German Chocolate Bundt Cake (Gluten Free)

This German Chocolate Bundt Cake, with the frosting baked into the center of the cake, is a delightful treat after school, for special occasions, dinner parties, or bake sales. It is incredibly versatile and something everyone loves.

As a member of the Secret Recipe Club I’ve had dozens of assignments, a wide variety of blogger’s sites to explore and recipes to make. Some of my favorite bloggers are also members of the SRC, people whose work I have admired and learned from. I’ve been lucky to meet a few in person, but most remain online friends.

Because I write Chocolate Mondays, I am always on the lookout for terrific new chocolate recipes to share with all of you. Occasionally it can be challenging if someone isn’t a baker, but most of the time I have quite a few that catch my eye.

This month it was a huge challenge to narrow down the choices to just one. I have the distinct honor to introduce you to Shelby’s blog, Grumpy’s Honeybunch Recipes, one of my favorites in all of the Blogoshpere! I not only love Shelby’s recipes (truly swoon-worthy), but her stories about her life and family adventures are always entertaining. It is a guaranteed good read!

As I searched Shelby’s site, I kept getting distracted by all the beautiful photographs and recipes. It was so hard to narrow my choice down to just one! But I finally hit on the ideal recipe to make – her German Chocolate Bundt Cake with the normal coconut frosting inserted in the center of the cake. Perfect!

The Artist loves bundt cakes – they remind him of the cakes his mom used to make when he was a child. He has always had a fondness for German Chocolate cake, but as he has grown older, they are far too sweet for his tastes. He prefers dark chocolate, so instead of the traditional Baker’s Chocolate, which is nearly as light as milk chocolate, I substituted semisweet chocolate chips. It gives you a deeper chocolate flavor that offsets the sweet coconut filling more.

I have seen a lot of blogger’s photos lately with perfectly symmetrical glazing on bundt cakes. If you put the glaze into a plastic bag, snip off a little of one corner, and pipe it on squeezing the bag gently. It gives you a lot more control than the spoon I usually use. Also, to give a little added interest, I made two variations, one with powdered sugar and one with brown sugar. That created two colors to make it even more fun!

The hardest thing about this cake is having to wait until it is cool to slice it. But I learned a secret the other day. When you are pouring the cake batter into your cake pan, reserve a little batter and bake it in a buttered ramekin like a cupcake. You can taste the flavors and appease your sweet tooth without cutting into the big cake. Talk about brilliant!

Our home smelled amazing while the cake was baking. When The Artist walked in the house after running some errands, he was so excited! When I told him he had to wait until the cake was totally cooled and I had photographed it before he could eat it, he got the cutest expression on his face ~~ it made me laugh! That’s what a great chocolate cake can do to a grown man, LOL!

Thank you, Shelby for an outstanding recipe. It was wonderful browsing through your site, finding inspiration at every turn. This German Chocolate Bundt Cake was a big hit with The Artist and me!

Make sure you check out all of the posts at the bottom of the page. This group always makes the most remarkable recipes to share with all of you!

Happy Chocolate Monday!

Did you enjoy this recipe? Let me know in the comments, I love hearing from you!

Key Ingredients for German Chocolate Bundt Cake:

• Filling: flour, brown sugar, butter, coconut, pecans
• Cake: butter, sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, vanilla
• Eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk
• Glazes: powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, milk, brown sugar

PRO Tip:

To make sure the filling doesn’t come out the side of the cake, you should take a spoon and make a channel in the center of the batter and fill that with the filling. This make sure the filling stays in the middle of the cake making it a fun surprise when you cut the cake!

How to make German Chocolate Bundt Cake:

1. Filling: Mix together the flour and brown sugar and cut in the butter until it looks like coarse meal; stir in the coconut and pecans
2. Cake: Butter the bundt pan and sprinkle with sugar, turning the pan to coat the butter with the sugar; in a heatproof bowl, combine the cocoa and chocolate, add the boiling water and stir until the chocolate is melted and set aside
3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside; Cream the butter and sugar until lightened in color, the beat in the vanilla and add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then mix in the chocolate and scrape the bowl and beater
4. Add the flour mixture to the batter alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour; spoon half the batter into the buttered pan, smooth the top and then drag a spoon through the batter creating a channel in the middle of the batter all around the cake
5. Fill the channel with the filling mixture, spreading it out evenly; spoon the remaining batter over the top being sure that the filling is completely covered
6. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean; cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely
7. Glazes: Mix the powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla together, add the milk and whisk until smooth; in another bowl combine the brown sugar, butter, and vanilla, then add milk and whisk until smooth
8. Drizzle the white glaze over the cake first, followed by the brown sugar glaze; set the cake aside and let the glazes harden before serving

PRO Tip:

You need to thoroughly butter the bundt pan, getting into all the nooks and crannies. Even if your pan is nonstick, be sure to carefully butter the entire inside, including the center column.

PRO Tip:

If you love bundt cakes, it is worth spending a little more for a higher quality bundt pan. It will pay for itself many times over. The better quality pans are thicker and help avoid the burning that can happen in thin baking pans. And get a variety of sizes because recipes vary and some need a large bundt while others can use a smaller design.

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Kitchen scale
• Dry measuring cups and liquid measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Paring knife
• Chef’s knife
• Cutting board
• Mixing bowls
• Pastry blender/cutter
• 12-cup bundt pan
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Cooling rack

Gluten-Free Tips:

You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a straight edge, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.

Continue to Content

Yield: about 10 servings

German Chocolate Bundt Cake (Gluten Free)

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This German Chocolate Bundt Cake, with the frosting baked into the center of the cake, is a delightful treat after school, for special occasions, dinner parties, or bake sales. It is incredibly versatile and something everyone loves.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Additional Time 45 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Filling

• 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour blend*
• 1/2 cup (100 g) packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans

Cake

• Softened butter, for the pan
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 oz semisweet chocolate chips (about 3 tbsp)
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup (5 tbsp) butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
• 2 tsp baking powder (gluten-free if needed)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar (gluten-free if needed)
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or paste)
• 1 tbsp milk, or more if needed

Brown Sugar Glaze

• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or paste)
• 1 tbsp milk, or more if needed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Set a cooling rack next to the oven.
   
   Prepare the Filling: Combine the flour and brown sugar in a small bowl; cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the coconut and pecans.
2. Make the Cake: Coat a 12-cup bundt pan with butter, getting into all the nooks and crannies; sprinkle with 1 tbsp granulated sugar. Turn the pan, tapping as you go to coat the interior with the sugar. Set aside.
3. Combine cocoa and chocolate chips in a small heatproof bowl; add boiling water, stirring until the chocolate melts. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisking until fully incorporated. Set next to the mixer. Measure out the buttermilk and set it next to the flour blend.
   
   Combine 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar and softened butter in the bowl of your standing mixer. Beat at medium speed until fully incorporated and lightened in color, about 3 to 5 minutes. The mixture will be very granular, but when you
   scrape the side of the bowl, it will hold together. Beat in the vanilla. Add the egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the chocolate mixture. Stop the mixer; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl (especially in the center where ingredients tend to hide) and the beater blade.
5. Add the flour mixture to the batter alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan; smooth with a spatula and drag a spoon through the middle of the batter, creating a channel all around the cake. Place the filling evenly in the channel. Spoon remaining batter over the top. Smooth the top with the spatula, making sure all of the filling is covered with batter.
6. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted halfway between the edge and the center comes out clean. Note: if you are using a really long toothpick, it may go into the molten coconut layer in the middle. Ignore that
   moisture and try in another place, not pressing the toothpick in quite as deeply.
7. Cool the cake in the pan on the wire rack 10 minutes. Invert the pan onto the rack, letting the cake drop out of the pan. Remove the bundt pan. Cool cake completely.
8. Prepare Glazes: * In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, butter and vanilla, stirring together. Add the milk; whisk until smooth.
9. In a second small bowl, combine the brown sugar glaze’s brown sugar, butter and vanilla, stirring together; add the milk and whisk until smooth.
10. *If you want to make only one glaze, just double the measurements of the ingredients of one of the glazes.
11. Decorate the Cake: Place the sugar glaze in a plastic bag and press it into one corner. Repeat with the brown sugar glaze. When the cake is completely cooled, drizzle the first glaze over the top and sides in a decorative pattern, and then repeat with the second glaze. The two subtle colors will look beautiful on the cake. Set the cake aside to give the glazes time to harden before cutting.  
12. Slice and enjoy!

Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com

Notes

*You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you
are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a straight edge, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 479Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 394mgCarbohydrates: 91gFiber: 2gSugar: 65gProtein: 6g

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate.

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