When I think of German Chocolate cake I immediately think of this recipe. I’ll admit it, I’m a German Chocolate cake snob, and I don’t intend to change that. A cake made with canned frosting is no temptation to me at all. Growing up I had no idea you could buy ANY frosting premade, but especially German Chocolate. It’s not hard, it doesn’t take long, and it tastes SO much better than anything you can buy!

A definite Birthday request, then and now

My brother and I have Birthdays 6 days apart and it was a guarantee that one, if not both, of us would request German Chocolate Cake as our dessert. My daughter has continued the tradition for her Birthday, but when she was younger couldn’t ever remember the name so she called it “Nutty Cake”. With both pecans and coconut the name seemed fitting.

A doctored up cake mix

I start with a good old Betty Crocker German chocolate cake mix. I actually like cake mixes and just doctor them up a bit. Try using milk instead of water, melted butter instead of oil, and add a small box of (dry) chocolate pudding. Bake according to cake directions and let it cool.

If you’re like our family, you fight over licking the frosting pan clean. To make this easier I increased the size of the recipe. which uses up the full can of milk, and no more fighting! Win, win!

The size of this recipe is enough to do a stacked cake, or a thicker layer on a 9×13 pan.

German Chocolate Frosting

A rich and creamy frosting filled with pecans and coconut.

• Author: Mama Lisa

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs yolks (or 5 small)

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups shredded, sweetened, coconut

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Instructions

In medium sauce pan (not on stove) whisk together milk, sugar and eggs yolks. Add butter and cook on medium high heat. Cook and stir til thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla, coconut, and pecans.

Let cool 15 minutes before frosting cake

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