Picture this: A delicious and indulgent, chocolatey dessert with a coconut, pecan topping, made completely from scratch, and it didn't take half your day. Is that sounding impossible to you? Allow me to introduce... German Chocolate Cupcakes.
That's right, these things are sweet and simple. Nothing too complicated, but so yummy and somehow a little more decadent than your average cupcake. The chocolate, coconut, pecan combo is hard to beat. Whip these up next time you're hosting or attending an event and be ready to share the recipe!
If you love baking cupcakes, be sure to add these crazy moist, absolutely delicious Vanilla Cupcakes to your baking lineup!
HOW TO MAKE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE FROSTING
The German Chocolate Cupcake Frosting will need to chill for about an hour and a half before you can use it on your cupcakes, so it's best if you go ahead and get the frosting out of the way first.
- Combine butter, milk, and sugar in a saucepan.
- Temper egg yolks and add to saucepan.
- Bring stovetop mixture to a simmer and stir.
- Add vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans.
- Chill for 1 ½ hours.
To make German Chocolate Cupcake Frosting, combine butter, evaporated milk, and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt down, stirring occasionally. As soon as the butter has melted, it's time to temper your egg yolks.
Tempering the egg yolks is important because it will keep your frosting from curdling on the stovetop. To temper your eggs, add a couple of tablespoons of the warm stovetop mixture to a small bowl housing the egg yolks. Stir to combine, and repeat the process one more time. Add your tempered yolks into the saucepan and stir.
Now, you're gonna let that mixture come to a simmer and allow it to keep going for about 10 minutes, stirring or whisking often. Once the mixture has thickened up and is a gorgeous golden brown color, you can remove it from the heat and add your remaining ingredients.
First, stir in the vanilla extract and salt, then add in the sweetened shredded coconut and chopped pecans. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and place it in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours to cool.
Not a big cupcake fan? Try our German Chocolate Cake for all of these flavors plus a chocolate buttercream frosting!
HOW TO MAKE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
While you're waiting on your coconut pecan frosting to chill, knock out those German Chocolate Cupcakes!
These cupcakes are super easy to make. The first thing you'll need to do is make sure that your oven is preheated to 350°F, and you'll also want to have two 12-cup muffin tins lined with cupcake liners.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Cream eggs and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add oil and vanilla and mix.
- Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk to wet ingredients.
- Bake and cool.
- Ice with German Chocolate Cupcake Frosting.
To mix up your dry ingredients, you'll combine all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk everything together and set the dry ingredients aside.
Now it's off to the wet ingredients! You'll combine the granulated sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a large bowl and a handheld mixer.
Cream the eggs and sugar together until the mix appears pale yellow and thickened, this should take about three minutes. Add in the oil and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
At this point, the mixer will need to go down to low speed and you can begin incorporating the dry ingredients.
Add in about a third of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the milk. Then, add another third of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining milk, and you'll end with the last of the dry ingredients.
Fill the baking cups halfway full and transfer them to the oven. Note, that it is very important that you do not overfill the baking cups. If you do, your German Chocolate Cupcakes will overflow and bake up wonky! Bake the cupcakes for 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.
Remove them from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
As soon as the German Chocolate Frosting has finished its chill time and the cupcakes have cooled completely, it is time to ice! There's nothing fancy about the way we iced these cupcakes. All you need to do is get a big spoonful of German chocolate frosting and mound it right on top of your cupcake.
However, if you were hoping we'd get a lit-tle fancy, we can certainly go there.
For an extra pretty chocolate drizzle, grab yourself a 12-ounce package of chocolate melting wafers, and melt them down according to package directions. Then grab a spoon and add a thin drizzle of melted chocolate across the top of each cupcake. Allow about 15 minutes for that chocolate drizzle to set, serve, and enjoy!
6 MORE CAKE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
- Praline Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
- Butter Pecan Cake
- Homemade Funfetti Cake
- Marshmallow Cupcakes
Easy Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe (From Scratch)
Praline Cake
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
Butter Pecan Cake
Homemade Funfetti Cake Recipe
Marshmallow Cupcakes
German Chocolate Cupcakes are irresistibly delicious. And the coconut, pecan frosting is quite literally the icing on the cake!
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 4 egg yolks, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
- 1 ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup whole milk
- 1 (12-ounce) package melting chocolate wafers (optional)
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Add the butter, milk, and sugar to a large saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt, stirring occasionlly.
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Add the egg yolks to a small bowl and ladle in about 2 tablespoons of the warm stovetop mixture. Stir, and repeat once more.
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Then, add the egg mixture to the saucepan and stir. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the mixture has thickened.
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Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt, followed by the coconut, and pecans.
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Transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool for about 2-3 hours to chill. In the meantime, bake the cupcakes.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F, and have ready two 12-cup muffin tins lined with baking cups.
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Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
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Add the sugar and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer. Mix on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until visibly lightened in color and thickened. Add the oil and vanilla and mix until evenly incorporated.
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Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix on low until evenly incorporated. Then, add half of the milk and mix again. Add the remaining dry ingredients, mix on low, and add the remaining milk. Mix until evenly incorporated. Using a spoon, scrape down the side of the bowl and mix once more.
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Fill the baking cups halfway full, and transfer to the oven. Do NOT overfill the baking cups. Bake for 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking process. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
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Add a generous mound of frosting to the top of each cupcake.
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If desired, melt chocolate wafers according to package directions and drizzle over the frosted cupcakes. Allow to set 30 minutes, serve and enjoy.
