Not your ordinary cake recipe, this German Chocolate Bundt Cake is extra chocolatey, and loaded with coconut-pecan frosting! Better still, it’s ultra easy. Made from doctored-up cake mix, this easy German Chocolate Bundt Cake recipe is one you’ll turn to often!
I seriously have no idea why I was inspired to make this German Chocolate Bundt Cake. I made this in early October, so I honestly can’t remember what prompted me to make it. I think I was just in the mood for something. I love these German Chocolate Brownies so much, and German Chocolate anything – come to think of it – so I must’ve just had a craving.
I usually take notes as I’m making recipes, but I can’t find any notes about this one! I always take notes for this very reason… when I sit down to write, I can’t remember all the little things I wanted to tell you while I was making and photographing it.
In the case of this German Chocolate Bundt Cake, it wasn’t just a few weeks. Five month went by. FIVE MONTHS. These things happen. I overbake and overplan for the blog, and it’s hard to keep up with the writing.
Today is one of those days. I’m struggling! And it’s not helpful that my S.O. is blaring “Cheers” reruns in the background. It’s fun to watch that show again, but it’s a total distraction.
Okay, this Easy German Chocolate Bundt Cake recipe. My Grandma’s Pistachio Bread is really more like cake, and it’s super moist and wonderful. It starts with cake mix, and it gets doctored up pretty good. I used her recipe to make this German Chocolate Bundt Cake. However, there are a few notable changes that make a tremendous difference.
The pistachio bread recipe uses pudding mix to doctor up the cake mix. I used coconut cream pudding mix. Yes!!! Extra coconutty flavor to this cake right at the outset. I also added milk chocolate chips to the cake batter (why not?), pecans, and shredded coconut. You could almost stop there, but you shouldn’t.
For the coconut-pecan frosting, I used the same recipe as these in the German Chocolate Brownies. That frosting is gooey, sticky, caramel-y, sweet, and just all-around awesome. The pecans give it a little soft crunch.
And because it’s more fun if this German Chocolate Bundt Cake is over-the-top, but still ultra-easy, I made a quick batch of milk chocolate ganache in the microwave, and spooned it over the top. I can always count on chocolate ganache to crank things up a notch.
I have a bunch more simple and amazingly delicious cake mix bundt cake recipes. One of the most popular is the Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze. That thing is ultra-popular and gets wonderful reviews. It is so moist, and the lemon flavor is so vibrant!
Incidentally, I have a Lemon Bundt Cake too, and just Blueberry Bundt Cake too….
Other fave cake mix bundt cakes that include chocolate would be this Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake and this Oreo Bundt Cake.
Easy German Chocolate Bundt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For cake:
- 1 box German chocolate cake mix
- 1 box instant coconut cream pudding mix
- 4 eggs
- 1 c. sour cream reduced-fat is fine
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
- 1 c. milk chocolate chips
- 1/3 c. shredded coconut
- 1/3 c. chopped pecans
For coconut-pecan frosting:
- 1 c. sugar
- 1 c. evaporated milk
- 1/2 c. butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/3 c. coconut
- 1 c. chopped pecans
- 1 tsp. vanilla
For topping:
- 1 c. milk chocolate chips
- 1/4 c. heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 1/2 c. toasted coconut
Instructions
For cake:
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In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, instant pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut. Batter will be thick!
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Spray a large tube pan or bundt pan with non-stick spray.
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Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
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Remove pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the wire rack to cool completely.
For coconut-pecan frosting:
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In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and eggs.
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Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil. Do not walk away from it - it will heat and cook quickly, and you don't want to scramble the eggs!
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Once it comes to a boil and thickens, remove from heat, and stir in the coconut, pecans, and vanilla.
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Cool to room temperature.
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Spread on top of the cooled bundt cake.
For topping:
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In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, heavy cream, and butter.
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Microwave on high at 30-second intervals until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
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Drizzle over bundt cake.
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Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the ganache.
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Allow 10-15 minutes for topping to set. Cut and serve.
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Tami G says
March 6, 2017 at 9:53 pmI am not able to find “Instant” coconut pudding mix here…can I substitute regular cook coconut pudding(dry mix) instead?
Sarah says
March 6, 2017 at 10:50 pmHi Tami! You can just use a regular pudding mix! Vanilla or chocolate would work. Doesn’t have to be coconut cream pudding mix! But I did find it, and had it, so it was definitely a fun addition. It will turn out great with a different flavor. 🙂
Winslet says
March 20, 2017 at 3:35 amDelicious chocolate bundt cake for the weekend party and birthday. I m fond of baking and every week I try new cakes. This week I will be trying this one. Hope everyone will love it and thanks for sharing it.
Vicki says
July 11, 2017 at 12:54 pmThe cake mix I bought has pudding mix in it. Do I need to add pudding mix.
Sarah says
July 11, 2017 at 1:29 pmHi Vicki: I don’t usually use cake mix that has pudding mix in it, but yes, I would treat it like a regular cake mix, and I’d follow the recipe as written! Please let me know if you need anything else, and I hope you like the cake! 🙂
Vicki says
July 13, 2017 at 6:53 amThanks
Susan says
August 12, 2017 at 9:28 pmWas I supposed to make the pudding according to the package first and then add it to the cake mix?
Sarah says
August 12, 2017 at 10:59 pmHi Susan: No! You just add the pudding mix to the cake mix and the other ingredients – just the pudding mix! 🙂
Selene says
October 1, 2017 at 3:40 pmAny suggestions on The frosting? Mine is coming out too runny.
Sarah says
October 1, 2017 at 5:58 pmHi Selene! I’m sorry to hear that. It should thicken as it cooks, and thicken as it cools. The eggs help bring it together – I would just make sure that you’re cooking it long enough that the eggs have a chance to thicken it! Good luck!
Tami Q. says
October 4, 2019 at 10:11 pmThis happened to me the first two times that I followed the recipe. I’m about to make two more cakes using this recipe, so I clicked on the German Chocolate Brownies to see what I was doing wrong with the eggs. On the Brownie recipe, it specifies egg yolks. The cake recipe states eggs. That’s why it comes out runny.
Carla says
March 8, 2018 at 2:52 amWhat size of pudding mix?
Sarah says
March 8, 2018 at 11:17 amGreat question! Thank you for pointing that out! In all my pudding mix bundt cakes, I usually use a 3.4 oz. box, but I think the Oreo Cookies ‘n Cream only comes in a larger 4.2 oz. box (I think because it has cookie crumbs in it that probably add to its weight). If you use the Oreo pudding mix, it’ll be a 4.2 oz. box. If you use just chocolate (someone in another country couldn’t find Oreo), then it’ll be 3.4 oz. box. Make sense? Thank you! 🙂
Michelle says
June 28, 2018 at 8:47 amHello Sarah,
Can this receipe be used to make cupcakes versus cake? If so, how long do I have to bake them? In addition, are there any other changes that I need to make to the receipe?
Sarah says
June 28, 2018 at 5:19 pmHi Michelle: For cupcakes, the frosting will work great, definitely. For cupcakes though, I think I would use a different cake recipe – I would use one made specifically for chocolate cupcakes or a chocolate layer cake. Bundt cakes are denser, and I don’t know if it would work as well. Try these from Life, Love & Sugar! for the cupcake itself: https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/2017/05/31/moist-homemade-chocolate-cupcakes/
Vicki says
August 21, 2018 at 11:00 amHow do I pin your recipes? I want to save a bunch but don’t see a pin button?
Sarah says
August 21, 2018 at 4:18 pmHi!! You should be able to hover over any image at all, and the Pin button should appear. Any image should display it when you hover. Please let me know if that works! All my recipes are here though: https://www.pinterest.com/theGLG/the-gold-lining-girl-blog-recipes/
I hope that helps! 🙂
Heather says
November 3, 2018 at 3:21 pmHow can I tell if the frosting has finished cooking? I don’t want to serve raw eggs ?
Sarah says
November 3, 2018 at 6:01 pmAs long as it thickens, and as long as you cook it for a few minutes, you’ll be fine!! Just make sure it’s thickened and that you stir it around for a few minutes. 🙂
Cavet Smith says
November 12, 2018 at 2:57 amThis cake is delicious. Wife said it would win a baking contest.
Sarah says
November 12, 2018 at 10:03 amLOL! That’s fantastic! I’m so happy you guys liked it. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Amy says
March 2, 2019 at 10:38 pmLove this recipe!! I made them in mini bundt pan and just cooked the same minutes as a cupcake and they came out perfect. I skipped the chocolate ganache and still amazing . If I make them the day before should I refrigerate? I was also thinking of putting the coconut topping in the fridge and then warm up and decorate in the morning. What are your thoughts?
Sarah says
March 3, 2019 at 7:58 amOmg, I love that idea! I actually have a few mini bundt pans – I’m going to try that too. The cakes probably don’t need to be refrigerated the day before, but I’d refrigerate the frosting, and then do what you said – lightly warm it up and decorate the day of! I’m so glad you like this recipe. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Kathleen says
April 30, 2019 at 4:01 pmI made this cake for a December Pot Luck dinner. The cake was very easy to make, and tasted good. The frosting took forever to cook and didn’t taste all that great. While it turned out to be a real pretty cake, in future I’ll just make an easy no-cook frosting and sprinkle some toasted coconut over it.
Sarah says
May 1, 2019 at 8:30 amThanks so much for your feedback! So sorry to hear that you weren’t a fan of the frosting – I love it, and it’s classic German Chocolate frosting, but it won’t be for everyone, I suppose! Thanks again for your comment, and I’m glad you enjoyed the cake overall. 🙂
Vivian says
May 8, 2019 at 11:30 pmI can’t wait to bake this cake. Just one thing, I haven’t been able to find the instant coconut cream pudding. What should I do?
Thank you so much 😊
Sarah says
May 9, 2019 at 3:17 pmYou can definitely use another pudding as a substitute if you can’t find it. It’s just bonus coconut flavor, but you can use vanilla or milk chocolate pudding instead! Please let me know how you like it!
Jo Dee says
July 18, 2019 at 5:11 pmFor the frosting, should I use the whole egg or just the yolks? Hoping to make this for my son’s birthday!
Sarah says
July 18, 2019 at 6:03 pmThis particular recipe uses the whole eggs! Though I have seen other recipes that use yolks only. I’ve used whole eggs when I’ve used this frosting for other recipes — brownies, etc.
Tiffany says
November 9, 2019 at 2:03 pmAmazing recipe! I did encounter one problem. Although I had my heat low-medium and never walked away from the frosting for a second, the eggs scrambled. I looked at another recipe for a better method that included tempering the eggs first. Worked perfectly! So, for those of you who may not want to make the frosting twice, you might want to temper those eggs before adding them to the sugar, milk and butter mixture.
Sarah says
November 10, 2019 at 1:13 pmGreat tip — thank you for sharing that. Maybe I’ll add a note in the recipe about tempering! Thanks so much. 🙂