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Dessert

German Chocolate Cake

A chocolate cake with coconut, pecans, mayonnaise, and sauerkraut.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Vanilla and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,294 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

German Chocolate Cake

Oven350 °F
Time20–24 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.

  2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

  3. Beat in vanilla.

  4. Combine dry ingredients.

  5. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with water.

  6. Fold in sauerkraut, coconut and pecans.

Bake and cool

  1. Pour batter into three greased and floured 9‑inch round baking pans.

  2. Bake at 350 °F for 20–24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

  3. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks; cool completely.

Make the filling and frost

  1. In a bowl, combine melted chocolate and mayonnaise.

  2. Set aside 1 ¼ cups of the chocolate mixture for frosting.

  3. To the remaining chocolate mixture, add half of the coconut and pecans; spread between cake layers.

  4. Spread reserved chocolate mixture over top and sides of cake.

  5. Combine remaining coconut and pecans; press onto sides of cake.

Store and serve

  1. Store in the refrigerator.

  2. Slice with a serrated knife.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1330Calories
26 gProtein
74 gFat
140 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Coconut1/2 cup shredded (40g)283
Pecans1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)196
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Sauerkrautnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Vanilla + coconuttop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,294 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Vanilla + cocoatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together357 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Coconut + pecanstop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together394 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Vanilla + pecanstop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,691 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Creams with sugar to trap air, giving the cake a tender, rich crumb.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure as they set during baking.
All-purpose flour
Forms the main structure of the cake as its proteins set in the oven.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic ingredients to help the cake rise and brown.
Sugar
Sweetens the cake and helps create a soft, tender texture when creamed.
Mayonnaise
Adds fat and moisture to the chocolate filling and frosting for a smooth, glossy texture.

The step that matters

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Overbaking dries out the cake and makes the crumb crumbly, while underbaking leaves the center dense and gummy. Checking near the center confirms the layers are fully set.

Swap the cocoa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, coconut, pecans):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Macadamia nutfits better
  3. Brazil nutfits better
  4. Cocoathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, coconut, pecans. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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