This healthy German chocolate cake is made with coconut sugar and soft white wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour) . It is lower in sugar than traditional cake but still delicious.
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German chocolate cake has been a favorite dessert of ours for a long time. So of course we had to put our healthier spin on it, by making the cake with whole wheat flour and reduced sugar.
We adapted the cake from our low sugar chocolate cake recipe. We also adapted our long time family recipe for coconut pecan frosting to be lower in sugar. Now it is a dessert that is still rich and decadent but not soo sweet.
What's Cool About This Recipe
- 100% Whole Grain: This cake is made with 100% whole wheat flour. Using fresh whole wheat pastry flour (soft white wheat) is the trick to making it light and fluffy.
- Healthier: We use coconut sugar to sweeten this cake to make it healthier, and of course using whole wheat flour.
- Small: Like a lot of our other whole wheat cake recipes, this recipe makes a 6 inch cake. It can easily be doubled to make a 9 inch cake though.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Ingredients for The Cake
- Whole wheat flour: We use whole wheat flour ground from soft white wheat, sometimes called whole wheat pastry flour. Spelt flour is also great. We recommend using the freshest flour possible.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: We use cocoa powder to make our German chocolate cake recipe as opposed to melted chocolate. You can use regular or Dutch cocoa powder.
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Olive oil: We like using olive oil or avocado oil. Whatever oil you use to bake with should work.
- Coconut sugar: We used coconut sugar to make this cake a little healthier but you can substitute raw cane sugar.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is a staple ingredient in German chocolate cake. If you don’t have buttermilk you can use a substitute of white vinegar and milk.
Ingredients for The Frosting
- Coconut sugar: We use coconut sugar in the coconut pecan frosting to make it a little healthier.
- Egg yolks: You only need the egg yolks for this recipe. You can save the whites to use in scrambled eggs or cocktails.
- Half and half: We use half and half to make this coconut pecan frosting without evaporated milk.
- Butter: We usually use unsalted butter, you can use salted butter, just skip the salt in the recipe.
- Vanilla extract: Used to add flavor.
- Salt: This helps balance out the sweetness, skip if using salted butter.
- Unsweetened coconut: Shredded coconut will work best.
- Nuts: We usually use walnuts when we make this for ourselves but pecans are what’s traditionally used.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
- To make a single layer German chocolate cake: double just the cake part and bake in a 9x9 inch cake pan for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Instruction Photos
Overview of instructions with photos. See recipe card for quantities and full instructions.
Step 1: In a small bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
Step 2: Mix the oil and sugar together.
Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla, beat until lightened in color and thickened.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Beat another 30-60 seconds.
Step 5: Line a 6 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
Step 6: Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Step 7: Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step 8: Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and remove the paper. Cool completely before frosting.
Go here for step by step photos of German chocolate cake frosting.
Serving Suggestions
Some things to serve with healthier German chocolate cake:
- Low sugar ice cream
- With a cup of coffee
- We sometimes add a dollop of whipped cream
- You can also frost the outside of the cake with cream cheese frosting
Storage
Store the cake covered in the refrigerator for 5-6 days.
How to Freeze
You can freeze the cake layer for up to 3 months by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and placing it into a freezer safe bag.
Tips From Our Kitchen
Do not boil the frosting ingredients or the eggs will curdle.
Make sure you beat the egg in the cake until it is lightened in color and thickened. This will ensure the cake rises properly.
Using fresh milled flour in the cake will give you the best taste and texture.
If fresh milled is not available we recommend buying a high quality pre milled flour such as this soft white wheat flour from Janie’s Mill
FAQ
The frosting of traditional German chocolate cake (coconut pecan frosting) does have nuts in it but the cake itself does not generally contain nuts.
The frosting for traditional German chocolate cake (coconut pecan frosting) does have coconut in it but the cake itself does not generally contain coconut.
Yes, you can freeze German’s chocolate cake. If you’re freezing with icing then you’ll need to flash freeze the cake until firm, then wrap in a few layers of plastic wrap. You can freeze it for 1-2 weeks. Wrap in an additional layer of aluminum foil or freezer paper to freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
The traditional frosting for German chocolate cake is called coconut pecan frosting. Some recipes have coconut pecan frosting in between the layers and the outside is frosted with chocolate buttercream. Our favorite is cream cheese frosting on the outside.
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Healthy Small German Chocolate Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- ¾ cup (90 g) soft white wheat flour whole wheat pastry flour
- 3 tablespoons (18 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup (90 g) coconut sugar
- ¼ cup (48 g) olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 g) buttermilk
For the frosting
- ½ cup (90 g) coconut sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 cup (240 g) half and half
- ½ cup (113 g) butter unsalted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt skip if using salted butter
- 1 cup (120 g) chopped pecans or walnuts (our favorite)
- 1 cup (80 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the center or top third position.
- In a small bowl whisk together ¾ cup (90 g) soft white wheat flour, 3 tablespoons (18 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon baking powder, and ⅛ teaspoon sea salt.
- In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer or whisk, mix together ½ cup (90 g) coconut sugar and ¼ cup (48 g) olive oil until no lumps remain. Add 1 large egg and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, beat until lightened in color and thickened.
- Add the dry ingredients alternately with ½ cup (120 g) buttermilk. Beat for another 30-60 seconds.
- Pour the batter into a 6 inch round cake pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and remove the parchment paper.
- Cool the cake completely before frosting.
For the frosting
- In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, stir together ½ cup (90 g) coconut sugar and 4 egg yolks until combined.
- Stir in 1 cup (240 g) half and half, place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture is foamy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (do not boil).
- Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup (113 g) butter (cubed), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ⅛ teaspoon sea salt.
- Add 1 cup (120 g) chopped pecans and 1 cup (80 g) unsweetened shredded coconut, stir to combine.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until thickened enough to use as frosting.
Notes
Nutrition
We calculate these nutritional facts using an estimate and they can vary drastically between ingredients used and measuring technique. So, they are not intended for medical use.
Did you make this recipe? We would love to hear from you!