I thought that this cake and the frosting were excellent. Working full time, I'm not above taking an occassional shortcut, like using a box mix. After comparing recipes for the frosting, I find that most are similar except that many only use 8 ounces of evaporated milk instead of the full can which is 12 ounces like this recipe calls for. I followed the recipe exactly until I got to the frosting. I then mixed only 8 ounces of evaporated milk in the pan with the other ingredients. With the rest of the evaporated milk, I added a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch and then mixed it in the bubbling frosting. I then removed from heat, added vanilla, pecans and coconut.

I'm not a big fan of German chocolate cakes, but my stepson requests them on his birthdays. I must admit that this makes a wonderful chocolate cake! I used a chocolate butter cake mix and chocolate pudding (I can never have too much chocolate). I used store bought frosting, but I think I would use homemade next time because you get more bang for the buck. You could use this cake with any type of frosting. I will be using this cake recipe in the future!!!

GREAT ICING!

Made this and gave some to my boyfriend's family. They loved it! I'm not much of a baker, but this was easy and painless to make. I used a butter-pecan cake mix instead of butter cake mix as the recipe suggested but it turned out much better than I had expected. I used a store-bought icing but will definitely try the recipe's icing next time.

great cake!!! I was the first cake eaten! I made this for my office and it was a true hit.. I did subsitute the oil for the butter as called for on the box and omitted the vanilla from the frosting and used 1/2 cup of sugar in the frosting. also used french vanilla pudding in the cake mixture. true hit and will keep using this!!!!

such a good cake, and easy to make! i didn't make the icing though, will try it next time!

Tasted like boxed cake and I followed all the reccomendations given by reiviewers. Will never make this again.

I thought the cake was a liitle bland...not much taste.

Amazing! I made this for my mother-in-law's birthday. She now wants it every year. I was hesitant about the frosting, seeing others said it was too thin...just be paitent and keep stirring while heating it. A brilliant and easy recipe for such a complicated cake!!

This is a good recipe however Diane you should have noted that the batter is very thick. I thought I had missed something. Fortunately another reader noted it. I did make a few changes, I used a german chocolate cake mix and I used chocolate pudding. I used another german chocolate frosting on this site and it was wonderful.

This is a fantastic and easy recipe. I made it for my husband's birthday and everyone loved it. I was a bit discoraged with the drippy consistency of the icing once it was thickened because I wanted to ice the sides, but I found spooning icing on the top along the edge made a beautiful drizzle effect along the sides. I will probably make this again!

I have made this cake five times and it's so good and it's all gone everybody likes it. The cake reminds me of the one I got for my birthday at this exclusive bakery and it was just Awsome and yours is just as GOOD!!! Thanks, Diane this was TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't cook, and even I could make this! It came out VERY well. It wasn't the BEST German chocolate cake I've ever had, but it was very good! I thought it was simple to make (especially since I was busy cleaning, making other food), and the German chocolate cake connoisseur of the group loved it!

This was a very easy, very good recipe. It was a hit at my husband's birthday party. The batter is VERY thick, but I spread it out with a spatula and it turned out very fluffy and moist. I decided to be easy on myself and buy the frosting rather than make it. I put plain chocolate frosting between the layers and regular German Chocolate coconut/pecan frosting on top and sides. It turned out very good. It was a good balance of homemade taste and easy store bought preparation. Next time, I'll try the homemade frosting!

this recipe went over great with my family as well as my boyfriend's. The only subsitute that I did was instead of making a coconut pecan frosting, I made a plain vanilla frosting and placed blackberries ontop. This made a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cake.

The actual cake recipe was very good. However, I was very disappointed in the icing for the cake. I cooked it for more than 30 min and it never thickened up. I ended up throwing it away and getting the recipe for coconut/pecan frosting from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook. I was done in 10 minutes and it turned out fantastic.

my husband loves this cake. the only thing I do differently is double the icing recipe.