German Chocolate Sheet Cake

This German Chocolate Sheet Cake is a tender mild chocolate cake with the best and easiest coconut and pecan frosting. The sheet pan makes it super simple and great for crowds. A perfect dessert for parties and pot lucks!

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German Chocolate Sheet Cake Ingredients

• Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Canola Oil
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Pure Vanilla Extract
• Buttermilk
• Hot Water
• Evaporated Milk
• Sweetened Shredded Coconut
• Toasted Chopped Pecans

How to Make the Best German Chocolate Cake Recipe

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the unbleached all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

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2. In a stand mixer or with hand beaters, beat together the canola oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
3. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
4. Then add half of the buttermilk and mix just until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Add another third of the dry ingredients followed by the remaining buttermilk, mixing just until combined.

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6. Now add the remaining dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
7. Finally add the hot water and mix until everything is fully combined and the batter is smooth.
8. Pour the batter into a liberally greased half sheet pan (18x13).

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9. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
10. Cool cake completely before frosting.

How to Make German Chocolate Cake Frosting

1. Add eggs, evaporated milk, sugar and butter to a medium pot.
2. Heat and whisk over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 10-12 minutes.

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3. Remove from heat and stir in shredded coconut and chopped pecans.
4. Cool frosting for about 10 minutes then spread evenly over cake.
5. Garnish with mini chocolate chips if desired.

How to Toast Pecans

There are two simple ways to toast nuts: in a dry skillet or in the oven.

Skillet: In a medium dry skillet add pecans and toast over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Let cool then chop for recipe. Try to use a skillet without a nonstick coating, when heated dry it can release toxins into the food.

Oven: Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pecans on a rimmed sheet pan and bake for 7-10 minutes, stirring and flipping the nuts half way through. Let pecans cool then chop.

Tips for German Chocolate Sheet Cake

• Always fluff your flour, then spoon and level to measure. Do this when baking anything. It will help eliminate any extra flour from being added to the recipe. Too much flour in this cake will make it dry and unpleasant.
• Make sure you are using hot water. It needs to be hot to help dissolve the cocoa powder evenly into the cake. It doesn't need to be boiling, hot tap water will work just fine.
• This recipe is for a half sheet pan (18x13 inches). Do not use anything smaller or you will have a huge mess in your oven!
• If your oven tends to bake unevenly, you can rotate the cake a little over half way through the baking time. It helps with even baking and keeping the top of the cake level.
• Toast your pecans. The nuts will be flavorless without toasting. It really adds so much flavor to the pecans.
• The frosting is traditionally made with pecans, but if you prefer you can use toasted and chopped walnuts, almonds or macadamia nuts.

Storing German Chocolate Cake

Cover the cake tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil or with a fitted lid for the sheet pan. The cake will keep for 4-5 days on the counter.

You can also store the cake in the fridge, but note it will dry out faster.

Make it a Layered German Chocolate Cake

To make this a pretty layered cake you can use round cake pans or cut the sheet cake into layers.

Round: Divide the cake batter into two 9 inch round cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper and greased well. Bake the cakes at 350°F for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Fill and frost top of cake with coconut and pecan frosting.

Sheet Pan Layers: Bake the cake in a parchment lined and greased half sheet pan (18x13). Once the cake is baked and cooled, cut the cake into thirds creating 3 (6x13) pieces of cake. Its important to line with parchment paper so you can easily remove the cake from the sheet pan. Fill layers and frost top layer with the coconut and pecan frosting. For even more filling, double the frosting recipe.