I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/german-chocolate-cake-iii/Detail.aspx
It was for my hubby's birthday. Everything turned out lovely, and the actual flavor of the cake was lovely! But I feel like the cake turned out a bit too spongy, and when I cut it, it crumbles (does not make a nice slice). I would have preferred it to be a bit more moist and not so much like a pillow or something.
I tried not to overmix it but its possible I could have? Should I have, after creaming the butter and sugar and egg yolks, just hand-mixed the rest? I spooned the cake flour into the cup measures gently...
(The frosting, btw, turned out great...people were adding vanilla pudding and stuff to it...weird...to thicken it up...it worked just fine for me...I think people weren't getting their yolks hot enough to set up.)
Oh....
And I didn't toast the coconut or pecans, since I thought traditionally they were not toasted....and it wasn't in the recipe...should I have? I thought the icing was good but maybe lacking a bit of flavor. Someone else suggested a bit of salt. ?????
I made a german chocolate cake yesterday. From what you describe, I don't think you overmixed it.
The difference in the frosting I used was that the recipe I used called for sweetened condensed milk and yours used evaporated milk and sugar. Everything else was the same. I didn't toast the pecans or coconut either and it tasted fine to me and I don't care for coconut or pecans.
Kitagirl,
I did not check out the recipe that you used, however, I have been making German Chocolate cake since I was a teenager, now I'm 62. 
I always use the recipe on the inside of the German Chocolate bar and when I do, I separate the eggs like it says and then at the end I whip the whites and fold them into the batter. I always use buttermilk also but, instead of fresh I use the canned powder mix. You can get it the cheapest at Wal Mart. I never toast the pecans or coconut for the icing but, the last time I did make it I toasted the pecans. I can't say that I really liked the taste any better, it may be just my taste.
Point being, when you use this recipe it is always moist and even more so the next day. Thus I make the cake the day before so it can sit. 
evelyn
Kitagirl,
I did not check out the recipe that you used, however, I have been making German Chocolate cake since I was a teenager, now I'm 62.
I always use the recipe on the inside of the German Chocolate bar and when I do, I separate the eggs like it says and then at the end I whip the whites and fold them into the batter. I always use buttermilk also but, instead of fresh I use the canned powder mix. You can get it the cheapest at Wal Mart. I never toast the pecans or coconut for the icing but, the last time I did make it I toasted the pecans. I can't say that I really liked the taste any better, it may be just my taste. Point being, when you use this recipe it is always moist and even more so the next day. Thus I make the cake the day before so it can sit.
evelyn
That's pretty much the recipe, I think the recipe I used was on the chocolate bar but with a slight change in flour (slightly more, and cake flour, instead of all purpose)
I don't eat alot of German Chocolate cake though so I'm just trying to check if the consistency was right. I did all that with the egg whites and buttermilk.
So was your cake really fluffy and "pillowy"? We agreed it wasn't really "dry" because as soon as you had it in your mouth, it moist enough...it was just so fluffy that it was hard to cut a nice slice.
yes - even the sides were really loose after I took it out the pan. that was one of the softest cakes I ever worked with.
If you did all the things like the recipe said or followed the one on the chocolate bar then it should turn out right. The cake is not a dense cake and it definitely tastes better the next day. The icing soaks into the cake and does make the cake denser, not so fluffy. German Chocolate is my absolute favorite cake. ;-
evelyn
I've made GC cake from scratch a lot because it's my brother's favorite. The trick to that recipe is to fold, not mix, the egg whites. I never use my mixer to fold the egg whites into the mix. That could be why yours crumbled. I've never had that happen.
I've made GC cake from scratch a lot because it's my brother's favorite. The trick to that recipe is to fold, not mix, the egg whites. I never use my mixer to fold the egg whites into the mix. That could be why yours crumbled. I've never had that happen.
I did fold them in by hand....
It didn't crumble until I was serving it...the knife was not making clean cuts through the cake.
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