Sometimes there’s a food from the past that just never leaves you. For me, German Chocolate Sheet Cake With Coconut Pecan Icing is just that – it’s the cake my granny used to make for special occasions and birthdays, funerals and holidays… It’s the cake I often requested for my birthday or a special dinner and it’s something I haven’t had since she got sick and stopped cooking, about 30 years ago… Until now. And I can say that it’s just as delicious as I remember, even made in another country with different ingredients and decades of time gone by.
These days we often choose baking round or square cakes with layers, something more sophisticated and presentable, but I had to stay true to my memory here. My granny was not a fancy woman and sheet cakes were what we got in the 80’s and 90’s, so a sheet cake is what we have here. It’s amazing how nostalgic even just the shape of a cake can be when you make it the way you first had it as a kid.
This recipe is not shy on all the ingredients we’re constantly told to be careful with so if you’re looking for a recipe that’s going to fit into any regimen of health & wellness, this is not the one for you. However, as far as I see it, there’s a time and place to ignore the rules and when that moment strikes, this is the cake I want. It’s worth every gram of sugar, butter and fat. It has and always will be a celebration cake – not for every day, just for the special days in life and I’m so happy I’ve finally figured out how to make it. Now you can too… Let’s get started!
Serves between 12 and 20, depending on the size of the cake slices.
Ingredients
For the cake…
- 115g dark chocolate chips or buttons (or chopped dark chocolate)
- 350ml full fat milk
- 175g butter, softened
- 3 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
- 250g plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes (or 1/2 teaspoon fine table salt)
- 350g white caster sugar (or white granulated sugar)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the icing…
- 2 large eggs
- 1x 410g tin of evaporated milk
- 300g white caster sugar
- 125g unsalted butter
- 200g desicated coconut
- 100g chopped pecans, plus a few more to decorate (optional)
Method
- Make the cake first. Add the dark chocolate pieces or chips to a saucepan with the milk over low heat. Cook while stirring constantly with a wire whisk until the chocolate has melted completely and you have a chocolate milk like substance. Set aside to cool.
- Prepare a sheet pan (9 x 13 x 2 inches) by greasing it with a little butter or spraying it with non-stick cooking spray and pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F.
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a medium mixing bowl and stir with a wire whisk to combine.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one, cream the butter for about 30 seconds or until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar until it’s all well combined and a light primrose colour. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat the mixture again for another minute or two to make sure it’s all incorporated.
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat well in between until well mixed and then beat in the vanilla.
- Gradually pour in the chocolate milk mixture, slowly so as to not scramble the eggs in the mixture, beating all along as you go at a low speed so it doesn’t all splash out. Now add the flour to the mixture, continuing to beat all the time until it’s all mixed in and there are no dry spots.
- Give the batter one last stir with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is incorporated and pour the batter into the prepared sheet cake pan. Give the pan a big of a bang onto the counter top to settle the cake batter.
- Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes or until it’s fully cooked and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean and leave the cake in the pan to cool completely.
- While the cake is baking and cooling you can make the icing. Start by lightly beating 2 eggs in a medium to large saucepan off the heat with a wire whisk. Stir in the evaporated milk and the sugar and then add the butter to the pan.
- Put the saucepan over medium heat and stir, cooking until the butter is completely melted and the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner. Stir in the coconut and the chopped pecans until well combined and pour this mixture into a bowl. Cover with cling film and leave this to cool completely before using. It’s ok to put it in the refrigerator for a bit to speed up the process if necessary, but don’t let it get too cold or it will be too hard to spread on the cake.
- When both the cake and the icing are cooled, spread the icing evenly across the top of the cake, sprinkle with a few more chopped pecans (optional) and serve in square slices.
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