Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

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Inside Out German Chocolate Cake is a show-stopping 4-layer chocolate-frosted chocolate cake with coconut caramel pecan frosting between the layers. This decadent dessert is moist, chocolatey, and nutty, with more depth of flavor than a traditional German Chocolate Cake.

German chocolate is a favorite in my family, and each person has their own way of making it.

Some put the coconut and pecan icing on the entire cake, others on the top and between the layers. Others only add it between the layers and then frost the rest with rich, chocolate frosting on the outside.

Personally I like it with a combination of chocolate frosting and the coconut and pecan, that way you get the best of two cakes. 
 
Recently I cane across a recipe for “Inside Out” German Chocolate cake on Epicurious and thought I would do a little comparison between their recipe and my tried and true one.  This cake requires a little more work than the standard cake but trust me it is worth it in the end. 

This cake is richer, nuttier, and the coconut filling tastes more like a caramel sauce mixed with the coconuts and pecans. 

I could have eaten a bowl of the coconut filling alone, and in fact I think that I did. I have to tell you that I think this is now my “go to” frosting and cake for guests. It really is delicious and a special treat for the guests. 

Ingredients

For the cake:

• All purpose flour
• Granulated white sugar
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Large eggs
• Buttermilk
• Butter
• Vanilla extract
• Freshly brewed hot coffee or instant coffee

For the filling:

• Sweetened flake coconut
• Toasted pecans
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• Butter
• Cocoa
• Milk
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla

How to Make Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

This recipe is originally from Jennifer Hill at Foodness Blog.

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour two 9 inch pans, line bottom with parchment paper circles and set aside. I used three 6-inch pans. This will make two small 3-layer cakes.
3. In a bowl or stand mixer, stir together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla.
5. Beat until smooth, about 2 to three minutes. 
6. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with rubber spatula; the batter will be very runny.
7. Pour into pans and bake on middle rack for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs attached. 
8. Allow to cool on wire rack for 15 minutes, run butter knife around the pans.
9. Invert pans onto rack.
10. Cool completely before frosting. 

For the filling:

This recipe is originally from Epicurious.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Pour condensed milk into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and cover tightly with foil.
3. Bake milk in a water bath in middle of oven 45 minutes.
4. Refill baking pan with water to reach halfway up pie plate and bake milk until thick and brown, about 45 minutes more.
5. Remove pie plate from water bath.
6. Stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla and keep warm.

For the frosting:

This recipe is originally from HERSHEY’S Cocoa.

1. Melt butter in large bowl.
2. Whisk or use electric hand held mixer to blend in cocoa.
3. Add one cup of powdered sugar, and a little milk, alternating between the two until both are used up and the frosting is creamy.
4. Add vanilla and blend. 

To assemble:

1. Once cakes are cooled, cut each cake in half so that you end up with four layers.
2. Place one layer onto a cake plate and spread a third of the coconut/nut filling on the layer.
3. Add the second cake layer and add more filling and another layer of cake and more filling,.
4. Finally, add the last layer of cake.
5. Spread cake with a thin layer of chocolate frosting to control the crumbs, let cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
6. Frost entire cake with remaining frosting. Then enjoy!

Storage

Store leftovers in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you want to freeze the cake layers, wrap them separately, unfrosted, in plastic wrap for up to 2 months. Defrost and then assemble as per directions above.

Related Recipes

• Chocolate Cake with Fudge Filling and White Buttercream
• Mom’s Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Cake with Fudge Filling and Hershey’s Chocolate Frosting
• Famous Brick Street Cake
• Nigella Lawson Guiness Stout Cake

Did you enjoy this recipe?

Leave a comment and a review below to share your thoughts.

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Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake is a show-stopping 4-layer chocolate-frosted chocolate cake with coconut caramel pecan frosting between the layers.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened
• ½ cup butter melted
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water

For the filling:

• 7 oz. sweetened flake coconut toasted
• 1 cup pecans toasted and coarsely chopped
• 1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 1 stick butter melted
• ⅔ cup cocoa
• ⅓ cup milk
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour two 9 inch pans, line bottom with parchment paper circles and set aside. I USED  THREE 6 INCH PANS. THIS WILL MAKE TWO SMALL 3 LAYER CAKES.
• In a bowl or stand mixer, stir together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
• Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla beat until smooth, about 2 to three minutes.
• Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with rubber spatula; the batter will be very runny.
• Pour into pans and bake on middle rack for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.
• Allow to cool on wire rack for 15 minutes,.
• Run a butter knife around the pans.
• Invert pans onto rack.
• Cool completely before frosting.

For the filling:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Pour condensed milk into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and cover tightly with foil.
• Bake milk in a water bath in middle of oven 45 minutes.
• Refill baking pan with water to reach halfway up pie plate and bake milk until thick and brown, about 45 minutes more. Remove pie plate from water bath.
• Stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla and keep warm.

For the frosting:

• Melt butter in large bowl.
• Whisk or use electric hand held mixer to blend in cocoa.
• Add one cup of powdered sugar, and a little milk, alternating between the two until both are used up and the frosting is creamy.
• Add vanilla and blend.

To assemble:

• Once cakes are cooled, cut each cake in half so that you end up with four layers.
• Place one layer onto a cake plate and spread a third of the coconut/nut filling on the layer.
• Add the second cake and add more filling, then another layer of cake and more filling.
• Finally add the last layer of cake.
• Spread cake with a thin layer of chocolate frosting to control the crumbs, let cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Frost entire cake with remaining frosting.
• Then enjoy!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: coconut pecan frosting, german chocolate cake, inside out german chocolate cake

Linking to:
Savvy Southern Stlye
Rattlebridge Farm