Vegan German Chocolate Cake (with Caramel Pecan Frosting)

This Vegan German Chocolate Cake is an ultra-moist chocolate cake with a gooey caramel coconut and pecan layer topped with vegan chocolate buttercream. It’s very decadent and indulgent vegan chocolate cake, great for celebrating any occasion!

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I love vegan cakes like my Vegan Birthday Cake and 2-Ingredient No-Bake Chocolate Cake, but sometimes, I want to bake something more refined, more classic.

An authentic German chocolate cake is ultra-moist and extremely sweet!  It’s a decadent chocolate cake with three sweet layers, including two layers of gooey caramel-like layer loaded with shredded coconut and pecan and one layer of chocolate buttercream.

So be ready for the same sweet, decadent experience with this vegan chocolate German cake recipe. A pretty sweet, indulgent chocolate cake perfect for a Christmas celebration or any special occasion!

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make a double layer German chocolate cake without eggs or dairy, you will need:

• All-Purpose Flour – I didn’t try all-purpose gluten-free flour or other flour for this recipe. I don’t recommend substitution for healthier flour, like almond flour or coconut flour. This won’t work.
• Cornstarch – this is your binder since it’s an egg-free chocolate cake. Don’t replace this with a flax egg, or the cake won’t be as moist, and moisture is the signature of a German chocolate cake!
• Sugar – white sugar or low GI cane sugar. You can also use sugar-free alternatives like allulose.
• Cocoa Powder – I use unsweetened Belgian cocoa powder to make it easier to balance the sweetness.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda – to give the cake its fluffy texture.
• Soy Milk – or coconut milk to keep the cake ultra-moist. Other non-dairy milk like almond milk or oat milk dry out the crumb of the cake.
• Apple Cider Vinegar – or lemon juice. This is used to curdle the soy milk and create vegan buttercream.
• Espresso Powder – This is optional, but it enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake.
• Avocado Oil – or any vegetable oil like canola oil.
• Hot Water – Not boiling, hot from the tap. This will enhance the moist crumb of the cake.
• Vanilla Extract – For flavor.

How To Make A Vegan German Chocolate Cake

Start by making the chocolate cake. A German chocolate cake is an ultra-moist with a rich, sweet dark chocolate flavor.

1. First, add all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and combine with a whisk.
2. Then, in another bowl, combine the wet ingredients, making sure that the water you use is hot, think 120°F (50°C) but not boiling either, or it can ruin the cake.
3. Pour the wet into the dry and combine until smooth.
4. Divide the cake batter into two cake pans of 9 inches and bake on regular baking mode at 350°F (180°C) for 25 to 30 minutes.
5. Make sure you bake the cakes around the center rack if baked at the same time. If your oven is old and you are unsure about its capacity to bake two cakes at once, bake the cakes one at a time.
6. Leave the remaining cake at room temperature while the first one bakes. You know it’s cooked when a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a little to no crumb on it.
7. Cool the cakes down on a cooling rack. Then, use a serrated knife to level up the cakes and obtain two flat cakes.
8. Discard the bumpy part of the cake, or crumble and freeze and use later to decorate desserts

There are two fillings used in a vegan German chocolate cake recipe. One tastes like gooey caramel. It’s brownish in color and full of bites of coconut and pecan nuts. The other filling is a thick, sweet chocolate buttercream, usually used on top of the cake only, not to cover the sides. While the cakes are baking, prepare the fillings.

Coconut Pecan Cream

The coconut layer in the center and top of a German chocolate cake taste like gooey caramel. It usually includes egg yolk, so here are the ingredients to make a vegan gooey caramel filling for your vegan chocolate cake:

• Vegan Butter – Or margarine.
• Brown Sugar – You can also use coconut sugar or brown erythritol.
• Cornstarch – For thickness.
• Canned Coconut Milk – or any dairy-free milk you like. Almond milk will work well here, but coconut enhances the coconut flavor of the frosting.
• Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
• Chopped Pecans – Or chopped walnuts.
• Shredded Coconut – It’s optional if you don’t like coconut.

1. First, in a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and coconut milk to form a slurry mixture. Set aside.
2. Then, bring a medium saucepan under medium heat and melt butter with brown sugar until bubbly.
3. Whisk in the slurry cornstarch mixture and vanilla and keep cooking until gooey like a vegan caramel sauce.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut and pecan. Set aside to cool in a bowl.

Vegan Chocolate Buttercream

The particularity of a German chocolate cake is the extra chocolate buttercream layer on top of the cake. An authentic German cake usually doesn’t cover the cake’s sides with buttercream, so you only need a small batch of vegan buttercream for this recipe.

The ingredients to make the best vegan German chocolate cake frosting are:

• Vegan Butter – or margarine.
• Powdered Sugar – or powdered sweetener.
• Vanilla – for flavor.
• Cocoa Powder – I recommend using unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder to make it easier to balance the sweetness.

1. To make the chocolate frosting, add the soft vegan butter into a large mixing bowl.
2. Beat the mixture until creamy.
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Assembling The Cake

To assemble the cake, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.

1. Place one cake layer onto a cake stand, spread half the coconut pecan frosting, and cover evenly.
2. Place the second layer of cake on top and slightly press, giving a gentle rotation movement to stick it to the coconut layer.
3. Then add half of the chocolate frosting to the center of the top cake. Next, spread the remaining coconut frosting on top of the chocolate frosting.
4. Finally, use a piping bag to pipe the remaining chocolate frosting around the cake and decorate.
5. Add a few raw pecan halves to decorate on top.

Storage Instructions

You must refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours before slicing, or it can be crumbly. This cake can be made up to 3 days before and stored in a sealed cake box in the fridge. Freeze leftover slices if desired in a sealed container and thaw in the fridge the day before eating.

More Vegan Cake Recipes

If you like vegan cakes, you’ll love these:

Vegan Bundt Cake

Vegan Strawberry Cake

Vegan Coffee Cake

Vegan Christmas Cake

Vegan German Chocolate Cake

This Vegan German Chocolate Cake is an ultra-moist chocolate cake with a gooey caramel coconut and pecan layer topped with vegan chocolate buttercream. A very decadent and indulgent vegan chocolate cake great to celebrate any occasion!

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Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 55 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 people

Calories: 520 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Cake batter

• ▢ 1 ½ cup Soy Milk
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar - or lemon juice
• ▢ 2 ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
• ▢ ¼ cup Cornstarch
• ▢ ¾ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• ▢ 1 ½ cup Sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Espresso Powder - optional
• ▢ ½ cup Canola Oil - or light olive oil or avocado oil
• ▢ ⅓ cup Hot Water
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Coconut pecan filling

• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon Cornstarch
• ▢ 1 cup Coconut Milk
• ▢ ¼ cup Dairy-Free Butter (Unsalted)
• ▢ ½ cup Brown Sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ▢ 1 cup Shredded Coconut
• ▢ ½ cup Chopped Pecans

Chocolate frosting

• ▢ ⅓ cup Dairy-Free Butter (Unsalted) - softened
• ▢ 1 cup + 2 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
• ▢ 4 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoons Almond Milk

Instructions

Prepare the chocolate cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans with oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for the milk to curdle.
• In another large mixing bowl whisk, the flour, cornstarch, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder (if used). Set aside.
• Pour the soy milk mixture, oil, vanilla extract, and hot water into the dry ingredients and whisk or beat until the batter is combined.
• Divide the batter evenly in each cake pan.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few crumbs on it. Two options: place both cakes in the oven simultaneously (only if your oven temperature is well-calibrated) and bake. I personally recommend baking one cake layer at a time, a bit time-consuming, but it gives the perfect cake moisture every time. You can leave the second cake pan on the kitchen benchtop while the first cake layer is baking.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then 15 more minutes on a cooling rack.
• As the cakes cool, prepare the frostings below.

Make the coconut pecan frosting

• In a small mixing bowl, whisk cornstarch and coconut milk to form a slurry mixture.
• In a medium saucepan, add the cornstarch mixture, vegan butter, brown sugar. Bring over medium heat, occasionally whisk until the vegan butter is melted.
• Bring to a light boil and keep whisking until it thickens – about 2-3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, chopped pecans, and shredded coconut.
• Allow complete cooling in a bowl before spreading over the cake. The mixture thickens as it cools down.

Chocolate frosting

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle or whisk attachment, beat the soft vegan butter on medium speed until creamy.
• Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and almond milk.
• Beat on low speed for 30 seconds until fluffy.
• Add more almond milk for a thinner frosting or more cocoa powder for a thicker frosting, adding each 1 tablespoon at a time.

Assemble the cake

• First, level the cakes using a serrated knife. Slice the thin bumpy layer from the top of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard or store this top part to crumble onto vegan yogurt or vegan ice creams later.
• Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand.
• Evenly cover with half the coconut pecan frosting, then top with the second layer of cake.
• To decorate the cake like in my picture, spread half the vegan chocolate buttercream on top of it. Then, spread the remaining coconut pecan frosting on top, but leaving a free space of half an inch on the side. Finally, pipe the remaining vegan chocolate buttercream around to decorate.
• Decorate the top of the German cake with toasted pecan halves and extra shredded coconut.
• Refrigerate for 1-3 hours before serving. This also prevents the cake from crumbling when cut.
• Store leftover cake in the fridge in a sealed cake box for up to 5 days.

Notes

Flour: don’t substitute all-purpose flour in this recipe. Gluten-free flours wouldn’t work. The cake would be flat and wouldn’t rise.

Sugar: caster sugar works best, but you can use low-GI sugar for a healthier alternative. 

Soy milk works best. It adds more moisture to the cake crumb. It can be replaced with any non-dairy milk, but the cake texture would be impacted.

Oil: this recipe hasn’t be tested oil-free.

Equipment

Springform Pan

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Mixing Bowl

Cooling Rack

Saucepan

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Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 527mg | Potassium: 281mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 535IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 3mg