German Chocolate Cheesecake Cake
German Chocolate Cheesecake Cake starts with a cake mix swirled with a cheesecake filling and topped with the most amazing homemade frosting!
AN EASY LAYERED GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE
Y’all, this cake recipe is so amazingly wonderful. It’s what happens when German Chocolate Cake and Cheesecake decide to get together and do a little hanky panky. The base of this cake starts off with a boxed cake mix (yay!) but the cheesecake layer and the frosting are from scratch. And the frosting, oh the frosting. It is heaven. The cake weighs about 2 tons when all is said and done, but it is so worth it (kinda like pregnancy).
CAKE + CHEESECAKE
My co-workers actually renamed this cake. The actual name given to this cake is “German Chocolate Cheesecake.” However, when I told them what I was bringing to share, they were expecting cheesecake with a German chocolate topping. Noooo, it’s a German chocolate cake with cheesecake running through it, I told them. So they ask, “Well, why isn’t it called German Chocolate Cheesecake Cake?” I said, “I don’t know, this is just what they call it. Will you just eat it?” And they did. And they loved it. And they keep asking for more. They are a spoiled bunch.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- German chocolate cake mix
- (plus ingredients needed per package directions, usually eggs, oil & water)
- cream cheese
- sugar
- eggs
- evaporated milk
- salted butter
- egg yolks
- vanilla extract
- sweetened flaked coconut
- chopped pecans
HOW TO MAKE GERMAN CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE CAKE:
Prepare cake batter according to package directions; set aside. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining cake batter over top; spread to edge of pan.
Bake at 325° for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour. For the frosting, in a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans. Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cooled cake.
Refrigerate leftovers.
Makes about 16 servings.
CRAVING MORE DESSERTS?
- German Chocolate Chip Muffins
- German Chocolate Brownies
- Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake
- Cheesecake Stuffed Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Pie Magic Cake
- Oreo Better than Sex Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Italian Love Cake
- Italian Cream Cake
- Chocolate Sheet Cake
German Chocolate Cheesecake Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 15.25 ounce box German chocolate cake mix
- ingredients needed per package directions eggs, oil & water
For the cheesecake filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
- 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
For the coconut pecan frosting:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- ½ cup salted butter, cubed
- 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-1/2 cups sweetened flaked or shredded coconut
- 1-1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Prepare German chocolate cake batter according to package directions; set aside.
For the cheesecake filling:
- In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.
To prepare cake:
- Pour half of the prepared German chocolate cake batter into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Gently pour cream cheese mixture over batter. Gently spoon remaining cake batter over top; spread to edge of pan.
- Bake at 325° for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour.
For the coconut pecan frosting:
- In a saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and egg yolks Cook and stir over medium-low heat until thickened and a thermometer reads 160° or is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
- Remove from the heat.
- Stir in vanilla; fold in coconut and pecans.
- Cool until frosting reaches spreading consistency.
- Frost cooled cake.
Notes
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: April 2011
Updated & Republished: June 2019
Chocolate cake and cheesecake in one! Yummy!
This recipe was very easy to follow. The cake is delicious and so moist. I made this for a family dinner and it disappeared in no time. Great cake and will definitely be on my repeat recipe list. Strongly recommend this recipe.
Love hearing that Pat! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leaving a review!
Hi Brandie!
This recipe looks wonderful. I wonder, have you tried to make a version of it as a “poke” cake? I am considering altering your recipe by using a no-bake cheesecake, poking holes in the baked German chocolate cake, pouring over that the no-bake cheesecake and after that cools, using your frosting recipe to top it off. Do you think this would be a grand disaster? I am not a great cook so I don’t know if I am crazy to attempt this or not. My son’s birthday is coming up and he loves German chocolate and loves cheesecake so…… Thanks for posting this and thanks for letting me bounce my plan off you for your thoughts!
This is a fabulous cake! Very easy to make too. I haven’t made a German Chocolate cake in years! Great twist. This is a keeper. Thank you.
Woo hoo!! Love hearing that Mary!
Just made this cake and it TOTALLY, TOTALLY Rocks!! So GOOD! My family loves it (with the exception of my youngest son, he doesn’t like chocolate…crazy ain’t it??)!! This is definitely a KEEPER! Thank you, Brandie!! 🙂
So great to hear you loved it! Chocolate is life 🙂
I cannot eat gluten. Can I make the German Chocolate Cake from scratch using gluten free flour and the cook times would still be the same. The recipe looks wonderful and I love German Choco Cake. Thanks
Absolutely love this recipe
I made this yesterday and everyone LOVED this cake. They are already asking me to make it again. Thank you!
Just wondering — for the frosting, could you substitute sweetened condensed milk for the evaporated milk, and eliminate the sugar, or will that make the frosting too runny?
Made this today for my Mom's birthday and everyone loved it!! We have been taking turns trying your recipes and they have ALL been great. You have a such wonderful collection of family friendly recipes with accessible ingredients and easy to follow instructions. Thank you for sharing! :o)
German Chocolate AND cheesecake. Quite a treat. Big decision to start here or make the "cheesecake bars." For the 4th I probably will go with both. Thanks much.
msbooch10@live.com
Oh, for Pete's sake! This is awesome, Brandi! Thanks so much for sharing!
Too tempting! Thanks for sharing:)
Oh heaven's preserve us, that looks sinfully delicious. I think I could put away a good amount of that. I love anything with cheesecake. Wow.
I love german chocolate cake but german chocolate cheesecake cake sounds even better! I've never seen a cake like this before. I have to make it asap. Thanks so the recipe. 🙂
mmmm this looks super decadent.
how creative!
My husband love love loves german chocolate cake so I'm sure this would put him over the edge. Looks delicious!
(Found you on Made by You Monday)
This looks so fantastic. Cannot wait to make it.
What a great idea for a cheesecake!
Wow — glad that has zero calories in it 🙂 Sounds delish! And now I must go check out your whoopie pies & the eclair cake which looks DIVINE!
i love german chocolate but never heard of german chocolate cheesecake but I love it already. I bet it tasted heavenly. Thanks for sharing Brandie
Holy Hanky Panky…This is so darn delish looking!
This looks like the best German chocolate cake anyone could eat!
Oh my goodness, you've got me drooling! That looks incredible! I'm your newest follower . . . can't wait to try out some of your recipes!
Wow… this looks so freakin good!