This easy German chocolate dump cake has all the classic flavors you love like gooey coconut, crunchy pecans, and rich chocolate, but with minimal fuss—no mixing bowls required!
Instead of the traditional frosting, this easy dessert lets coconut and pecans bake with butter and brown sugar until they create a caramel-y layer beneath a tender chocolate top.
It’s essentially an upside-down German chocolate cake and it’s probably the easiest dessert you’ll make all year!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- It comes together without a mixer or any other special tools
- It’s a tried-and-true method so even beginning bakers will have spectacular results
- It uses basic ingredients you can find at any grocery store
How to make your cake
- Pour melted butter in a 13- by 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle with brown sugar
- Top with coconut and pecans
- Sprinkle dry cake mix over that and top with milk
- Arrange 24 pats of butter over the top
Then bake for 35 minutes until the cake looks like the photo below. And that’s it! Cool and serve with ice cream.
Why this method works
With dump cakes, the dry cake mix stays on top so it can soak up moisture slowly. As the cake bakes, the butter slices and milk melt down through the mix, hydrating it just enough to create the perfect cake topping.
Meanwhile, the butter, brown sugar, coconut, and pecans melt together underneath to form a gooey, caramel-like layer on the bottom.
How to serve your cake
Let your cake cool at least to room temperature (cooling it longer is fine). It’s difficult to serve while it’s warm because it doesn’t hold together.
You can chill it in the fridge overnight if you want to make it ahead.
This cake is delicious on its own but even better with vanilla (or chocolate!) ice cream or a hefty dollop of whipped cream.
Can I use a different cake mix
Yes! You have a lot of options for the cake mix you use!
I used Devils food cake mix but you can use any chocolate cake mix (including German chocolate) that’s roughly 15.25 ounces.
You can also use a white or yellow cake mix if you’re serving this to someone who can’t have chocolate.
Recipe notes and tips
• I used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Devil’s Food cake mix.
• Salted butter is important in this recipe; you need the salt to cut through all of the sweet ingredients.
• Check your cake halfway through baking; if it looks like you’ll wind up with any dry pockets of cake mix you can cut small pats of butter and place them on the pockets. That should help prevent any unincorporated cake mix. (This is an optional step—do it only if you have a little extra butter lying around and dry cake mix bothers you.)
How to store your cake
Store your cake, covered loosely, for up to 3 days in the fridge.
You can also freeze your cake, tightly wrapped or in an airtight container, for up to 2 months.
If you’re going to freeze it I recommend freezing individual portions in airtight containers so you can just defrost what you intend to eat.
A few more recipes you might enjoy
Coconut Poke Cake
Coconut Raspberry Cake
Triple Chocolate Cheesecake
Easy Chocolate Fudge
Did you make this easy German chocolate dump cake? That’s great! Let me know what you think with a comment and a rating below. And post a pic on Instagram too! Tag @theitsybitsykitchen so I can see!
A quick and simple German chocolate dump cake made with layers of coconut, pecans, brown sugar, and chocolate cake mix. It bakes into a gooey bottom layer with a soft, cake-like top—no mixing bowl needed.
- 1 1/2 cups salted butter divided
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 15.25 ounce box chocolate cake mix*
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly spray a 13- by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) of the butter and pour into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter. Top with the coconut and pecans in an even layer.
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix powder evenly in the dish. Pour the milk over the cake mix.
- Cut the remaining 1 cup of butter into 24 slices (so 12 slices per stick of butter). Arrange them over the top of the cake mix.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes; the edges should be bubbly and the top should look fairly set. Place on a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
- Uneaten cake can be stored in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.
- *I used Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Devil’s Food cake mix.
- Salted butter is important in this recipe; you really need the salt to cut through all of the sweet ingredients. If you only have unsalted you can mix a 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the melted butter before pouring in the pan.
- This cake is delicious served plain but even better with ice cream or whipped cream.
- Check your cake halfway through baking; if it looks like you’ll wind up with any dry pockets of cake mix you can cut small pats of butter and place them on the pockets. That should help prevent any unincorporated cake mix. (This is only if desired and if you have a little extra butter lying around.)
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