What could be better than German chocolate cupcakes? Oh yeah… maybe filling them with a delicious bourbon chocolate ganache! Yum. Don’t they look scrumptious?
SOME TIPS AND POINTERS TO MAKE GERMAN CHOCOLATE Cupcakes
- Ganache is totally optional and you don’t have to add the bourbon if serving to minors or if you’re not into the taste.
- You can make the cupcakes a day in advance. Cover and leave at room temperature. Or Make them a week or two in advance, wrap well and freeze then bring to room temperature before decorating.
- The frosting is traditionally made with pecans but you can use walnuts or even chopped macadamias if preferred.
How To Make German Chocolate Cupcakes
How Do You Make German Chocolate Cupcakes?
- For the cake; Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Lightly butter, flour and line the bottoms of three 8 x 2 inch pans with parchment paper.
- Chop up the chocolate and melt it with the coffee in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add the sugar to the stand mixer with the creamed butter and continue beating until it is fluffy. About 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and add the egg yolks one at a time. Make sure each egg fully incorporates before adding the next, then add the vanilla.
- Add the melted chocolate. Beat until it is fully incorporated, then add the flour mixture and buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat only until the ingredients are mixed together.
- Scrape the bowl to make sure the mixture is homogeneous. Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Rotate the pans about halfway through to ensure even baking). Remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes.
- For the frosting; preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove them from the oven, let cool, and then give them a fairly fine chop.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture begins to boil and thicken (about 5 minutes), remove it from the heat.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in the chopped pecans, coconut and vanilla extract. Give it a good mix to make sure everything is well incorporated, then let it cool until it is spreadable. (About 30-60 minutes).
- For the ganache; put the chocolate chips in a small bowl with the bourbon. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it begins to bubble. Pour it over the chocolate chips and allow it to sit for a minute or so and then whisk it together until there are no lumps.
- For the assembly; use a cupcake corer to carefully remove the core of the cupcake and set it aside.
- Pour the ganache into the cored cupcake holes then place the piece of the cupcake back on top to close off the hole. Using an ice cream scooper, cover the tops with the coconut frosting mix.
- Drizzle the top of the frosted cupcake with more ganache and add a candied pecan to the top of each cupcake. Enjoy!
If you’ve tried these German chocolate cupcakes then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
German Chocolate Cupcakes
Rich German chocolate cupcakes piled high with coconut pecan frosting and filled with a chocolate, bourbon ganache surprise!
Servings 16 Cupcakes
Calories 414kcal
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 180g
- 2 tsp baking powder 8g
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 15g
- 1/8 tsp salt 750mg
- 6 tbsp butter 84g, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar 300g
- 2 eggs large, room temp
- 1 tsp vanilla extract 5mL
- 3/4 cup milk 177mL
- 1/3 cup sour cream 80g
- 2 oz German Chocolate 57g
- 1/4 cup coffee hot
For the Frosting:
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 can evaporated milk 355mL, 12 ounces
- 1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar 250g
- 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter 170g, 12 tablespoons
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 5mL
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt 1g, heaping
- 2 2/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut 200g, 7 ounces
- 1 1/2 cups pecans 188g, 6 ounces pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
- 12 candied pecans for toppers
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate 87g, chopped
- 3/4 cup cream 177mL
- 2 tbsp bourbon 30mL
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Add cupcake papers to a cupcake pan.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine the milk and the sour cream.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is fluffy (this will take about three to five minutes). Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Then add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated.
- Add the milk/sour cream mixture and flour mixtures in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat only until the ingredients are mixed together.
- Divide the batter evenly among cupcake papers. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.
- Core the cupcakes with a corer.
For the Frosting:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 8-10 minutes. Thereafter, chop until fairly fine.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, egg yolks, butter, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, and when the mixture begins to boil and thicken, remove from heat (about 5 minutes). Stir in the chopped pecans, coconut, and vanilla extract. Let cool until spreadable (about 30-60 minutes).
For the Ganache:
- Heat the cream in a small sauce pan until it begins to bubble. Pour over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for a minute or so. Whisk together until there are no lumps. Pour in the bourbon. Mix.
For the Assembly:
- Pour ganache into cored cupcake holes.
- Cover the tops with coconut frosting mix.
- Drizzle with more ganache.
- Add candied pecans to the top of each cupcake.
Video
Notes
- The frosting is traditionally made with pecans but you can use walnuts or even chopped macadamias if preferred.
Nutrition
Serving: 109g | Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 4.3g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 8.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7.3g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 1.9g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1.7mg
*Nutrition Disclaimer
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Genea, so you think we should follow the cake instead of the cupcake recipe? I want to make these soon.
HI John — Firstly, I use TONS of your recipes and they are all awesome — this is the only one that failed me. I made it twice (two DOUBLE batches!) because I was sure the error was mine. After the second batch of cupcakes caved in like the first, I compared the CUPCAKE recipe to the CAKE recipe. The CAKE recipe has a separate step for the egg whites. The CUPCAKE recipe does not. I wish I had noticed this before I had wasted my ingredients on two separate cupcake (double!) batches. Ugh. I thought you would want to review the discrepancies in the two recipes. (But seriously, thanks so much for all your great posts!)
Genea, so you think we should follow the cake instead of the cupcake recipe? I want to make these soon.
I’ve made these twice in three days. They are delicious. Not only is the frosting bowl licking good but the cupcakes alone are so soft and have just the right amount of sweetness especially when you eat them with the frosting. I didn’t expect that to be honest, due to the amount of sugar that the batter calls for. I didn’t put the ganache inside but I did drizzle it over the frosting. I used a semi-sweet chocolate bar and the balance was perfect. With all that said, I do have a question. In the video it shows you using a scoop of some sort to fill them. And from what I could make out, it looked like you filled them at the half way mark. On my first 4 (I always do a sm batch, just in case, lol) I did that but once they were done, more importantly, out of the oven, mine went Flat! Next 12 (my 1st batter made 20), I added a bit more (they did overflow on to the pan, grrr) and the same thing happened. And it happened again with the last 4. So my question is… are these supposed to have flat tops? The ones I made today (I actually got 2 dozen out of the batter), they all had domes while in the oven but not long after being out, flat they went again. Just thought of another question. If I want to make this into a cake but I want to only make it two layers using 9in rounds, how much batter should I put in to each pan? While I did enjoy the cupcakes, for some odd reason, many of my cupcake liners started to came away from the cupcake. I just don’t understand why that would happen as well. Any help you can give me John, I’d really appreciate it…. thanks!
Hi Tammie! I’m not sure about the liner issue but I actually like my cupcakes to have flat tops. Sometimes it’s the recipe and sometime it’s the temp you bake them at. Use my German chocolate cake recipe! you will LOVE it!!!!
Hello! I’m in the middle of making these cupcakes and the directions say to add melted chocolate into the cake batter and there is no chocolate listed in the cake ingredients!! How much melted chocolate for the cake batter? Is there supposed to be coffee as well?
thanks for the gorgeous looking recipe! please clarify the melted chocolate part for the CAKE
“4. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Then add the melted chocolate and beat until incorporated.”
and how much bourbon for the GANACHE???
thanks so much!!!
Tamiko,
Use as much bourbon as you would like for the ganache! I used a few tbsp! Hope you enjoy!
John
Hi it says to add melted chocolate to the batter but it doesn’t list it in the ingredient list. Is it required?
Thanks!
ms
Melissa,
The chocolate ganache is very tasty, but not required! Hope you enjoy!
John
There is overlap in the text at one point I️. The directions. Can you send me a copy? Making today for a birthday!!!
Katie,
The recipe is updated! I hope you enjoy making these cupcakes!
John
The instructions say to add melted chocolate but it’s not in the cake ingrediaent list…how much melted chocolate?!
Ki-Lane Hulse,
Use 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for the melted butter!
John
I made the recipe and they turned out delicious. Here some notes: For the ganche instead of 1/2 cup of chocolate I added 1 cup. For the frosting it took more than 5minutes to get into the desired consistency otherwise is too watery. Everyone loved them. Thank you!!
YUM
OBSESSED!
Where is the coffee in the ingredient’s list?
Hi Maimai — The recipe has been updated. Thanks! Best, John.
I stumbled on here today and I must say I’ve never attempted GCC before because the frosting intimidated me – but you’ve broken it down so well – adorable cupcakes!
Trying to find the instructions for the cupcakes
Hi Sanaya — The page has been updated. Take a look and let me know what you think! Thanks, John.
This looks great! Can you post the directions for how to mix the ingredients to make the cupcakes? It looks so moist and good that I’d hate to ruin it because I did something wrong!
Hi Zua — The page has been updated. Take a look and let me know what you think! Thanks, John.