It’s EASY to make an absolutely delicious German Chocolate Cake for dessert, thanks to a simple shortcut (using a box mix) and then topping it with yummy HOMEMADE coconut pecan frosting! SO GOOD!!!!
Do you enjoy German chocolate cake? We sure do, but I think my Mom might be the biggest fan of all. She is the one who taught me this quick shortcut which I have used for years to make this delicious dessert!
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My Mom LOVES German Chocolate Cake
German Chocolate Cake is my Mom’s all-time favorite cake – (she used to make one for herself for her birthday whenever possible). I recently flew down to see her in Southern California because she was very sick (and it was her birthday), and made her a German chocolate cake as a SURPRISE!
She loved it, and I even froze a few extra slices for her, which she was able to enjoy long after I had returned home to Oregon.
My mom has made LOTS of German chocolate cakes over the years. She told me how easy it has NOW become, thanks to using a boxed cake mix for the base. Her cakes are always good; she cooks most of them from scratch, so I assumed she still made this particular cake from scratch. Nope. She switched because of the time it saved her to make this cake (a box mix can be made lickety split)!
So that’s how I make it now, too. She insists it’s the FROSTING that needs to be made from scratch for a PERFECT TASTING German chocolate cake! I gotta tell you – this frosting is the best – better than a tub of frosting from the store!
How To Make This EASY German Chocolate Cake
So here’s how to make this delicious cake, easily and quickly! Prepare boxed cake mix using the ingredients and instructions on the box. I made a 9″ two layer cake, but it’s perfectly okay to make a 13×9 sheet cake with this recipe, as well (even EASIER).
When done baking, transfer the cake pans to a wire rack. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully invert cake layers onto wire rack, one at a time. You can do this by placing a wire rack on top of the cake pan. Quickly and carefully turn it over while holding both the wire rack and the cake pan tightly together. This will release the cake from the pan. Let the cake layers cool to room temperature before frosting.
Time To Make The Easy German Chocolate Cake Frosting!
Once you put the cake in oven, make the homemade frosting: Cook butter, evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for a full 12 minutes, stirring often, until mixture thickens. Remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in shredded coconut and chopped pecans until fully blended. Let this frosting cool to room temperature before frosting cake. You can speed up the cooling process by stirring the frosting often, if desired.
Frost The Cake
To frost the cake, place one layer onto a serving platter. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top of this layer. Place another layer of cake on top of the frosted layer. Carefully spread frosting lightly over the top and sides of cake until fully covered.
Serve The German Chocolate Cake
Once the cake is frosted, all that is left for you to do is… slice cake, serve… and ENJOY! (Insert everyone’s happy face here!!!!!). The frosting is so incredibly good, and you made it from SCRATCH. You don’t have to tell your friends that you used a boxed cake mix for convenience… that will be OUR little secret (wink, wink).
This is a light, moist, absolutely delicious cake… one you will be proud to serve to family and friends, and the homemade frosting is outta this world good! The recipe makes enough frosting to lightly frost a two layer cake or a 13×9 inch cake (see NOTES section in printable recipe for larger quantity ingredient calculations), if additional cake layers or a thicker layer of frosting is desired.
Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you will check out some of the other cake recipes here, like Apple Cake, Carrot Cake, Hummingbird Cake, Lemon Jello Cake, and several others. They are delicious, and can easily be found in the Recipe Index at the top of this page. Have a fantastic day, friends.
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Frosting Recipe Source: My Mom
- 1 German chocolate box cake mix
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 egg yolks , beaten slightly
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Prepare boxed cake mix using ingredients and instructions from box. When done baking, transfer cake pans to wire rack. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully invert cake onto wire rack (place wire rack on top of cake pan, then quickly and carefully turn over, to release cake from pan. Let cake layers cool to room temperature before frosting.
To make frosting (make while cake is baking): Cook butter, evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for a full 12 minutes, stirring often, until mixture thickens. Remove pan from heat.
Stir in shredded coconut and chopped pecans until fully blended. Let frosting cool to room temperature before frosting cake layers. (You can speed up the cooling process by stirring the frosting often, if desired).
To frost cake, place one layer onto serving platter. Spread a thin layer of frosting over top of cake layer. Place another layer of cake on top of frosting. Carefully spread frosting over top and sides of cake until covered. Slice cake, serve... and ENJOY!
NOTE: This makes enough frosting for a 13x9 or two layer cake. If you want more frosting for your cake, use these ingredients: 1 can (12 oz.) evap. milk, 1½ cups sugar, 3/4 cup butter, 4 yolks, 1½ tsp. vanilla, 1 pkg (7 oz.) shredded coconut, and 1½ cups chopped pecans. (this will make 4½ cups total)
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!