Inside-Out German Chocolate Cake

I have a friend who keeps raving about this cake ever since I first made it for her. After the first time I said I love the cake but hate making it and told myself never again. I not only made it again but am making it tomorrow for the same friend (surprise!) She told me she took some home last time and rationed it so she'd have it for a few days - that's how good the cake is..

• Linda H

• Eagle Idaho

• 6/6/2023

when "baking " the can of milk, do you OPEN the top first of bake it in the water bath unopened? thanks Phyllis

• Anonymous

• Santa Barbara, CA

• 5/24/2023

Definitely a special occasion cake. I’ve been making this cake for my sons birthday most years since he was 11; today is his 19th birthday! It’s his favorite. I personally don’t care for German chocolate cake, though this is the best I’ve ever had. And while I dread making this cake — it is time consuming and laborious! — in the end I always think it’s worth it. I really do not enjoy making it, though!

• Roo’s momma

• 梅尔bourne FL

• 11/24/2022

This cake is so worth the laborious steps. I have made this cake a few times and it’s a hit! I double the coconut because I love it and too, double the frosting. Secret is refrigeration after you make it. It brings all the flavors together AMAZING!

• Anonymous

• Arvada CO

• 2/11/2022

Substitute cream of cocoanut (tin or bottle) on a 1 to 1.1 basis for sweetened condensed milk. NOT COCOANUT CREAM,

• Anonymous

• Victoria BC CA

• 1/30/2022

I have been making this cake for almost 20 years off and on. As I got older I found it richer than I could handle and took a hiatus from it. I finally made an adjustment recently that has put the cake back in my repertoire. Instead of frosting the outside of the cake with the chilled ganache, I frost it with a plain vanilla ermine frosting. I use the ermine instead of the basic ABC (American buttercream) bc it is far less sweet and makes a great taste and visual contrast to all the chocolate. It also allows me to make straighter tops and sides. I chill the frosted cake before pouring the rest of the ganache.

• Ann M

• Los Angeles

• 11/1/2021

This is an outstanding cake!! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. I was a bit concerned as the cake layers did not rise much at all and were quite dense. Maybe that was a mistake, but it was a great juxtaposition to the texture of the filling. Baking the sweetened condensed milk in a water bath was not challenging at all. Will definitely be making this recipe again soon!!

• sue48114

• michigan

• 2/25/2021

This cake is magnificent! The praise and admiration from all who saw it was small compared to those who ate it. It is a week later and I am still getting kudos! I am legendary! LOL. Changes - Switched the Glaze and used *Ganache with equal parts cream and chopped chocolate, plus a couple tablespoons of corn syrup to soften a bit. For those who are freaking out - calm down. Corn syrup is not HFCS. This cake is gonna bring you closer to a (happy) death, so stop pretending to be concerned about healthiness. You can use honey or other syrup, if you are afraid of Corn. Dulce de Leche is easy to make by simmering the sealed can of SCM under water for a few hours. (Take the label off first and keep the can submerged by adding more hot water.) The cake - The layers come out to be about 3/4" tall. Don't freak out! With three layers of cake plus the filling, the finished cake is about 3.5 inches tall. Be sure to grease the pans, then put parchment or waxed paper on the bottom and grease it too. The cake leans a little toward being a cookie and the edges might stick a bit to the bottom. The filling - It's basically coconut and nuts loosely held together with the caramel. Drop spoonfuls around the layer and moosh and spread out. If it stiffens up, just microwave for a bit and carry on. The Glaze - Per above. I microwave cream and corn syrup till hot enough to melt chopped chocolate. Add chocolate and let it sit for 5 minutes, then stir slowly at first. Once it looks like dark chocolate, you can whisk it up. Let it sit or chill it till it pours to your liking. I chill some (a cup?) till it's like soft fudge and then smoosh on the sides since the filling leaves gaps. Then I pour the some ganache over the top and smooth the sides. I chill the whole cake - then, pour the rest of the glaze over the top. I decorate the glazed cake with pecan halves.

• fiend de cuisine

• Marseille

• 9/25/2020

I've been making this cake for YEARS. I do use 14-oz can of Nestle La Lechera authentic dulce de leche, milk based carmel, instead of the whole baking milk bath for the sweetened condensed milk. I toast the nuts, and coconut, and I warm the dulce de Leche before combining the three. Otherwise I make the cake according to instructions.

• zfullmoon

• California

• 5/16/2020

So, I have made this twice and both times my cake layers are very short. Is this normal?

• jnar

• NYC, NY

• 5/10/2020

I have made this cake many times. To the bakers who have trouble with the layers being too soft to work with and the coconut mixture too hard to spread tearing up the cake, etc...I make this recipe exactly as written for the cake and filling, but not as written for the assembly. I have made it as a 9x13 cake many times and spread the coconut mixture as a frosting over the entire top of the cake. To make the mixture more frosting like, use two cans of milk with the original amount of coconut. More recently, I have made it as one taller round cake in a spring form pan and spread the coconut filling on the top only, not sides. When I use this method, I do not add a second can of milk to the filling. While I have made it as written many times, I do find it overall a better cake using unsweetened coconut and a sprinkle of sea salt in the filling and if you have instant espresso powder handy toss a teaspoon into your dry ingredients to enhance the chocolate flavor - these are just personal preferences and not required. I have never added the glaze as I think it is unnecessary. If you really are determined to make the layered version of this, I would consider a different recipe for the cake part. My kids have been asking for this as their birthday cake for years. I would subtract a star for the difficulty to work with, but everyone loves it so much I put the star back.

• singnpeach9795

• Antebellum, Georgia

• 11/9/2019

I made this cake twice, once following the recipe exactly and not being pleased with the results, and the second time, after reading LOTS of reviews on this site and making some of the same adjustments others made. So, here are the adjustments: 1.) CAKE reduced the amount of sugar in the cake to 3/4 cup, but otherwise followed the rest of cake recipe exactly; 2.) FILLING used unsweetened coconut, and used a 14-oz can of Nestle La Lechera sweetened condensed milk, and did not cook it as the recipe directed, just mixed it with the toasted coconut and pecans; 3.) GLAZE used only 2 sticks of butter, skipped the corn syrup, and used 4-oz Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate bar and 6-oz Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. DIRECTIONS toasted the pecans and coconut as I was making the cake, skipped the step about baking the condensed milk in a pie pan in a water bath, used a pyrex measuring cup to melt the butter for the glaze and added chocolate. This is a bit of work, but there are ways to make it easier. The results for the second cake are MUCH better, and the cake is plenty sweet, even with the reductions or eliminations. Thanks, Everyone, for the useful suggestions!

• bstully

• Indianapolis, IN

• 8/16/2018

Can I successfully add melted chocolate to this buttercream? And if so, how much should I add? I'd like to make a layer cake with the vanilla between the layers and chocolate on the outside.

• Miss Bijou

• Seattle, WA

• 6/1/2018

I made three 12" x 18" pans. I doubled the recipe for each pan. I was making it for a big birthday party. It made the cakes the night before. I used a good serrated knife to cut them in half horizontally and as even as possible. You do have to be careful that they don't break or fall apart. It's work, but I well worth it. I got great reviews. My mother, who has claimed all her life not to like chocolate cake, agreed to taste it and said she really liked it. And, she doesn't believe in lying to her kids, so I know it's sincere. I've been asked to make it again very soon. I didn't make or substitute any of the ingredients. If you make it in a sheet pan, I don't think you need as much glaze. I think that it tasted better a day or two after being assembled which means it can be made before you are going to have it. Not overly sweet. Rich!

• tfiallos

• Los Angeles, CA

• 3/12/2018

I would not make this recipe again and don't feel the end result is worth the time, even with the shortcut of substituting a traditional German chocolate cake filling recipe using evaporated milk, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, butter, roasted pecans and coconut. My main criticism is that the cake layers, while moist and tasty, simply are too fragile for the assembly process indicated. Placing the layers on a rack over a baking pan and then transferring the finished cake to a plate, after applying the glazing, was problematic and a large section of the bottom layer separated. Luckily I had saved a small portion of glaze and was able to patch things up, albeit with a very sloppy final look. I would especially caution folks against making this cake for an event - very risky.

• joodles1

• Williamsburg, MA

• 12/18/2017