Get two new free healthy recipes each week. Sign Up

German Chocolate Cake for One

GERMAN CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE - single-serving, can be made in the microwave, secretly healthy & can be oil-free. Recipe here:  https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/11/28/german-chocolate-cake-for-one/

The cake above is meant for just one person.

Yes, you’re really supposed to eat the whole thing at once.

Don’t argue.

single serving german chocolate cake!

Arguing will get you nowhere.

Whereas not arguing will get you… cake!

Double-layer chocolate cake, with gooey caramel-coconut-pecan frosting in each and every decadent bite. The cake part is just my recipe for One-Minute Chocolate Cake. So today’s recipe is really all about the gooey frosting.

german chocolate cake for one

German Chocolate Mug Cake

Cake:

  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 tsp cocoa powder (8g)
  • 3 tablespoons spelt flour (or white, or Arrowhead Mills gf) (See nutrition link below, for substitution notes.) (30g)
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar or evaporated cane juice (edit: xylitol works as well) (10g)
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 stevia packet (or 1 tablespoon more sugar)
  • 2-3 tsp coconut oil or vegetable oil (10-12g) (Many readers say it still tastes good if you sub applesauce or mashed banana. But I can’t personally vouch for the results if you make that substitution.)
  • 3 tablespoons milk of choice (45g) (I used almond milk)
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting:

  • 1 cup pecans (100g)
  • 1/4 cup pitted dates (40g) (If you don’t like dates, you can omit this, but it doesn’t make the frosting taste like dates; it just gives a caramel taste.)
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp water (105g)
  • scant 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp maple syrup (10g)
  • 2 nunaturals stevia packets, or 2 tbsp powdered sugar (or omit and simply increase maple syrup to 3 tbsp, while cutting the water back to 1/4 cup)
  • optional: 3 tbsp coconut butter, for a more buttery taste (45g)
  • 1 tbsp shredded coconut (5g)

For the cake: Combine first 6 ingredients and mix very, very well. Add ingredients 7-9, stir, then transfer to two 1/2-cup ramekins that have been greased well. If using the oven, cook 13-14 at 350F. If using the microwave, heat 30-60 seconds (depending on the type of flour). If you don’t want to eat it straight out of the dish, be sure to wait for them to cool before trying to remove.

For the frosting: In a dish, cover the pecans and dates in water (not the measured water listed in the recipe) and let soak at least 8 hours. Drain completely, then combine all frosting ingredients except coconut and blend very well, until it is completely smooth. Frost each cake, sprinkle with coconut, and stack one on top of the other. (Frosting recipe makes about 1 1/4c total. Obviously you won’t need all of this for the single-serving cake, but it’s important to make the full batch for optimum blending. Besides… when is leftover frosting a bad thing?)

View German Chocolate Cake Nutrition Facts

healthy german chocolate cake

**Side note: I always seem to forget that when one runs a food blog, everything is taken literally. No, I did not have just one small plate of food for Thanksgiving… How our Thanksgiving works is that we pretty much eat for the entire party, not just when we sit down for dinner!

Anyway, I edited the post to avoid confusion.

 

Published on November 28, 2012

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

Learn more about Katie

Get Free Recipes

Don’t Miss Out On The NEW Free Healthy Recipes

Sign up below to receive exclusive & always free healthy recipes right in your inbox:

Chocolate Covered Katie The Healthy Dessert Blog Recipes

Popular Right Now

Reader Interactions

129 Comments

Leave a comment or reviewLeave a rating
  1. gayle says

    I see we can now Pin it…but when will we be able to print recipes with a click? It is such a pain to cut and paste from a website (though I love your recipes).

  2. Colleen says

    BRILLIANT! I can’t wait to make this, German chocolate cake is my husband’s FAVORITE. I wish there was a way to fast soak the dates and nuts so I could make it tonight!!

    • Jasmin says

      This reply is too late to help you out but maybe it will help someone else.. I think this might work (I have tried it on cashews anyway so it might work on pecans and maybe even on the dates): pour boiling water over the nuts and let it sit for 45 min.

  3. katy sparrow says

    YUM. This is my dad’s favorite cake, so my grandma would always make it for his birthday. I look fwd to making my own gorgeous vegan version! I’m really no good at debating, but when I do, I find it very useful to point out commonalities of both sides early on.

  4. Olivia @ OmNom Love says

    Oh, yum! I haven’t tried your one minute chocolate cake yet, but I might have to after seeing this post. I’ll have to go to the store sometime this week to buy more dates. Adding that to the shopping list right now………

    I love to debate. Especially with my dad. He’s a very good partner, because we both never give up and just end up compromising. Or Mom has to step in and stop us. 😉

  5. Angela Guptill says

    Hi Katie: Just checked the calorie count on the one cup of pecans and it’s 753. Your total calorie count for the finished cake is much lower than that. Did I miss something here? Thanks much and LOVE your recipes and love sharing them 🙂

      • Amelie says

        How much frosting is used fort the nutrition facts? Thank Katie, your recipes are always so good, I just want to make sure.

    • Amanda says

      The nutrition facts link says it’s one heaping TBSP for the recipe. You’d be using a tinytiny portion of the whole frosting recipe, but all of the cake portion of the recipe. I’m fairly certain she gave the entire frosting recipe for blending purposes, since I hear it’s nearly impossible to blend small quantities of nuts and still yield a smooth result.

  6. Kayla says

    Hi Katie!
    O my gosh this looks sooooo good!!! I can not wait to try it. Although, I am in college, in a dorm, so baking is not really possible… But christmas break is coming soon so I know what I will be doing! On quick question, do you think you could post the nutrition info for just the frosting? I looks so good, I kind of just want to eat it plain! 🙂

  7. Eating 4 Balance says

    *Sigh* I hate that you have to change your posts so much just to appease people.

    This mini cake sounds perfect though. I personally don’t like german chocolate cake, but I know tons who do and I will have to try this recipe out on them!

    Oh, and I LOVE to argue. My parents always said that I should be a lawyer with all of the questions I ask. Haha. Good to know though that I’m not the only one who likes to talk! 🙂

  8. Erin says

    Katie,

    Girl, you never disappoint. I have like 20 food blogs in my favorites list and I check most of them at least once a week. You are the one that posts the most frequently and the most yumm-ily. I used to dream about pizza and enchiladas and now I dream about 1 Minute Cakes, Vegan Frosting and whatever else you will come up with next. Thank you for everything you do.

  9. Ali @ WHOLEistically Fit says

    This looks incredible! My friend who loves German Chocolate is going to flip out with excitement when I send her this link. 😀

  10. Alexandra says

    I love arguing, and it’s inevitable since my family is usually on the opposite of me on issues. It definitely makes holidays interesting 🙂
    And I can’t wait to try the recipe. My dorm room’s rickety oven is intimidating, but a personal cake for the season is worth it!

  11. Dayna says

    Holy cow, that looks scrumptious! I might have to whip one up later!

    As for arguing, I can’t stand it… But I do love a nice, civil debate.

  12. Vyvacious says

    I actually used to love debating because I enjoy fun, light-hearted banter. However, my last ex ruined that for me because he took it WAAAY too far to the point where we got into a fight about who was better, Batman or Spiderman, because he was determined to make it personal and basically tell me I was a piece of shit for liking Batman. What a wonderful person. Of course, we all know that Batman is way better 😛

    My blog is still slowly budding but it must be extremely frustrating to always have to be changing your posts because people get upset about little things. Not agreeing with either party just making a comment that it seems a bit annoying.

  13. Alyx says

    I love debating about politics best! My mom is a lawyer and loves to argue so I know I got it from her… So excited to try this recipe! Will a Magic Bullet work as a blender? Thank you! 🙂

  14. Catherine says

    Chocolate cake–in a serving for one (aka, ME)? Sounds yummy.
    That stinks about having to change your post. I’m fairly new to food blogging, and I sometimes feel paranoid about what I post–like I obviously don’t always fill my plate the way I did on Thanksgiving. Or sometimes I worry it looks I like I didn’t eat enough. The blog doesn’t have to be an exact representation of a meal or a day of eats–it’s often just part of it.
    Also, to answer your question: I’m not a big arguer in person, but I was a philosophy and English major, so I know how to argue in writing. 🙂

  15. Sara says

    Hee I dont have a microwave but could I make this recipe too in a normal oven? How long does it have to be in the oven then and at how many degrees? Out does I have to change the recipe a bit?

  16. Barb says

    I am in love with your blog, Katie! As a fairly new vegan, I think your recipes are divine. And I LOVE your pics! Can’t wait for a print button AND a cookbook from you. AND I can’t wait to make this simple chocolate cake. So wonderful to have just a single serving size that one can make without feeling guilty or tempted by a whole cake sitting around for days and days. THANKS for all you do! Your blog is the highlight of my day!

  17. NobleWorks Cards says

    Katie, we here at NobleWorks Cards love your chocolate blog. We wanted to partner with you and have you host a giveaway with our chocolate-themed cards for a few of your lucky readers. Please contact Tina at crin @ nobleworksinc . com for details.

  18. Emily @ Emily Eats and Runs says

    Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for this recipe! Coconut + chocolate is one of my all-time favorites!

  19. Cheryl says

    Oh Katie! You just made my day! When I was a little girl, I went to my elementary school’s carnival. I used all of my tickets in the cake walk but couldn’t win a cake, so teary eyed and about to give up, my big brother David took over the music (starting and stopping the record player)…. THEN guess WHO won a GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE!!? My brother David is gone now and I’ve been missing him. Seeing your German Chocolate Cake recipe just warms my heart today. I can’t wait to make it. Thank you <3

    • Laura C says

      Cheryl, I know this comment wasn’t intended for me, but your story really warmed my heart. I have many siblings and it’s funny that the little things are the ones most remembered and treasured. I hope you have a wonderful day.

  20. Sarah the official CCK drooler says

    Haha, funny you should say that. I am seriously considering law as a college major (or poli-sci).
    People always tell me to be a lawyer- I’m pretty persuasive if I do say so myself. It feels good when you change a person’s mind about politics or whatever- love it when that happens!

  21. trajayjay says

    Looks interesting to try.
    I would love to make your frosting recipes and sugar free recipes, but it looks like most of them call for a high power blender or food processor. i have none and I am tres disappointed, but maybe I’ll get one around xmas. can’t wait. stay healthy

  22. Bek @ Crave says

    Haha I don’t think anyone would argue with that! I do like to argue- but more disagree and provoke ..just to be annoying ya know? Haha, my dad use to say I should be a lawyer because I’m so good at arguing 😉

  23. Amber with Slim Pickin's Kitchen says

    I’m not even kidding you I was totally thinking just today how awesome a German chocolate cake would be! Squeeee!!! So stoked! As for arguing, it depends on my mood. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I’ll give in so I can get a snuggle…that’s what marriage does to you 😉

  24. Jacquie K. says

    This cake looks wonderful! I can’t wait to try it.

    As for arguing (debating), when I was a teen, my father said that I would argue with a nail in a fence post as to why it was there! I’ve mellowed out since then, thank God!

  25. Kelly says

    Made these last night, and they were amazing! And they came together so quickly as well (though somehow my creations never look quite as pretty as yours!) If you chill the leftover icing in the fridge, it becomes the perfect German Chocolate Cake Dip for pretzels and all manner of cookies and fruit, by the way 🙂

  26. Raquel says

    I posted the chocolate oatmeal cookies, because thar is what got me turned onto your site in September and helps me stay away from other desserts.

  27. Debbe says

    Other people say I do. I see it as just defending my point of view, when others disagree with me, or continuing the conversation. 🙂 If they disagree, am I not supposed to continue the conversation? 🙂 So, I guess I do. I once thought about being a lawyer, as well, but I’m not into the whole public speaking thing!

  28. Walt says

    This recipe looks great. My birthday is coming up, so I’m thinking this would be a wonderful gift to me fom me! (Unless I convince my wife to make it. I do need to get some dates first, though.)

    As for arguing, I do like to argue, sometimes just for the sake of arguing, I’m told. I thought of becoming a lawyer in my younger life, but I was a bit too shy at the time, plus my grades weren’t quite good enough for law school. Now, I think I’m well past the age to start considering a new career such as this (56 on Wednesday, but a young 56 🙂 ).

  29. Lauren @chocolatecoveredkatie says

    Hello, I did not see the cholesterol content included in the nutrition info. Is there any way you could add it? Thanks in advance!

    • Caroline says

      All Katie’s food is cholesterol free– it’s vegan, and cholesterol is only in animal products.
      So unless you’re subbing in eggs or dairy products, there will be none. 🙂

  30. Sherrie says

    Katie. You are awesome. Just made my own lil’ cake to help make me smile while my husband is watching another college football game. If he only knew I was cheering over your dessert, and not the plays. Thank you for making my weekends just that much better. Can’t wait for more. I am sure there are going to be more sports games!

  31. Georgia says

    made this with orange juice instead of milk and it was really good! great for any dairy intolerant ones out there! 🙂

  32. Jen N says

    Not going to lie I just made this cake for breakfast. So good. The frosting is amazing. I used brown rice flour and coconut sugar for the cake. It wasn’t super sweet but really chocolately and dark. Sooo good

  33. Jena says

    Hi Katie,

    Love your blog, and might love this post the most! I’m a huge German Chocolate Cake fan (it’s the only cake I actually crave!), and miss it since nixing dairy sometime back, so thank you for giving me my cake back! Also, thought you should know the frosting also does WONDERS when added to oatmeal! I put in about a tablespoon, and it was like a German Chocolate Cake for breakfast 🙂 Great post!

  34. Cindy says

    I just recently came upon your site. It is wonderful! I am an avid baker and loves sweets but always watching calories, and healthful eating. I cannot wait to experiement with these recipies. One suggestion I have is that it is difficult to print out only the recipies in a smaller format. I read below that you are working with a web designer to alleviate the printing problem. I cannot wait for this to happen. Please email me when it is completed. I have alot more to print out. Thanks and keep up the wonderful site. Cindy

  35. Miranda says

    So, if I wanted to make a big cake for my husband’s birthday, I’d octuple the recipe and bake at 350, right? For how long, maybe an hour?

    Thanks! I love your recipes!

  36. Phyllis Smith says

    I just tonight found your website and I just had to go bake this cake immediately:-)
    I had finished dinner and so this cake was perfectly timed for a great dessert. I didn’t have all the ingredients to go German so I improvised. Followed your recipe for the cake but used melted butter instead of oil and I added 2 tablespoons each of chopped walnuts and Reeses peanut butter chips. I baked it in 2 Ramkins but used my toaster oven preheated to 400 F for 18 minutes. After cooling I made it like your pictured 2 layer chocolate cake, using (bought) cream cheese icing. I immediately ate the whole thing and it was out of this world! Had texture like a brownie but way BETTER.
    Thank you SOO much for your great recipes. I will definitely be trying many more in the future.

  37. Sara Sponda says

    I made the icing and its really thin, like may run off the cake thin. 🙁 I don’t know what I did! I soaked the nuts until I had time, so like 16 hours. Is that it? I don’t soak nuts hardly ever and never pecans before so… It tastes a bit weak too. I may toss some extra vanilla or maple syrup in it or something.

  38. Kristy says

    Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems
    with the pictures on this blog loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s
    the blog. Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated.

    • Lynn Yoder says

      Ran into the same thing… so I added 2 T arrow root and cooked it until it got thick. I used agava instead of maple syrup. Wondering about using coconut flour for the cake instead of spelt??? Also used NewSweet for the “sugar”.

    • Sarah says

      I just made a large serving size using the recipe for Crazy Ingredient Chocolate Cake (I used pumpkin as that was what I had). It worked beautifully! The frosting recipe yields over a cup, which is more than enough to frost an 8×8 cake.

  39. Sarah says

    Katie, I am a long-time silent lover of your site! Last night I made the cutest little layer cake with the German Chocolate Frosting (I used it on your Crazy Ingredient Chocolate Cake). My husband, a meat and dairy loving foodie, declared it “the best German Chocolate cake ever!” Thank you for all your absolutely smashing recipes. Keep em coming!

  40. caro says

    this was so tasty.
    i ‘m living abroad in a country that doesn’t get the concept of baking at all.
    most families don’t even have ovens!
    thus – i have become obsessed with your blog!
    thank thank thank you ! x x x !

  41. diwali says

    Amazing and delicious. This recipe is mind blowing. I am planning to get such cakes ready and gift these as Diwali gifts to all my office employees, they will really be happy I think.. Thanks for this cool idea. 🙂 It is really very good. 🙂

  42. raniya lueth says

    This chocolate cake is SO GOOD! 🙂 I love baking it for myself on movie nights after dinner…even though I feel like this ‘cake for one’ is quite an indulgence. Thanks for the recipe! I will continue to use this over and over again!

  43. katja says

    Thank you Katie for a l l your wonderful recipes. You must be an angel to be giving us mortals so many plenty,healthy and cruelty free sweet fixes! This cake will be made in a week as a birthday cake from me (german) to my partner (english) .
    Thank you very much, beautiful one!

  44. Sharron Walters says

    Love your recipes and ideas! My daughter turned me on to your website and love the easy 1 person cakes..thank you!!

  45. Kaela says

    I am SO grateful for you and your website. I came across your site a while ago and pinned it, fully intending to try everything on your website. I am a vegetarian, your stuff sound AMAZING, and the one serving idea sounded really good! So of course I forgot about it with life getting busy, but it popped into my head tonight… OH YEA! I forgot to try those recipes! So 10:15pm I bust out my measuring spoons and make this. It is the BEST. It isn’t ‘good for a vegan cake’ or ‘good for a low fat cake’ or ‘good for a single serving microwave cake’. No… It is a damn good cake that I would love to x20 the recipe and serve it to my friends and family. You are like some sort of eggless chocolate goddess. Thank you!

  46. crissy says

    I have a egg allergy so i don’t get to eat cake often, can’t wait to try these recipes. I can now enjoy cake again!

  47. Kiya Marchi says

    Being a new blogger myself, I’ve learned to appreciate all the work that goes into it and how gratifying comments are. 🙂 My boyfriend is competing in his first fitness competition in 12 years today and weeks ago when I pressed for his favorite dessert, he said “German Chocolate Cake”. I intended to make him a really unhealthy version, but was delighted when I found this recipe. I intend to look a little more deeply into your other recipes, and perhaps include them in my Feelingfitastic pages. Thanks for your content!

  48. C.S.C. says

    hi! I just made the frosting and put on top of a big cake and my whole family liked it a lot!!! thank you for the recipe Katie! it was delicious!!!

  49. chana says

    I get all excited about your recipes (and drooly too! ) but as i read through the ingredients, i realize i don’t have at least a quarter of them. ON the other hand i suspect that those rare ingredients crop up frequently in your website.
    Would you be so kind as to make a shopping list of your frequently recurring but somewhat obscure ingredients so that i have them right there in my pantry when i get inspired by your luscious recipes:-)

  50. mary says

    Thank you for these healthy desserts. I like that you have included the use of sugar next to your Stevia, a variety of milks, etc

  51. Samantha says

    Have you made this as a normal sized cake? How would you suggest adjusting the amounts?? I would like to make a healthier cake for my mom’s birthday! Thanks!

  52. Marissa says

    Two questions 🙂 First, is it possible to substitute the pecans with toasted walnuts, and maybe not soak them as long? And secondly, can it be made as one cake (or cupcake) instead of splitting them into two separate dishes? Thanks so much!

  53. Erogo Proxy says

    Making this for my dads birthday which is today, as I live in a GF house and have extreme sensitivity to wheat. I am torn between using millet or oat flour for this…..Millet would have a nice earthy tone and compliment the cocoa, but a toasted oat flour would be super moist, and also pair will with it. Millet is less expensive to get, but oat……ugg, so torn here then there is the dutch or raw cocoa options, I think the rich boldness of the raw cocoa would go great, but then again the slightly alkali dutch dark would give it a huge richness especially if coupled with the toasted oat and coconut oil or even a coconut yogurt would make this so moist. -_- I hate being a baker at times. Comments to help my indecisiveness? Going to get the pecans, dates soaking now, and heading to work. Suggestions would be a god send.

  54. Kathryn says

    I had a cake picked out to make for my guy’s birthday, but my mother-in-law needs gf, so I made this single-serving cake for her to have. It turned out great, and I’m certain that she doesn’t feel deprived!

  55. Jennifer says

    Not long ago, my husband was deployed and had his 40th birthday overseas. His favorite cake that he always asks for is german chocolate. So I searched and found this recipe. We sent him a package and included just enough of all he would need for this single serving cake (minus the milk). He had a microwave in his chu so it was perfect. He grabbed some milk from the cafeteria and whipped it up. He said it was so simple to make and tasted terrific! He loved it! I think he was pretty surprised he could still have his favorite cake! We saved pics that I wish we could share. We wanted to send you a big thank you! We’ve enjoyed many of your recipes and have a checklist of what to try next! Ha! Good thing they are also healthier (which is why we love them all the more)! Thanks for sharing your talents with us!

Leave A Reply

Get Free Recipes

Don’t Miss Out On The NEW Free Healthy Recipes

Sign up below to receive exclusive & always free healthy recipes right in your inbox:

Chocolate Covered Katie The Healthy Dessert Blog Recipes