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 German chocolate cake covered in coconut pecan frosting. For the cake, I use the Duncan Hines German Chocolate Cake box mix. From the listed ingredients, I replace the water with milk and I also throw in a box of chocolate pudding (dry), but those are the only changes I make. The box mix makes a nice cake with little work. I like that.
But canned German Chocolate frosting is… cloying. German Chocolate frosting is pretty easy to make from scratch and well worth the effort. If you’re nervous about making a “cooked” frosting, don’t be — just be ready to do some serious stirring. 
Frosting Recipe Ingredients
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup sugar (see note below about “Types of Sugar”)
- 3 egg yolks, beaten
- 4 oz butter (one “stick”) cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup flaked coconut
German Chocolate Frosting Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan (I use a 3.5 quart saucepan)
- Cook over medium heat. If this recipe doesn’t start bubbling/thickening at about the 10-14 minute mark, try upping the temperature. If the recipe starts bubbling/thickening much earlier than the 10 minute mark, lower the temperature.
- Stir constantly (yep, for the entire cooking time). When the mixture starts bubbling, stir faster — because you really don’t want this concoction sticking to your pan.
- Once the mixture starts bubbling (at about the 10-14 minute mark), stir for an additional 3 minutes (it doesn’t have to be exact).
- Allow the frosting to “rest” for 30 minutes prior to using. You can speed up this process by moving the frosting to a room temperature bowl and placing it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
This recipe makes enough frosting for the traditional German Chocolate Cake with frosting in the middle and on the top, but not on the sides. If, like my sister, you prefer a completely covered cake, make two batches of this recipe. The recipe can be doubled, but because of the cooking method it is much easier to cook two separate batches and then combine them.
 German Chocolate frosting can be made with a variety of sugars.
Types of Sugar
For German Chocolate Frosting, you can use granulated white sugar or brown sugar (light or dark). The choice of sugar is dependent on your own taste and appearance preferences. In the pictured cake (above), I used dark brown sugar. For a lighter color frosting, use white sugar. Whether you use white or brown sugar, this coconut pecan frosting will be delicious and the cooking instructions are exactly the same.
Troubleshooting German Chocolate Frosting
Be forewarned: German Chocolate Cake frosting is traditionally thinner than most contemporary frostings (and way thinner than canned frostings). Because it was originally designed to be spread on the cake top and middle only, it wasn’t important for the icing to be stiff enough to stick to the cake sides.
However, if you can’t get this recipe to thicken up enough to use as frosting, there are three possible problems:
- The cooking temperature is too low. Stovetops vary. Some people recommend cooking German Chocolate frosting on low heat. On my stovetop, “low heat” is about the equivalent of “off” — try upping the temperature.
- The saucepan is too small. If you use a small saucpan (even if all the ingredients fit), the mixture might be too “deep” to heat up in the given time.
- Not enough cooking time. For this recipe, you really do have to stir the mixture over heat for a minimum of 13 minutes and more likely 15-18 minutes.
Tags: coconut pecan frosting, german chocolate frosting, icing
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 The Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Party Cakes.
ahhhhh-ha-ha-ha. So that’s, you know, coming along.
If you know me (yeah, you do), you knew this was bound to happen. Afterall, I love Joss. I love Neil. I love Nathan. I love Felicia…
I love cake.
And I knew there had to be a way to bring all this love together in one (or nine) sugary tributes to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I’ve been working on these cakes for longer than I care to admit… there were mistakes. And accidents. A surprising amount of profanity and something about a city ordinance that really…
Right. Cakes.
 Dr. Horrible's goggles rendered in fondant.
I knew that for the goggles (and there had to be goggles) I would have to venture into the world of fondant. It was a scary journey, but past experience working with polymer clay got me through. It’s not an easy cake if you’re unfamiliar with fondant, but I found the cakey evil worth the brain pounding headache(s). Learn more about this cake…
 Captain Hammer logo cake.
Let me be clear. There’s no cheese on (or in) this cake. It’s three layers of yellow and chocolate cake with a dark chocolate buttercream frosting with simple fondant accents. Definitely the easiest of the three major cakes. Learn more about this cake…
 Food-shaped cake, always a fave.
Of all the cakes I designed, I thought this one would be the easiest to create. I was wrong. Terribly. Horribly. Wrong. Learn from my mistakes. Learn more about this cake…
 The groupies and the Bad Horse chorus cakes.
I knew I had to do cakes for both the groupies and the Bad Horse chorus and I chose mini-cakes and cupcakes because I also knew these cakes couldn’t steal the show from the leading cakes, but they had to be just as flawless, just as tasty, just as… Learn more about this cake…
Tags: dr. horrible's sing-along blog, Fan Cakes
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