German Chocolate Cupcake Recipe (2024)

I saw a gorgeous cake in the bakery this morning and immediately came home and made this German chocolate cupcake recipe. This decadent delight is one of my husband’s favorite birthday cakes, so I figured why not?

The delightful flavor of chocolate and sweetened shredded coconut is combined with a few pantry staples in this easy cupcake recipe. And let’s just face it – they’re fun to eat with the added crunch of that coconut!

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German Chocolate Cupcakes

Here at Ruffles and Rain Boots, I’m a fan of the humble cupcake. It’s small, portable, and it’s just “enough” sweet. And because I’m busy, I love that I can prepare the cupcakes in advance while I whip up the topping or frosting.

This family favorite is desired more by the adults than the kids. I like to keep a few cupcakes aside without the German topping so they can taste it.

If you need to run to the store to pick up supplies, bookmark this page to make it easy to come back to when you are ready to create these German chocolate cupcakes.

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Why These Cupcakes Are The Perfect Recipe

These coconut delights are packed with layers of flavor. It seems with each bite you take, you get a new flavor profile exploding in your mouth.

This is a from-scratch recipe that is quite easy to make. I would wager you have virtually all, if not all, of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge.

It has a fun history behind it. Did you know German chocolate cake did not come from Europe? Instead, the recipe is said to have originated from Dallas, Texas back in the late 1950s!

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Tips For Making German Chocolate Cupcakes

• We used a chocolate ganache for the frosting part of this recipe. If you prefer to make a buttercream frosting, we recommend our easy chocolate buttercream frosting. It tastes just like the bakery version and is incredibly easy to whip up.
• To toast coconut, spread it out on a parchment or silicone mat-covered baking sheet. Place in the oven at 350 degrees and bake until most pieces are golden brown (about 12-15 minutes).
• If you would like to toast the pecans for this recipe, it is easy. Spread the pecans out on a parchment or silicone mat-covered baking sheet and bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes or until the aroma of the pecans comes out from the oven.
• Don’t skip the sour cream, but if you need to, replace it with equal parts vegetable oil and buttermilk. This will keep the consistency of the cupcakes similar, offering a uniform bake.

Ingredients For The German Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

Below are the ingredients we used for our German chocolate cupcakes. For information about toasting the coconut, read the tips section above.

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Heavy whipping cream
• Salt
• Vanilla extract
• Cocoa powder
• Unsalted butter
• White granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Water
• Flour
• Baking soda
• Sour cream
• Pecans
• Shredded coconut

How To Make German Chocolate Cupcakes

Each step for this recipe is detailed below to make it easy to follow. Keep this page open while you are creating your cupcakes. If you would rather have a printable recipe, scroll down and select the print button.

Add the chocolate chips, salt, and vanilla extract in a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy whipping cream until steaming. Do Not Boil. Pour the hot cream over the bowl with chocolate chips and sit for 5 minutes.

Whisk together until a smooth ganache is formed. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to cool and thicken to a pipeable consistency for later.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with 12 cupcake liners.

In a small mixing bowl add the chocolate chips and cocoa powder. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until steaming and then pour over the chocolate chips and cocoa. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a separate, larger bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until fluffy.

Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and warm water. Mix again until combined.

Now add in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.

Add the sour cream and blend one last time, until smooth.

Scoop batter into each cupcake liner, filling each about halfway.

See Also

Royal Chocolate Cake / Trianon

Bake in the oven for 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

While the cupcakes are baking and then cooling, add the heavy cream, sugar, and eggs to a saucepan. Heat on the stove on medium and mix consistently until it begins to simmer.

Turn heat down to medium-low and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened.

Add salt, butter, and vanilla extract. Stir until fully combined and melted.

Remove from the heat and add the chopped pecans and toasted shredded coconut (see tips section above for information on toasting the coconut) to the thickened mixture and stir until combined.

Let the mixture cool completely by placing it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Remove the ganache from the fridge and add it to a piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Swirl a large base, or rosette, keeping the layer of frosting flat on each cooled cupcake.

Once the coconut pecan topping has cooled completely, use a large ice cream scoop to place the topping onto each ganache-covered cupcake.

Sprinkle the tops of each cupcake with extra toasted shredded coconut and a single pecan for garnish.

More Cupcake Recipes You May Like

• Easy Mascarpone Frosting Recipe: You will LOVE Mascarpone frosting – it’s easy to make and gives your cupcake topping a rich and creamy texture.
• Fake Ice Cream Sundae Cupcake Recipe: If you think the best part of a cupcake is the frosting, you are going to enjoy this recipe.
• Butter Rum Cupcakes Recipe with a Surprise: Have you ever had a rum toddy co*cktail? These cupcakes taste much like that classic co*cktail.
• Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes Recipe: I can’t believe how great these taste. If you like banana pudding, you have to make a batch of these.

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