What Is German Chocolate Cake?

What is a German chocolate cake? My fellow Great British Bake Off fans will be familiar with the Black Forest gateau—a German chocolate cake that several contestants on the show have tackled with tremendous success. I really wanted to try it—and not one from a cake mix box— because I love the combination of chocolate and cherry, so I went on the hunt for it here in Los Angeles. However, the first couple bakeries I went to had something called German chocolate cake and it didn’t look anything like the gateau I was looking for. So, is the German chocolate cake something entirely different? I must know!

What is German chocolate cake?

German chocolate cake is a layered chocolate sponge that is topped and filled with a custard made of egg yolks, evaporated milk, crushed pecans, and desiccated coconut. The top is often garnished with chocolate shards and maraschino cherries.

Black Forest gateau is similar in several ways; it too has a chocolate sponge and cherry flavoring both adorning the top and drizzled on the sponges in the form of kirsch. However, it replaces the custard with a whipped cream icing, and the decorative elements are meant to resemble the floor of the eponymous German forest for which it is named.

What frosting goes on German chocolate cake?

Custard is the key element in the German chocolate cake and it is often served naked—no frosting required. However, there are versions out there that will cover the outside in a chocolate frosting to give an overall cleaner appearance.

Where was German chocolate cake invented? 

Based on the name, you’d assume that a German chocolate cake was more German than a Black Forest gateau. I mean, the name of the country is right in there! However, this is one of those tricky Canada goose situations, where the name comes from its founder.

In 1853, an American baker named Samuel German created something called sweet baking chocolate, which contains more sugar than its bittersweet or semisweet cousins. When baking companies began using the product commercially, they called it German’s chocolate.

However, German himself did not invent the German chocolate cake, despite it carrying his name. 

Who invented German chocolate cake? 

The first publication to mention a German’s chocolate cake was The Dallas Morning News, where, in 1957, a housewife named Mrs. George Clay got her cake recipe printed in the “Recipe of the Day” section. Ah, the 1950s, when women were merely identified only by their husbands. 

The recipe specifically called for using German’s chocolate instead of a bittersweet alternative. Thus, the German chocolate cake was born—in Texas, not Germany. USA! USA! USA!