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German Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free)

germanchocolatecakeglutenfreeYou may be wondering why the cake has “German” in its name - in pictures, it looks like a classic American cake.  It turns out that it did not come from Germany at all. It actually comes from an American chocolate maker named Samuel German. He developed a mildly sweet dark chocolate, under the Baker’s brand, that quickly became a staple in this well-known cake. The recipe sprang to popularity when it was highlighted as the “recipe of the day” in a Dallas newspaper in 1957. So, while it’s retro, it’s definitely not traditionally German. the recipe quickly spread all over the country and was named German Chocolate Cake after Samuel German’s famous chocolate. Germans do make some phenomenal desserts though. My family spent a week there when I was in middle school and I’ll never forget all of the delicious and creative treats.

German Chocolate Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup coconut sugar
4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
6 eggs, separated
½ cup arrowroot powder
3 Tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup blanched almond flour
½ cup coconut flour
1½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. fine sea salt
1¼ cup full-fat coconut milk
5 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

Filling/Frosting:
1 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (7 oz)
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 (14 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
6 Tbsp. coconut sugar
3 Tbsp. pure maple sugar
3 large egg yolks
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp. sea salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3). Lightly grease three 6x3" cake pans with palm shortening and place a round piece of parchment paper at the bottom of each pan.

On two separate trays lined with parchment paper, toast coconut and pecans for the frosting, stirring occasionally, until coconut is deep golden brown and nuts are fragrant, about 5-10 minutes. Watch carefully - coconut and nuts can quickly burn if left in a minute too long. Remove from the oven, roughly chop the pecans and transfer both coconut and pecans to a large bowl. Set aside.

Warm the coconut milk in a saucepan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate pieces.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using an electric handheld mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form when the beater is lifted. Transfer the egg whites to a bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter, coconut sugar, vanilla and lemon juice on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Whisk together the arrowroot, almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Alternate adding the dry mixture and the coconut milk-chocolate mixture to the mixer bowl until fully incorporated, mixing after each addition on medium-high speed. Gently fold in the egg whites with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 40-45 minutes on the center rack, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes on a wire rack for 1 hour, then use a knife to gently release the cakes from the sides of the pans. Flip the pans over to release the cakes and cool overnight right side up before frosting.

While the cakes bake, prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan, bring coconut milk to a boil. Simmer on medium-high heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until it has thickened slightly and reduced by half.

Add the coconut sugar, maple sugar, butter and salt over medium heat, until the sugar is smooth. Add the egg yolks and cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the frosting to a large bowl and stir in the pecans and the coconut, vanilla and salt; let cool overnight. the frosting will thicken as it cools.

To assemble the cake, set one layer on a cake stand or plate. Top with ⅓ of the coconut mixture. Repeat two more times, so the top of the cake is covered in coconut.

Makes 12 servings.

Cook's Notes:

  • Dairy-Free: In this recipe, I used grass-fed butter to achieve the most authentic traditional flavour reminiscent of the classic. I also tested it with sustainable palm shortening to keep it dairy-free and I am happy to report that the alternative works great. the flavours just aren’t as rich. I didn’t test it with ghee, but I think that would work too. Your frosting just may be a little less thick, but the flavours will be there.
  • To Frost Or Not To Frost: I chose to omit the additional chocolate frosting for this cake. I love the look of a “naked” cake and wanted the rich pecan-coconut filling to speak for itself. If you are interested in adding a chocolate frosting you can use my Chocolate Buttercream recipe on page 160 in my cookbook Celebrations. My chocolate ganache from my first book, Against all Grain, would also be pretty great drizzled over top and down the sides of the cake.
  • The Chocolate: To keep the recipe as close to the original as possible I used Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate. I tried it with unsweetened, 100% cacao chocolate, sweetened with maple and it was too dense and had too deep of a chocolate flavour.
  • After a couple of attempts at the cake, I decided to test a “real” German Chocolate Cake from Food & Wine by Ali Larter (it has 5,800 5-Star reviews.) and subbed in an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend so we could all taste it against my own. I even used all of the regular refined sugar and butter the recipe calls for. All in the name of R&D, for you, my lovely readers. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. I had to distribute the rest of that cake to all of our friends and family. Otherwise, I would devour it and pay for it, but the few bites I had were glorious.
  • I love Guittard chocolate because it uses fair trade practices, is 100% non-GMO, does not contain soy or dairy. It's also a great female-run business right here in the Bay Area. It does contain 100% pure cane sugar though, so if you are looking for something that is cane sugar-free I would recommend using Hu Chocolate baking gems.
  • Prepping the Cake: You can prep the cake and the pecan coconut filling separately up to 3 days in advance to help save you some time. I would recommend wrapping them tightly and storing the layers in the refrigerator to help keep it fresh and moist. Keep the frosting tightly covered in the refrigerator but bring it to room temperature before frosting the cake.