
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 pound powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1-2 tablespoons milk
  • pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Beat butter and vanilla together on medium speed until butter is creamy (about 2 minutes).
  2. Scrape sides of the bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk to combine and get most of the lumps out. You can sift if you’d like but it shouldn’t be necessary.
  4. Add the powdered sugar/cocoa mixture to the butter/vanilla.
  5. Mix on the lowest speed just until combined, then increase the speed and beat until light and fluffy, maybe another minute or so.
  6. Check the consistency of the frosting. If it is too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time, beating after each addition, until it is smooth and the correct consistency for spreading.
  7. Add salt if you’d like (just a pinch!)
  8. Frost the sides of the layer cake and pipe a rim around the top perimeter of the cake so that it creates a “lip” to keep the coconut pecan filling on top of the cake.
  9. This will make enough to frost the sides of two 3 layer cakes or one 9 x 13 sheet cake.
  10. Store in refrigerator.

Ree Oxford
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