Meet the German Chocolate Sponge Roll- a moist, soft, and rich chocolate cake with a classic pecan and coconut filling. The cake roll is decorated with chocolate ganache and sprinkled with extra coconut flakes and pecans!

My Nana makes a German Chocolate Pie, and unbeknownst to me, German Chocolate is a more common treat and flavor than just Nana's delicious pie. Luckily, that led me to create this beauty!

messy cake roll slices on a crinkled piece of parchment paper with a jar of pecans

Overview of German Chocolate Cake Roll

Make the chocolate sheet cake base
Immediately roll hot cake in powdered kitchen towel to cool
Prepare coconut pecan filling and allow to cool
Unroll chocolate cake and spread filling
Reroll cake with filling
Pour ganache over cake and decorate
Chill cake until serving

overhead shot of cake roll slices arranged in a curve with a jar of pecans and jug of milk

Rolling the Cake

The most important part about rolling the cake? Rolling it immediately after you remove the cake from the oven.

While the cake is baking: Prepare a large, thin kitchen towel by generously coating both sides of it with powdered sugar.
After taking the cake out of the oven: Flip cake onto the prepared towel as soon as you take the cake out of the oven.
To roll: Take one side of the towel- preferably the sides that lines up closest to the edge of your cake- and begin carefully rolling the cake in the towel. Even if the cake slightly (or more than slightly) cracks while doing this, continue rolling as efficiently as you can. Once fully rolled, use your hands to roll the cake back and forth on your surface to help round it.
Cool Cake: Cool cake, rolled, in the towel at room temperature. You can roll the cake every once in a while as it’s cooling to prevent it from losing its round shape.
Rerolling the Cake: This is usually where I have more trouble. You will want remove the bottom of the cake from the towel before filling the cake and attempting to re-roll. This will help the cake from cracking as it tries to peel away from the towel.

straight-on shot of german cake roll slice displaying a perfect swirl

Coconut Pecan Filling

Considering I knew VERY little about German Chocolate in general, I did lots of research on classic German Chocolate Cake. This filling is adapted from this recipe. I adjusted the ratios ever so slightly while also decreasing the overall amount since we only needed enough filling for a one-layer sheet cake!

This filling could not be simpler! You'll simply heat all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat until the mixture boils and thickens. As soon as you remove the filling from the heat, you'll stir in the coconut flakes and pecans! After it cools, it's ready to use! So simple and so doable!

overhead shot of 4 german cake slices on a white crumpled piece of parchment paper

Chocolate Ganache Tips

Chocolate ganache can be finicky! I'll be the first to admit it! If possible, I highly recommend using a chopped chocolate bar. When I say chocolate bar, I don't mean Hershey! A pure baking bar like Baker's or Ghirardelli usually lead to the best results in terms of ganache!

If you can't get to a baking bar, chopping higher quality chocolate chips is also a fabulous option! I usually use Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips when I use this method!

If using chopped chocolate, I recommend beginning to whisk about 20 seconds after you pour the hot heavy whipping cream over the chocolate. If using thicker pieces of chocolate (aka whole chocolate chips), let the heavy whipping cream sit on top of the chocolate for about 2 minutes before whisking to help melt down those bigger pieces.

I like to put my cake roll on a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet that has a lip before pouring the ganache over the roll. I then use a spoon to add the ganache that didn't stick to the roll back onto the roll!

close up shot of a sponge roll slice with other slices beside it

Chilling, Serving, and Storing

Chilling: I highly recommend chilling the cake after topping with ganache, coconut flakes, and pecans. This not only helps the ganache to set, but it helps the whole structure of the cake. Chilling for at least 30 minutes will make serving SO much easier!
Storing: After the initial chill to set the ganache, store this cake roll, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days!
Serving: The longer the cake chills, the easier it will be to slice! If preferred, slice the cake immediately after removing the cake from the fridge and leave at room temperature for an hour if you aren't a huge fan of cold cake! Fun tip- heat the cake roll pieces in the microwave for a few seconds for a truly dreamy treat!

Other Recipes

German Chocolate Sponge Roll

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Author: Elise
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooling Time: 30 minutes: Chill Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Yield: 1 cake roll 1x
Category: Chocolate, Chocolate Cake, German Chocolate
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

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Description

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cake

⅔ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sour cream, room temperature

For the Coconut Pecan Filling

⅔ cup evaporated milk
⅔ cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
⅓ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
⅔ cup chopped pecans

For the Ganache

2 oz semi sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

For the Topping

¼ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup chopped pecans

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Instructions

For the Cake

Preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a jelly roll pan (10×15 inch) with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.
In a large bowl, whip eggs on high speed for 2 minutes until light pale in color and soupy in texture.
Add light brown sugar and granulated sugar while whipping. Beat on high speed for another 2 minutes.
Add vegetable oil and sour cream to the bowl before folding in dry ingredients.
Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake for 13-17 minutes until the top of the cake springs back when poked and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Overbaking will lead to dry cake.
Immediately, flip cake onto a thin kitchen towel dusted with powdered sugar on both sides.
Tightly, carefully, and slowly roll the cake.
Allow the cake to cool at room temperature. While the cake is cooling, prepare the filling.

For the Filling

In a medium saucepan, heat evaporated milk, granulated sugar, egg yolks, and chopped unsalted butter together over medium/ low heat.
Whisk consistently to prevent burning. Once the mixture begins to boil, slightly lower heat and whisk for another 2 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
After removing filling from the heat, fold in pecans and coconut flakes.
Let filling cool at room temperature before using!

For Assembly

Carefully unrolll the cooled cake roll.
Remove the towel from the bottom of the cake. The cake should not be flat.
Spread the cooled filling over the cake as carefully and evenly as possible.
Roll cake back into its shape. Do not worry too much if the cake cracks as you roll, but do your best to roll carefully and tightly!
Chill cake roll in the fridge as you prepare ganache!