Someone told me last week that I don’t really qualify as an amateur baker, since I’ve been writing this column way too long for that, but I still claim the title, especially after taking on a recent huge project.
A dear friend of the newspaper, Debbie Pierce, celebrated her retirement last week, and since we were combining her party with a Press Club event, I volunteered to bring dessert. Her favorite? German chocolate cake. And I found the most decadent German chocolate cupcake recipe I could, which was ambitious enough, since it was made up of four separate components.
But then I decided to quadruple the recipe.
My math skills and my ability to judge just how many ingredients would fit into the bowl of my stand mixer were definitely put to the test on this one, but goodness gracious was the end result worth it.
This comes from the blog “A Monkey on a Cupcake” (how great is that name?). You can find the original post at https://amonkeyonacupcake.com/german-chocolate-cupcakes/. I doubled the vanilla across the board in my version below, and I changed the bake temperature on the cupcakes to get a better rise.
German Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 ounces dark baker’s chocolate I used 55 percent cacao
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup water
Coconut Layer Ingredients
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup pecan pieces cut small
Frosting Layer Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Ganache Layer Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips I used semisweet
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cupcake Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Prepare about one and one-half cupcake tins by lining them with cupcake liners (I got about 16 cupcakes out of a batch), and set them aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until it is well combined.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, heating 30 seconds at a time and stirring in between. Let it cool enough that you can touch it without burning your finger, and mix it into the butter mixture. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time.
- Beat in the oil, vanilla and sour cream until the mixture is smooth, and then add the flour, salt, baking powder and cocoa powder in batches, mixing in between each addition.
- Finally, beat in the water until the mixture is smooth.
- Fill the prepared liners about two-thirds full, and then bake for five minutes at 425. Without opening the oven, drop the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them come up to room temperature before assembling.
Coconut Layer Directions
- Add the evaporated milk, egg yolks, brown sugar and butter to a saucepan, and heat it over medium heat. Stir constantly for about 15 minutes until the mixture thickens. It’ll be like a thick syrup consistency.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and pour it through a mesh strainer into a bowl to remove any chunks of cooked egg.
- Stir in the vanilla, coconut and pecans, and set it aside to cool.
Frosting Directions
- Beat all the ingredients together until everything is well combined and light and fluffy. Transfer it into a piping bag with a wide tip (like a star), and set it aside.
Ganache Directions
- Add the chocolate chips and whipping cream to a microwave-safe bowl and heat, 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Assembly Directions
- Add about one to one and one-half tablespoons of the coconut layer to the top of each cupcake, spreading it into a flat, even, thick layer on each.
- Using a frosting bag, a spoon or a fork, drizzle ganache across the top of each of the cupcakes (use as much as you want, but note that these are very rich, so proceed cautiously).
- Finally, pipe a swirl of the chocolate frosting on top. If desired, add some more pecan pieces to the top of each cupcake.
- Store in an airtight container. These can stay at room temperature, but if it’s especially warm, they may start to melt a bit, so you might want to store them in the refrigerator in that case.
These were insanely decadent, and the combination of textures and flavors just took these over the top. I didn’t have to worry about leftovers after the event, even though I made over 60 cupcakes. They all went home with someone.
And my kitchen is mostly recovered from the war zone I created from ingredients splashing everywhere on my countertops, which is a relief.
It cemented for me that I am nowhere near a professional baker, but I’d say this amateur attempt was a pretty darn good one.
This piece first appeared in print May 29, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
