About This 6 Inch German Chocolate Cake Recipe
This 6 inch German chocolate cake is a small batch version of a beloved classic: German chocolate cake! My German chocolate cake recipe starts with three layers of super moist and pillowy chocolate sour cream cake. The cakes are then stacked with a sticky coconut pecan butterscotch custard and covered in a tangy, bittersweet dark chocolate ganache to balance the sweetness of the filling.
The resulting cake is a modern, not-too-sweet update on a favorite. But the best part? This recipe makes a 6-inch, 3-layer cake, perfect for a small celebration of 6 to 8 people!
For more 6 inch cake recipes, check out Hummingbird High’s Cake Recipe collection! Popular recipes include this 6 Inch Victoria Sponge Cake Recipe and this 6 Inch Cheesecake Recipe.
Why You Should Make The Recipe
This 6 inch German chocolate cake is an updated take on a traditional recipe.
This 6 inch German chocolate cake recipe falls somewhere between an old-fashioned and a modern German chocolate cake recipe. The chocolate cake is adapted from my favorite chocolate cake in my cookbook, Weeknight Baking. However, I make some key additions to make it more suited for the German chocolate cake: brown sugar in place of granulated sugar (which complements the coconut pecan’s butterscotch flavors), coconut oil in place of canola oil (again, to complement the coconut pecan filling), and sour cream in place of buttermilk. That last substitution is key. Like buttermilk, sour cream gives the cake moist and tangy flavors. However, it also creates a sturdier cake crumb that holds up under the weight of the filling and frosting.
I also found that many of the chocolate buttercream frostings in modern German chocolate cake recipes were too sweet. My solution? Use a dark chocolate ganache frosting instead! The dark chocolate ganache in this recipe has no additional sugar beyond what’s in the dark chocolate. As a result, it is intensely dark and bittersweet. These flavors help chill out the sweetness of the coconut pecan filling.
Additionally, most ganaches are made with a combination of dark chocolate and heavy cream. But in the recipe below, I use sour cream instead. Sour cream’s tangy flavor also helps balance out the flavor of the coconut pecan filling. Overall, the dark chocolate sour cream ganache leads to a more nuanced and less intensely sweet German chocolate cake. I joke that this is the German chocolate cake recipe for adults!
Despite this 6 inch German chocolate cake recipe having multiple components, each one comes together easily.
Whenever I make a layer cake, I know that I am committing to A Project That Takes All Day. And indeed, let me warn you now—this 6 inch German chocolate cake recipe is no exception. You will need to make three different recipes (for chocolate cake, coconut pecan filling, and chocolate sour cream ganache), then assemble everything together. Each recipe also needs to be cooled accordingly.
But despite the time consuming nature of this recipe, each component actually comes together really easily. You don’t even need a stand mixer for anything! Both the chocolate cake and ganache recipes are almost one bowl (they actually only require two bowls, lol). The most difficult part of each recipe is waiting for it to come to the right temperature to proceed to the next step. That’s it!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Now that I’ve convinced you to make this 6 inch German chocolate cake, here’s your shopping list for the recipe:
Shopping List for 6 Inch German Chocolate Cake Recipe
- cake flour
- brown sugar
- natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- baking soda
- baking powder
- kosher salt
- sour cream
- virgin (unrefined) coconut oil
- large eggs
- pure vanilla extract
- coffee
- sweetened flaked coconut
- pecans
- unsalted butter
- evaporated milk
- dark (between 60% to 70% cacao) chocolate
Now let’s talk about some key ingredients and their substitutions:
Ingredient Sources and Substitutions
- Cake Flour. No cake flour? No problem. Check out my recipe for Homemade Cake Flour using all-purpose flour and cornstarch!
- Brown Sugar. Brown sugar is available in two varieties: light or dark. Dark brown sugar is my personal preference; because it contains more molasses, I find it to be more flavorful. However, you can use either in this recipe.
- Cocoa Powder. You can use either Dutch-processed OR natural unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe. Dutch-processed cocoa powder will make the chocolate taste milder (but still cocoa-y) and give the frosting a dark brown, Oreo-ish color. Natural unsweetened cocoa powder will make the chocolate taste tarter and fruitier, and give the frosting a lighter reddish-brown color.
- Kosher Salt. Kosher salt is the best salt for baking recipes. But you can replace the kosher salt in the recipe with half its amount in table salt.
- Sour Cream. Sour cream can be substituted with plain, unsweetened full-fat regular OR Greek yogurt. You can also use fancy creamy dairy products like crème fraîche or mascarpone instead.
- Coconut Oil. Virgin (unrefined) coconut oil works best in this recipe since it helps give the cake a coconutty flavor. But refined coconut oil works just as well, too (you’ll just lose some coconut flavor). In fact, canola oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, and peanut oil also work. However, if you use one of these neutral oils, your cake will lose its subtle coconut flavor.
- Coffee. Coffee brings out the flavors of chocolate and helps balance its sweetness. But if you’re avoiding caffeine, you can replace the coffee with the same amount of hot water.
- Sweetened Flaked Coconut. This is what I used to make this cake, but honestly, you can get away with using whatever type of coconut you have on hand. Your results will just vary slightly: dried shredded coconut will result in a less sweet filling, while coconut flakes will result in a chunkier textured filling.
- Chocolate. Check out my blog post on the best chocolate for making chocolate chip cookies. Although the post lists my recommendations for chocolate chip cookies, the chocolate works perfectly well in this cake recipe, too!
How To Make 6 Inch German Chocolate Cake
Here are the basic steps to make this 6 inch German chocolate cake from scratch:
First, make the chocolate cake.
- Prep the ingredients for the chocolate cake. (Prep Time: 10 minutes)
Luckily, prepping ingredients for the chocolate cake is straightforward. All you need to do is make sure that all the ingredients are at the temperatures listed in the recipe. That means bringing the sour cream and eggs to room temperature, and melting the coconut oil if necessary. Note that you need very hot—as close to freshly made as possible—coffee for the recipe. Be sure to check out the FAQ and Baker’s Tips sections below for more information. - Make the chocolate cake batter. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
Making the cake batter is an easy process. First, whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Then, whisk together the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then pour in the hot coffee. The recipe uses only two mixing bowls! Cool, right? - Bake the chocolate cakes. (Bake Time: 24 minutes)
Divide the cake batter between three 6-inch round cake pans. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes. - Freeze the chocolate cakes.
After baking the cakes, cool them completely. Then, turn out each layer and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze while you make the chocolate sour cream ganache and coconut pecan filling.
Freezing the cakes while you make the rest of the recipe’s components sets you up for success. The chocolate cakes have a very soft crumb that can break apart easily when assembling the cake. Freezing the cakes for a short amount of time helps prevent this from happening!
Then, make the coconut pecan filling.
- Prep the ingredients for the coconut pecan filling. (Prep Time: 5 minutes)
The coconut pecan filling’s ingredients don’t require much prep. Simply measure everything out, melt the butter, and prep your egg yolks. That’s it! I like to melt the butter in the same pan that I will use to make the filling—doing so saves myself from cleaning an additional dish! - Toast the coconut flakes and pecans. (Bake Time: 10 minutes)
Toasting the coconut flakes and pecans brings out their natural oils and makes them more flavorful. The easiest way to toast everything is to spread the ingredients out in a thin layer on a sheet pan. Then, bake in the oven at a low temperature until fragrant and lightly toasted. That’s it! - Make butterscotch custard base. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
The coconut pecan filling is held together with a butterscotch custard base. To make the base, whisk together the remaining ingredients for the filling (except the vanilla!) in a sauce pot. Then, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, followed by the toasted coconut and pecans. - Cool the coconut pecan filling.
The coconut pecan filling needs to be cooled to room temperature before using in the cake. It will thicken as it cools, bringing it to the perfect consistency. It should take about 1 to 1 ½ hours for the filling to cool on a wire rack at room temperature. You can speed up the process by scraping the filling into a new bowl (different from the pan it was cooked in) to cool.
Next, make the chocolate sour cream ganache.
- Prep the ingredients for the chocolate sour cream ganache. (Prep Time: 10 minutes)
The chocolate sour cream ganache consists of only two ingredients: chocolate and sour cream. However, you need to prep the chocolate by finely chopping it into ¼- to ½-inch pieces. Doing so will help it melt faster and more evenly. I like to chop up my chocolate by hand—it usually takes around 10 minutes or so. If you want a shortcut, you can blitz the chocolate in a food processor. - Make the chocolate sour cream ganache. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler. Once the chocolate is melted, whisk in the cold sour cream until melted and combined. Congrats—you just made the chocolate sour cream ganache. Easy, right?
If you done right, the ganache will come together fairly quickly into the perfect, spreadable texture once you add the sour cream to the melted chocolate. The trick is to use cold sour cream, straight from the fridge. The cold sour cream will combine with the warm melted chocolate into a silky, creamy texture perfect for spreading and piping.
Finally, assemble the German chocolate cake.
- Assemble the cake layers. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
When ready to assemble the cake, remove the cakes from the freezer. Unwrap each cake and discard the plastic wrap. If necessary, level the top of the cakes. Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter in the center of a rotating cake stand. Take an offset spatula and drop a generous ½ cup of the coconut pecan filling right in the middle of the top of the cake. Spread it evenly all over the top, just like you would spread butter on toast. Repeat the process with a second layer of cake. Then, stack the third and last layer on top. But there’s no need to top this layer of cake with the filling… yet. - Crumb coat the cake. (Work Time: 15 minutes)
A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that’s spread over the naked cake to trap crumbs. If you’ve ever tried to frost a cake without a crumb coat, you’ll know that crumbs can shake loose from the cake and get caught in the frosting, leaving your cake with unsightly bumps. The crumb coat seals in any crumbs, allowing you to apply thicker and smoother layers of frosting later.
To apply a crumb coat, follow the instructions to stack the cakes, layering frosting between each cake to “glue” them together. Cover the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of frosting—this is the crumb coat. Use just enough frosting to cover the entire cake completely. There’s no need to spend the time to make it look pretty! You’ll end up covering the crumb coat later.
Then, refrigerate the whole thing for 10 to 15 minutes, just enough for the frosting to harden. You won’t need to refrigerate the cakes for too long because, in theory, the cakes are still chilled from the freezer.
Now, make the German chocolate cake pretty.
- Finish frosting the top and sides of the cake. (Work Time: 15 minutes)
Once the crumb coat is set, finish frosting the cake. Transfer about ¼ to ⅓ cup of the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and set aside—you’ll need this frosting for the top of the cake. But for now, use the offset spatula to cover the cake with the remaining frosting.
This is where you can be creative. You can use the remaining frosting to frost a perfectly smooth cake (similar to this pink champagne cake of mine), or use the offset spatula to create rustic swirls (like I did for this Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake). For this cake, I went a different route: I used the offset spatula to create horizontal lines on the cake.
It looks impressive and it sounds intimidating, but it’s astonishingly easy. All I did was hold the tip of the offset spatula against the sides of the cake. I then rotated the cake on the stand, holding the spatula in place but moving it slightly upwards as I turn. Doing so creates a natural spiral up the cake, creating the horizontal lines. Confused? Check out this cake decorating video by Wilton that demonstrates the technique. Cool, right?! - Decorate the top of the cake. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
Once you’re happy with the sides of your cake, it’s time to decorate its top. Again, this is where you can be creative. Because I am an overachiever, I decided to pipe the top of my cake to create a “well” or “dam” that would hold the coconut pecan filling in its center. I used a piping bag fitted with a closed star tip to pipe the shell border demonstrated in this Wilton tutorial. I then filled the center with the remaining coconut pecan filling and garnished everything with chocolate sprinkles to boot.
If you’re pinched for time, simply cover the top of the cake with the rest of the coconut pecan filling. It will look plenty tasty and delectable, I promise!
Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ
Do I need special tools to make this 6 inch German chocolate cake recipe?
It should go without saying, but you need three 6-inch cake pans to make this German chocolate cake.
You’ll also need the following:
If you bake cakes regularly, it’s likely that you already have the tools I just listed!
What star tip did you use for your 6 inch German chocolate cake?
I used this closed star Ateco 847 tip from this Ateco Jumbo Tip Set. But really, any star piping tip—opened or closed—will do!
Can you freeze 6 Inch German Chocolate Cake?
Yes! You can freeze the 6 inch German chocolate cake in the following ways:
Freeze the baked, unfrosted chocolate cake layers and the coconut pecan filling.
Follow the recipe instructions for making and baking the chocolate cake layers. Once the layers have cooled, tightly wrap each cake layer in its own individual sheet of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. To use in the recipe, there’s no need to thaw the cakes! Simply set the cake layers out on the counter 20 minutes before assembling the cake. Use in the recipe as directed.
You can also freeze the coconut pecan filling. Follow the recipe instructions to make the coconut pecan filling. Once cool, transfer to a ziptop bag and squeeze any extra air out of the bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To use in this recipe, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight the day before assembling the cake. Set the bag of filling out on the counter 20 minutes before assembling the cake. Use in the recipe as directed.
However, I do not recommend freezing the chocolate sour cream ganache. The ganache tends to separate as it thaws—it’s best to make it from scratch each time!
Freeze any leftover slices of 6 inch German chocolate cake.
Tightly wrap any leftover slices of cake in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight. Rewarm for 10 to 20 second intervals in the microwave until room temperature.
Best Recipe Tips
Ingredient Tips
- When making the cakes, pay attention to the temperatures of the ingredients listed in the recipe. Coconut oil needs to be melted and cooled slightly (just so it’s not scalding hot) before use in the recipe. Similarly, both the egg and sour cream needs to be at room temperature before use in the recipe. If you combine melted coconut oil with cold egg and sour cream, the cold ingredients will resolidify the coconut oil. You’ll end up with an extremely lumpy and dry batter that’s hard to mix. Adding hot coffee will help thin it out, but it’s best to avoid the situation in the first place!
- Make sure that the coffee is very hot, as close to freshly boiled as possible, when you add it to the cake batter. This is the secret to a super moist and fluffy cake! To ensure that my coffee stays very hot, I pour it into an insulated mug right after boiling. Then, I place a ceramic plate on top of the mug to act as a makeshift lid to trap heat inside.
Technique Tips
- For even cake layers, I like to actually weigh out the layers with a digital kitchen scale to make sure they’re even. The easiest way to do this is to set a prepared cake pan on a digital scale and tare it to “0”. Pour batter into the pan until the scale registers the weight listed in the recipe (because yes, I’ve included the approximate weight of the batter needed for each pan!). Repeat with the second and third cake pans.
- Whenever I bake, I always look for ways to prevent myself from doing any more dishes than I need to. In this recipe, there are a few ways you can save yourself a bowl:
First, if you have a microwave, you can melt the coconut oil for the chocolate cake in a large bowl (it should be big enough to eventually mix the batter in). Simply add the rest of the liquid ingredients (specifically, the sour cream, egg, and vanilla) to the melted coconut oil. And voila! You’re basically halfway done with making the chocolate cake.
Second, the coconut pecan filling instructs you to use melted butter in its custard. Simply melt the butter in the pot you’re planning on making the custard in, then, once it’s melted, add the rest of the ingredients for the custard, too. Congrats! You just turned the recipe into a “one pot” recipe.
Best Customization Tip
- The chocolate sour cream ganache is really bittersweet and tangy on its own. If you want a sweeter frosting, I suggest using a dark chocolate that is between 60% and 65% cacao (as opposed to one that’s 70%+). You can also stir in up to 2 Tablespoons of agave or maple syrup for additional sweetness.
Get the Recipe: 6 Inch German Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
- 1 cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) cake flour
- 1 cup tightly packed (7.5 ounces or 213 grams) light OR dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (1.15 ounces) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) sour cream, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams) melted virgin (unrefined) coconut oil
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (4 ounces or 113 grams) boiling hot coffee
For the Coconut Pecan Filling
- 1 cup (3 ounces or 85 grams) sweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup (2 ounces or 57 grams) pecans, roughly chopped into ½- to 1-inch pieces
- 4 Tablespoons (2 ounces or 57 grams) melted unsalted butter
- 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
- ½ cup tightly packed (3.75 ounces or 106 grams) light OR dark brown sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- pinch of kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache
- 9 ounces (255 grams) dark chocolate (between 60% and 70% cacao), finely chopped into ¼- to ½-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces or 340 grams) cold sour cream
Equipment
- 3 (6-inch) round cake pans
- a digital kitchen scale
- a cake board
- a rotating cake stand
- an offset spatula
- a piping bag with a star tip
Instructions
For the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake
- Prep the oven and pans. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously spray three 6-inch cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottom of each with a parchment paper circle. Spray the parchment, too.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, oil, egg, and vanilla. Gradually whisk in the dry ingredients until just combined. Slowly pour in the coffee. The batter will be fairly runny; use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Use the rubber spatula to finish mixing until smooth and well combined, 2 to 3 minutes more.
- Assemble the cakes. Divide the batter evenly between the pans; if using a digital scale to measure out layers, note that this recipe makes around 24 ounces (680 grams) of batter—pour 8 ounces (227 grams) of batter into each cake pan.
- Bake the cakes. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes. When done, the top of the cakes should bounce back when gently pressed. A skewer inserted into the center of the cake should come out with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely in the pans on a wire rack before frosting.
- Prep for assembly. Once the cakes are cool, tightly wrap each cake layer in its own sheet of plastic wrap. Freeze while you make the chocolate sour cream ganache and coconut pecan filling.
For the Coconut Pecan Filling
- Toast the coconut and pecans. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F. Spread the coconut flakes and pecans in a single layer across a half sheet pan. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or until fragrant and toasted brown. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to toss the nuts every 2 to 3 minutes to ensure even toasting. Once toasted, scrape the mixture onto a plate to prevent the coconut and pecans from cooking further.
- Make the butterscotch custard. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the melted butter, evaporated milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla until smooth. Add the toasted coconut and pecans, and mix until combined. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling the cake.
For the Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache
- Melt the chocolate. Place the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water (be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Cook over medium heat, using a heatproof rubber spatula to stir the chocolate and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally, until it has completely melted, about 10 minutes.
- Add the sour cream. Remove the chocolate from the heat, immediately add the sour cream, and whisk until melted and combined. The resulting ganache should be thick, but silky and spreadable. Proceed with assembling the cake. If the ganache is too loose and drippy, scrape the ganache into a new bowl, and cool on a wire rack until spreadable, 10 to 60 minutes.
Assembly
- Prep the cake for assembly. When ready to assemble the cake, remove the cakes from the freezer. Unwrap each cake and discard the plastic wrap. If necessary, level the top of the cakes. Place one of the cake layers on a cake board or serving platter in the center of a rotating cake stand. This will be the first layer of the cake.
- Build the layers. Use a rubber spatula or cookie dough scoop to drop a slightly heaping ½ cup (4.30 ounces or 122 grams) of the coconut pecan filling in the middle of the first cake layer. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly all over the top, just like you would spread butter on toast. Place the second cake on top of this frosting, stacking it evenly on top of the first layer. Use the rubber spatula or cookie dough scoop to drop another ½ cup of the coconut pecan filling in the middle of this cake layer. Spread it evenly all over the top. Finally, place the third cake on top of this layer, stacking it evenly on top of the first two cakes.
- Next, crumb coat the cake. Use the offset spatula to cover the surface of the entire layer cake with a thin layer of chocolate ganache frosting. Use just enough frosting to cover the entire cake completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes to stiffen and "set" the frosting.
- After the crumb coat sets, finish frosting the cake. Transfer about ¼ to ⅓ cup of the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Use the offset spatula to cover the cake with the remaining frosting. Once the cake is completely covered, hold the length of the offset spatula's blade against the frosting as you rotate the cake stand to smoothen it. Alternatively, you can use the offset spatula to create swirls or patterned lines in the frosting.
- Decorate the cake. Use the piping bag to pipe a shell border around the top edge of the cake—doing so results in an empty circle in the middle of the frosting. Use the rubber spatula or cookie dough scoop to drop the remaining coconut pecan filling in the middle of the circle and use an offset spatula to spread it to fill the circle.
- Serve and store. Serve immediately. The assembled German chocolate cake can be stored at room temperature, under a cake dome or a large bowl turned upside down, for up to 1 day. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against any cut surfaces to prevent the cake from drying out. After that, cover the entire cake loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
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Your ratings make it easier to find the recipe online, and I’m always looking for ways to improve Hummingbird High.
How much cocoa powder do we use? I think you left that out😂
Oops, just updated it now! Sorry about that! You need ⅓ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (1.15 ounces) natural unsweetened cocoa powder.
Hi – where do the 2 egg yolks fit in when making the custard?
Ah! Combine the melted butter, evaporated milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, and salt and then cook it into a custard for the coconut pecan filling.
Phenomenal recipe!!! Made this gorgeous little cake for a Valentine’s Day gathering, and it was a total hit – dense and moist with a delicious chocolatey coconut punch. I loved all the detailed instructions, and especially the weight measurements; I wish more recipes would include those. I had no idea it was possible to make ganache with sour cream instead of heavy whipping cream, but I was delighted by the results. Thank you for sharing your baking wisdom with the world!
Made these today and absolutely fell in love! They are now my family’s favorite. They were so creamy and delicious. The crust was amazing, so perfect!! They were too good! The layers of coconut pecan frosting and chocolate frosting make it so so apetizing. This cake is incredible! I can’t stop making your recipes, everything is amazing. This was by far the most successful recipe I have ever attempted. Thank you so much for sharing. Can’t wait for the next recipe you are going to share. Best wishes to you! You are doing such a great job.
This was my first time making a layer cake and this recipe was IT.
First of all, this cake is the bomb — so tasty, not too sweet, a great balance of flavors and textures. Second of all, the recipe was so easy to follow and so well writtens. All of the tips and suggestions make the recipe just a dream to follow, from the big things like which common substitutions would work to the little things like how to use the least number of bowls.
I really appreciated how the recipe includes timings and instructions to allow you to break it up over several days because let’s be real: who has time to make a whole cake in one day? Once all of the ingredients have been gathered and prepped, this cake is pretty straightforward.
I followed the recipe pretty much exactly as written and had no issues. The one change I did use was use coconut brown sugar instead of brown sugar because my husband forgets how to read when he’s at the grocery store picking up ingredients for me. However, I will say I really liked the coconut brown sugar in this cake because it really enhanced the coconut flavors, which I liked!
After trying this recipe and experiencing how much of a hit this was, I’ll definitely be making many more layer cakes, specifically from Hummingbird High!
I made this cake and it is phenomenal. I am looking at making it for a larger gathering how do I update the cake recipe for an right inch pan?
My friend Erin @cloudykitchen has a great tool you can use to convert recipes into different pan sizes! Here’s the link: https://cloudykitchen.com/calculators-and-converters/#h-pan-size-converter
When my friend said that German Chocolate Cake was her favorite, I asked “The one with the weird sweet coconut? Are you sure?” about 3 times before I finally got the point. And, after having baked your cake (and after tasting the coconut butterscotch a million times to make sure it really wad delicious – it was), I’m a convert.
I did make three small changes: I used extra dark cocoa powder because that’s the only kind a use. I used unsweetened coconut, which is probably why I didn’t find the coconut filling too overpoweringly sweet. The last change I made was to add coconut sugar to the ganache. I used a combo of semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate, but wished I had gone for 100% semi-sweet. The ganache tasted very much like cocoa sour cream. I’m not sure whether that was the intended flavor profile, but it was quite bitter.
Overall, this was a great recipe and a delicious cake. So rich and moist. And, I love the 6″ size – it was so visually appealing!
Unfortunately it wasn’t successful for me. However, the instructions were great! The cake was a bit dry and frosting was bitter and sour, and too thick to apply. Sorry, not my favourite cake.
So you give it a one star? One star means you HATE IT. You said “not my favorite” which is a 4/5
Followed recipe exactly except added some powdered sugar to ganache. The best German chocolate cake I’ve ever made and I’ve tried a lot of different recipes as it is my husband’s favorite. Very impressed!
I am looking for the Vegan German Chocolate Cake recipe that was on the Valrhona website. I would be grateful if you could share your recipe or suggestions on converting this recipe to vegan. Thank you!