Best easy German chocolate sheet cake recipe! This simple recipe makes moist German chocolate cake and a sweet, caramel coconut pecan topping.
German chocolate cake has long been one of my favorite types of cake. Since I love the combination of chocolate, coconut, and pecans so much, I’ve made German chocolate cookies, German chocolate bread pudding, German chocolate oatmeal, and German chocolate cake.
That German chocolate cake is delicious, but it’s more involved, more time-consuming. I wanted to come up with a faster, simpler recipe that was still just as tasty.
This simple sheet cake recipe is incredibly good! I like it so much that I made it as my birthday cake this year.
Not only is it a really tasty cake, but it also keeps well. So, this cake is a good choice if you need to make dessert ahead of time.
How to make German chocolate sheet cake
In a large, heat-proof bowl, add chopped chocolate. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate.
Let it stand for 5 minutes. Stir until chocolate has melted and is combined with the water.
In a separate large bowl, add oil, buttermilk, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well-combined.
Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until combined.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in just until combined. Don’t overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
To make the topping, add the egg yolks, milk, and brown sugar to a large saucepan. Whisk until combined.
Add butter. Heat saucepan over low heat.
Cook for 10 minutes, whisking regularly, until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat.
Whisk in vanilla extract. Add coconut and pecans, and stir in.
Let topping cool for 15 minutes. Spread topping over cake, and let cool to room temperature before serving.
Tips
- German chocolate: I like to use Baker’s German sweet chocolate.
- Oil: I’ve used vegetable oil and melted coconut oil in this cake. If you use melted coconut oil, the buttermilk and eggs should be at room temperature so that the oil doesn’t solidify.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat will work. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a substitute with this recipe.
- Evaporated milk: Regular or fat-free will work.
- I recommend using a metal baking pan in this recipe. If using a glass baking pan, you will need to decrease the baking temperature by 25F and adjust the baking time as needed.
Storage
I store this cake, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also store the cake, covered, in the fridge for up to 7 days.
More chocolate cake recipes!
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German Chocolate Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 9×13 pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup boiling water
- 4 ounces German sweet chocolate chopped
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans
Instructions
- To make the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch metal baking pan. Set aside.
- In a large, heat-proof bowl, add chopped chocolate.
- Pour the boiling water over the chocolate, and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- Stir until chocolate has melted and is combined with the water.
- Add the oil, buttermilk, and sugar. Whisk until well-combined.
- Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until well-combined.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in just until combined. Don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool to room temperature.
- To make the topping, add the egg yolks, milk, and brown sugar to a large saucepan.
- Whisk until combined.
- Add butter.
- Heat saucepan over low heat.
- Cook for 10 minutes, whisking regularly, until mixture has thickened.
- Remove from heat.
- Whisk in vanilla extract.
- Add coconut and pecans, and stir in.
- Let topping cool for 15 minutes.
- Spread topping over cake, and let cool to room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
- German chocolate: I like to use Baker’s German sweet chocolate.
- Oil: I’ve used vegetable oil and melted coconut oil in this cake. If you use melted coconut oil, the buttermilk and eggs should be at room temperature so that the oil doesn’t solidify.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat will work. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a substitute with this recipe.
- Evaporated milk: Regular or fat-free will work.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
Angie says
Made this for my husband on his birthday…he loved it. So did I and all the kids. I’ve made another German chocolate cake from a different recipe, this is better by far.
The best part is the frosting. The cake is moist and not overpowering in flavor…that would be the one thing I’d experiment with…just a richer chocolate flavor, but really, it’s fine as is. I will be making this again.
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m glad it was a hit!
Diane says
My mother in law who passed away about 10 years ago used to bake my husband a German Chocolate cake every year for his birthday. After she passed I decided to keep up the tradition but I always used a mix. I felt so guilty about 3 years ago and decided my husband deserved his traditional cake from scratch. This year I tried your recipe and this was so much easier and better tasting than the previous 2 recipes. This one is a keeper and my Birthday boy loved it and said it tasted more like what his mother baked. Thank you so much! This recipe is SAVED!
Kate says
What a nice comment! I’m so glad that the birthday boy loved it, and how sweet that you were able to continue that tradition! Thank you for sharing that!
Linda P says
Sheet cake 11 x17 pan not 9×13????
Kate says
Actually, a sheet cake is a cake that’s baked in a rectangular baking pan, and they can come in various sizes. For instance, a full sheet cake is 18″x26″.
Jodi says
I’m wondering if I could make this cake in a sheet pan?
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried to make it in a different size of pan to say for certain how it would work.
Alison says
Delicious! I made this for my mom’s birthday cake because it’s a flavour she has always loved since childhood, and she raved about it! I used unsweetened Baker’s chocolate instead of the German, and it was perfect. Great recipe!
Kate says
Thank you! Happy birthday to your mom!
Lynn says
This cake had a very good taste but it turned out dry and packy. Do you know what I might’ve done wrong?
Kate says
Hi! Was the cake overbaked? Ovens can vary quite a bit in how they bake, so the given time may have been too long for your oven.
Michele M says
This came out great! I usually make the 3 layer German chocolate cake and i didn’t have the time for it yesterday. Made this recipe instead. It was amazing. The coconut topping came out a little thick so i added more milk to it but otherwise it was perfect. Melted some chocolate chips and drizzled it over the top. Tried to post a pic but couldn’t figure out how on this site
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you liked the cake!
Lynn says
What a great cake! I put chocolate frosting and then the coconut topping!
Kate says
Thank you!
Frieda says
Hello, my question is can I use 1 cup of coffee and not a cup of water for the cake?
Frieda
Kate says
Hi! Coffee should work in place of the water.
SJ says
This was incredible! I was looking for a birthday cake for the hubby, and this did not disappoint. It is hard just to eat one piece. Thank you for the recipe.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it!
April says
Made this wonderful cake for my in-law’s anniversary dinner yesterday. I received a lot of compliments! Great recipe thanks!
Kate says
Thank you!
Pam says
Found this recipe and am anxious to try for a friend’s retirement. German Chocolate is her favorite, but didn’t want to do the layered cakes, so thanks for this recipe! You mention in heading it is a sheet cake, but you use a 9×13 cake pan- is this an error in pan size?
Kate says
No, I’ve seen bakeries use “sheet pan” both for the thinner cakes (i.e. quarter sheet, half sheet, and full sheet cakes) and for thicker cakes baked in a 9×13 pan. I’m not aware of another term to differentiate the single layer cakes baked in a larger pan vs layer cakes, but if there is, please let me know! This cake is a favorite of mine, and I made it for my birthday this last year. I hope you and your friend enjoy it as much as my family does!
Pam says
Thank you for responding. Looking forward to tasting, haven’t had a German Chocolate cake in years. When I think of a sheet pan I think of shorter sides vs cake pan with higher sides. A 9×13 sheet pan wouldn’t hold as much batter as a 9×13 cake (or baking) pan.
Kate says
That’s true! I hope you like the cake if you try it!
Elizabeth says
Can this recipe be doubled? I plan to use an 11×15 pan. Thank you
Kate says
Hi! I haven’t tried doubling this recipe, but I’m afraid that you’d end up with too much batter for an 11×15. Depending on how deep your pan is, you may find that a 1.5x batch is a better fit.
Sue H says
So much easier than 3 layers and just as delicious.
Kate says
Thank you so much!!
Marty Lewis says
I live in Colorado…high altitude…do I need to add or decrease anything?Over 8000 ft high. Thanks
Kate says
Hi! Unfortunately, I don’t have a way to test the recipes for high altitude.
Peggy says
This cake was the star of our meal. So good that I wanted another piece, but not a crumb was left. I see another german chocolate sheet cake in our future.
Kate says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that!
Jane says
When I saw this cake I had to try it. The cake was moist and the topping was true German chocolate topping. This was so much easier and faster than the traditional cake.
Kate says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it!