Coconut Pecan Frosting

This coconut pecan frosting is sweet and creamy and ready in under 15 minutes. It’s a favorite topping for German chocolate cake, but tastes amazing with all kinds of cakes, brownies, and cookies!

German Chocolate Frosting

If you haven’t tried coconut pecan frosting, aka German chocolate frosting, then you are in for a treat! It’s a delicious caramel flavor with crunchy nuts and pecans mixed in. Sounds decadent, right?

This frosting is often used to decorate German chocolate cake, which is why you’ll sometimes see it referred to as German chocolate cake frosting. 

Unlike buttercream or cream cheese frosting, this one is cooked on the stovetop. It combines evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and butter which simmer together until the mixture is thick and golden. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked!

Ingredients

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this homemade pecan studded frosting.

• Evaporated milk: This is milk with the water boiled out of it. It is unsweetened and contributes to the creamy texture.
• Granulated sugar: Because the milk is unsweetened, we need to add a bit of sweetness to the frosting.
• Large egg yolk: You can freeze the leftover egg white in a zip-top freezer bag to use the next time you make meringue or an omelet!
• Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt. You can use salted if that’s all you have. Your finished frosting will just have a slightly saltier taste.
• Shredded coconut: You can opt to toast the coconut first before adding it to the frosting.
• Pecans: I use whole pecans and chop them myself or you can use the prechopped ones.

How to Make Coconut Pecan Frosting

This recipe is ready to use in just 15 minutes! It’s so simple to make too. Just heat and stir!

1. Simmer: Simmer evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolk, butter, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Make sure you stir everything frequently, as you don’t want the mixture to catch on the bottom of the pan and burn. Let everything simmer together for 8 – 10 minutes until the consistency has thickened and turned a light caramel color.
2. Stir: Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut and pecans. 
3. Cool: Let your frosting cool slightly before using it to decorate your cakes or cookies. It will continue to thicken as it cools.
4. Drizzle: For added flair, try drizzling some melted semisweet chocolate over the top. 

Tips

Here are some tips for making your coconut pecan frosting even more special!

• Toast the coconut for a deeper coconut flavor. To toast coconut, pour into a dry pan and cook over medium heat for 3 – 5 minutes until the coconut is starting to turn golden brown. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
• Toasting the pecans before you add them to the frosting adds a nuttier flavor and more crunch. To toast the nuts, add them to a dry pan and heat on medium heat for 2 – 5 minutes until they start to smell fragrant and have lightly darkened.

Favorite Ways to Use Frosting

• German Chocolate Cookies – Add on top of the cookies with a drizzle of chocolate.
• Chocolate Cupcakes – Use as a filling in the center of each cupcake.
• German Chocolate Brownies – Spread on top with melted chocolate and pecans.
• Banana Nut Brownies – Use in place of brown butter frosting.
• Chocolate Bundt Cake – Spread a layer of frosting on top of the cooled cake.

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