Named for a man, not a country
In 1852, an employee of an American chocolate company named Samuel German developed a sweet baking chocolate, a bar with sugar already blended in, that the company sold under his name. The product sat on grocery shelves for a century without much fuss. Then, in 1957, a Dallas newspaper printed a reader's recipe for a chocolate cake made with that sweet chocolate and topped with a coconut-pecan frosting. The recipe spread, sales of the chocolate jumped, and over time the possessive dropped off. German's chocolate cake became German chocolate cake, and the name has confused people ever since.
Because the cake was built around sweet chocolate, a traditional German chocolate cake is milder and lighter in color than a devil's food cake. Some modern bakeries use darker chocolate or cocoa for more depth, which changes the character of the cake, though plenty of people prefer it that way.
The frosting is a custard
The defining part is the filling and topping. It isn't a buttercream but a cooked custard: evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks and butter stirred over heat until thick, then mixed with sweetened shredded coconut and toasted chopped pecans. Done well, it's caramel-colored, glossy, chewy with coconut and crunchy with nuts. Undercooked, it runs off the cake; overcooked, it turns grainy and stiff.
Bakeries assemble the cake in two main ways:
- Classic style: three layers with coconut-pecan frosting between them and on top, with the sides left bare to show the layers.
- Fully dressed: the same layers and filling, but the sides are frosted with chocolate buttercream or ganache, often with piped chocolate rosettes around the top edge.
Look for a generous layer of topping, pecans that taste toasted rather than raw, and a moist crumb that holds up under the weight of the frosting.
Ordering, serving and storage
German chocolate cake is less common in bakery cases than plain chocolate, so call ahead for slices or order a whole cake a few days in advance. Slices usually run about $5 to $8, and an 8- or 9-inch layer cake roughly $40 to $75. Cupcakes and sheet cakes are popular for office birthdays, since the textured topping hides imperfect frosting and travels well. The frosting contains eggs and dairy, so the cake keeps best covered in the refrigerator for up to four or five days; serve it at room temperature for the softest frosting and fullest chocolate flavor. Because of the pecans, it's not a choice for guests with tree nut allergies, and some bakeries can make a nut-free coconut version on request.
