In my family, we all have our “cakes”. Which means that every birthday, we each get the same cake made by my Mama. My Dad gets a marble cake. My sister-in-law Aimee gets this amazing banana cake with lemon and raspberry frosting. If you know anything about me, you could have probably guessed what my cake isโ€”German Chocolate Cake.

I think German Chocolate Cake (GCC) is pretty much everything that is right with the world. Deep, rich, bold dark chocolate and a rich, creamy, sticky sweet coconut and pecan frosting. It’s a good thing I think so highly of it, because I get a big honkin’ birthday cake of it every year in June!

Only this year, I won’t be seeing my Mama because of some extenuating circumstances. Of course, I wasn’t going to let my 28th year go by without the traditional coconut and chocolate sugar bomb. So I took matters in my own hands! Instead of doing the traditional birthday cake, I transformed GCC into shareable and transportable cupcakes. On a traditional GCC, the pecan and coconut frosting looks nice smeared all over the cake. But for some reason, a big ole lump of the non-traditional frosting on top of a cupcake didn’t appeal to me. So what’s a frosting fiend like me do? Make some chocolate ganache and pipe in on top of the cupcake and then reserve the coconut-pecan frosting for a specially, surprise filling.

If you are one of those people who like the cake part of cupcakes, go ahead and leave right now. You won’t like the rest of this post, and honestly, I’m not sure we can be friends.

(Okay, that’s a lie. Of course we can be friends, I’ll just mock you forever for liking cake more than frosting.)

To me, in cupcake land, the cake is just a vehicle for the frosting. A more polite way of getting my frosting fix than just sticking my fingers in the mixing bowl. Two frostings in one cupcake? This might just be the best birthday ever.

Time for a bit of food blogger honesty, I really don’t like baking. It’s all exact measurement this and chemical reaction that. Baking is science. Cooking is art. I like to toss a handful of this in or throw that on top. The exact chemistry that is baking is kinda lost on me. But that’s okay, I know my place. And I know that I can make really, really, really good cupcakes thanks to my friends from Duncan Hines.

Shock and awe. Yes, I use cake mixes. I bake cakes so infrequently and I despise the exact measurements so much that cake mixes are pretty much my savior. Plus, thanks to the little pudding trick (add one box of pudding to your cake mix, follow the rest of the directions as written), my cake mix cakes are super moist and gooey. Pretty much every time I make cupcakes, someone says, “Oh my gosh, this is the most moist and delicious cake I’ve ever had!” and I proudly announce it’s from a box. And then their face drops like I just told them Santa Claus is dead. Yes people, food bloggers take shortcuts, too.

Anywho, I’ll leave the cake part of up to (after all, totally the least important part), but what I will share are my recipes for the two frostings I used and my method for filling a cupcake.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Makes about 3 cups (enough to generously frost 2 dozen cupcakes)

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup (optional, adds shine)

Directions:

  1. Combine chocolate chips and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over low heat.
  2. Stir constantly until chocolate is completely melted, about 10 minutes.
  3. Turn heat up to medium and cook for 2 more minutes.
  4. Remove from heat, stir in corn syrup.
  5. Transfer frosting to metal bowl (a stand-up mixer bowl if you have one) and place in the fridge to cool for about 2 hours or until spread-able.
  6. To fluff the frosting, give it a 2-3 minute whirl with your mixer. As air is incorporated into the frosting, it will turn a lighter color and increase in volume.

Coconut Pecan Frosting (German Chocolate Frosting)

***NOTE: A few folks are commenting that this frosting came out way too soupy for them. I’m not sure what is going on, but the next time I make them, I’ll check the recipe again. In the mean time, make sure the frosting cools COMPLETELY before you take it out to stuff or frost. It should be cold. Overnight would be best.***

Make about 4 cups (enough to frost a large cake)

Ingredients:

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 12 tablespoons butter (1-1/2 sticks) cut into pats
  • 1-12 ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-1/2 cups toasted pecans, chopped
  • 2 cups toasted flake unsweetened coconut

Directions:

  1. Combine yolks, evaporated milk, butter, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat.
  2. Cook, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and all ingredients are well-combined. Continue cooking for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. Stir in vanilla and salt, and then add coconut and pecans and stir until well combined.
  4. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool throughout.

How to Fill a Cupcake

There are lots of filling cupcake methods out there. If you have a smooth, thin filling (such as lemon curd) you could simply using a filling tip and pipe the filling into the center of the cupcakes. But a filling with big chunks of coconut and pecan takes a little more work.

Step 1: Once your cupcakes have cooled completely, take a sharp knife and insert it at a 45ยฐ angle at the to of the cupcake.

Step 2: Work your way all the way around the cupcake until you have a nice little cake cone that comes out of the middle of the cupcake.

Step 3: Fill ‘er up! Spoon in your filling. Don’t be afraid to pack it in there pretty tight.

Step 4: Slice the bottom part of the cone off, pop that into your mouth (quality control) and replace the top part back onto the cupcake.

Step 5: Frost and impress everyone with your mad baking skills.

Step 6: Eat.

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50 Comments

  1. Just finishing up making these and am super excited to give them to the birthday girl. Thank you VERY much for the detailed instructions and awesome pictures.

  2. I made this coconut frosting twice and followed the receipe exactly. Both times it was too soupy. I compared it to another recipe and this had much more butter. Wondering if anyone else has had this issue.

    1. Hi Emily! One or two other people have said that, but I’ve never had a problem. Next time I make it, I’ll double check and report back.

  3. These were absolutely amazing! I made them for my best friend on her 21st birthday and she LOVED them. Now everyone asks me to make these for their birthdays!

  4. I can’t wait to get home from work and try making these…I’ll need to go shopping first though…does it make me a chocoholic if I’m willing to do a shopping trip purely for cake ingredients? ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Hi ๐Ÿ™‚ I am making your German chocolate cupcakes with the filings and chocolate frosting and was wondering if I could make them a night before or if that would ruin them anddd if so could I make the filling the night before or would it separate??? โ™ฅ the recipe can’t wait to try them :), HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

  6. I made these for my dad’s 55th birthday and they were a HUGE hit. He said they were ‘absolutely sinful,’ and a few of the women at his work that he shared them with said they were the absolute best cupcakes they had ever had. Thank you SOOO much for this recipe. It will definitely go into the ‘FAVS’ file :]

  7. I made these for my mom’s birthday in september they were fantastic!!! not as pretty as yours, but still delish! I got another request to make them already!!!

  8. We are attending an Oktoberfest party this weekend and I HAVE to make these! They look awesome! (BTW I found you by googling for “german chocolate cupcakes”) Do you simply combine one box of cake mix + pudding mix then follow the cake mix box directions? Would you make a full batch of each frosting recipe for one box of cake mix? Thanks and I cannot wait to make these! YUM!

    1. Yes! Just toss in the instant pudding mix with the cake mix and follow the directions as listed. And definitely yes on the full batch of the ganache, but I’d say you could probably get away with a half batch of the coconut frosting. Although having extra around is great for pancakes. ๐Ÿ˜€

  9. Just stumbled across your blog looking for German Choc cupcakes. Brillant! Exactly what I was wanting. I made these last night (with my own ooey gooey pecan and coconut frosting) and they turned out fabulous. Can’t wait to browse more of your posts! Thanks!!!