Traditional frosting and filling for German Chocolate cake.

Coconut Pecan Frosting I

(14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

butter

coconut

pecans

vanilla extract

In a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, cook the condensed milk, egg yolks, and butter 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Remove from heat, and stir in the coconut, pecans, and vanilla.n


Allow to cool for 15 minutes before spreading on cake.n


YUM!  But really, how can you go wrong with coconut and pecans!

As another reviewer stated, don't be put off by the odd macaroni and cheese-like odor while you're cooking this up.  You'll smell the difference immediately when you add the coconut and pecans.  

Important to note - when cooking with eggs, unless you want scrambled egg bits in your frosting, I would highly recommend heating the butter and condensed milk in the saucepan first, then slowly incorporating a small amount of the hot butter/milk mixture(about 1/2 cup) into your egg yolks in a small bowl, whisking while you add.  Once you do that, add your egg mixture into the saucepan.  You should be able to avoid cooked egg bits with this method.

By far THE best German chocolate cake topping I have ever tried. This is a keeper. SIDE NOTE: I stuck the frosting in the freezer for about 10 minutes after cooking, and it spread perfectly!NEWLY ADDED: 01/01/2009 I have never made this recipe with the egg yolks. It works great drizzled over a bundt cake...just let it cool for a few minutes. If it is too runny, add more coconut! Enjoy!

Be patient and you will be richly rewarded!
I cooked the first three ingredients until bubbly just like the recipe said, but it looked too yellow, so I decided to cook it further to "caramelize" it a bit and give it a tan color.  The mixture bubbled, seized and separated, scaring me a bit.  It looked curdled and smelled strongly of macaroni and cheese.  Finally after boiling it for about 10 minutes after the cutoff time, I took it off the stove.  It was light tan and completely separated.  I whisked the mixture until the goo came together in a cohesive tan sweet goo.  The smell was gone, it tasted great and with the coconut, pecans and vanilla, it tasted and looked far better than the storebought stuff.  Good stuff!

I thought that this recipe was O.K., but I agree with Laura B. that version that uses evaporated milk and sugar tastes better. The evaporated milk version (which I found on a box of Baker's chocolate) has more flavor dimensions to it. This version is kinda flat, by comparison. But it will do if you don't have evaporated milk on hand.   Also, you don't have to temper the yolks if you thoroughly whisk them into the milk before you start cooking the mixture.  FYI, the evaporated milk version calls for 1 (12 oz.) can evap. milk, 1.5 cups sugar, 1.5 sticks butter, 4 egg yolks, 1.5 teaspoons vanilla, 7 oz. coconut, and 1.5 cups chopped pecans. Prepare according to the directions noted in this recipe.

Really good - I followed someone else's advice and tempered by egg yolks, so I didn't have any problems with lumpiness.  But after cooking it for ten minutes and adding the pecans and coconut it was way too thick, almost like taffy.  Tasted good but wouldn't spread.  So I just put it back on low heat and added heavy cream until it was smooth enough to spread, turned out great.  I like a recipe that you can go back and fix after messing it up!

AWESOME!!  A LITTLE BUTTERYIER THAN I'D LIKE, BUT STILL EXCELLENT!  I TOASTED MY PECANS AND COCONUT FOR EVEN YUMMIER FLAVOR!

Yumm! This recipe was very, very good! I almost did not try because of previous review, but obviously this person did not know what they were talking about. Nothing, is better than the homemade taste of baked goods and this rates right up at the top in my recipe book! Thanks for the great recipe Marsha!

Delicious, quick &amp; easy! I used fat-free sweetened condensed milk and it turned out great!

I wanted an icing for German Chocolate cake and this was perfect.  Seriously, do not leave the pan while the icing is heating... it will scorch easily.  Low, slow and stirring constantly for 10 min.

I thought this recipe was indeed very easy and tasty.  I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I prefer the recipe using evaporated milk like my mother taught me and used this one when I didn't have any evap. milk on hand. I found that in this recipe, the frosting came out really thick and was difficult to spread.  It also didn't have that creamy flavor of the other recipe, but more of a candy flavor that is common with sweetened condensed milk.  Overall, I was relatively happy with the results, but will use other method from now on.  

Anything is better than store bought frosting - that stuff is just nasty.  This was surprisingly good.  Perfect consistency (don't understand why one reviewer said it was too thick) - I followed the recipe as written and it was really, really good.  I'm the cook, hubby is the rater - he loved this (me too)!  I very generously frosted a 13 x 9 cake and has some left over.  Thanks Marsha.

This is a great recipe!  Only takes a few minutes, and it is not too sweet.  Excellent on a German Chocolate Cake.  I will keep this one on file for any future times I make that cake.

not too good, I am used to tasting coconut, but all you can taste  is the condensed milk. I'll keep looking for the recipe that'll work for me. thanks though,

This is fast and yummy! Much better than the canned frosting. I've added this to my "Flavorites" file! My family LOVED this!

Excellent.  This makes a German Chocolate Cake made from a boxed mix taste homemade.

I will never buy this in the can again.  So delicious!!  I totally forgot to add vanilla, but it was still perfect!

This is excellent, and you can add more, or less coconut and pecans to your liking. One thing I would stress though, use real butter, don't substitute.  Try this on top of an oatmeal cake.

I like it with the sweetened condensed milk!  It's less sweet, and more creamy caramel tasting than the kind made with evaporated milk.  YUM!

Wow... was this great!  It looks more difficult than it actually is, so your family will think you really worked hard on your cake.  The recipe makes ample enough icing to fill and frost the cake (even minus all the tasting I did!)  I will recommend this one to everyone I know.  Thank you!!!

OMG this was fabulous!! I hope there is some left to actually ice the cake since I've been eating this by the spoonful.

This is a fine recipe. I haven't seen many variations of it, but I really missed the sugar; I added almost a cup after it was all cooked which worked out well for me.

The best of it's kind that I've tried. Rich and very tasty, but not too sweet. It was almost custard like in texture and in flavor. I used more coconut than it said, I used almost a full 7oz. bag of shredded coconut.

Temper the yolks before making, and it's foolproof!

This is good as written, but tastes more candyish to me.  If you prefer deeper flavors, use 1 cup evaporated milk and 1 cup sugar in place of the sweetened condensed milk.  Cook for about 12 min after it starts to bubble.  The difference in flavor is amazing.

The absolute best we've ever had. The whole family agrees.  Silky texture, rich and yummy! I added egg yolks to Eagle brand milk with stick of butter in cold pan and heated all together stirting constantly and had no trouble without tempering eggs. This recipe is simple and over the top good!

This recipe is so easy and yummy. My son loves German chocolate cake so I needed this one.

Simply put, this frosting ROCKS!  Is it wrong to just want to eat it all by itself?

My son &amp; I kicked this out in nothing flat.. It's amazing &amp; so easy to cook.. Thank you

I loved this frosting! It was simple and delicious. I used it on a boxed cake for fathers day and my dad loved it. Thank you so much for posting this :)

Made for husband's birthday cake and he loved it!

This recipe is wonderful. I had a German Chocolate cake mix in the pantry and I didn't want to run out to buy frosting so I gave this a try. My company wanted the recipe. Thanks.








I made this tonite. OMG it was to DYE FOR!!!! I wanted to eat this stuff straight out of the pot!! Forget about the cake! I did frost white cupcakes with it. Not chocolate like recommended. It was still great. My whole family fully enjoyed themselves. Hubby at 5 of em!!! Couldnt get enough ! This one is a keeper!

This is an easy recipe. If it is too sweet you can substitute 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk for the condensed milk, and thicken with a little corn syrup..1/4 cup. This helps with the sweetness of the chocolate frosting, and makes a nice balance. Also if you add 1/2 brown sugar at the beginning before it cooks you get more of a caramel flavor. GOOD LUCK ALL! Thanks for this recipe!

Worth the work to make. This is an excellent recipe and our whole family faves about the icing whenever I make this recipe.

Easy and tasty.  I was doing some cleaning out of the cupboards at my parent's house and was trying to use up some of the many boxes of cake mixes they had.  I made a german chocolate cake and used a can of coconut pecan frosting.  The cake was okay, but I did not care for the frosting.  I ended up scraping off the canned frosting and replaced it with this frosting, which was a definite improvement.  I was trying to chop the nuts while the milk/egg/butter was cooking, so I did scorch it a bit, but I just strained the mixture before adding the coconut and pecans and it came out just fine.

Excellent!  I just frosted 24 German chocolate cupcakes made from a mix very generously with a little left for the cook!

this is fabulous! i will admit that i was suspect at first, when just cooking the milk, eggs and butter-it smelled horrible. after adding in the coconut and pecans and vanilla though...mmmmm. won't ever use another recipe for this again.

I found this recipe when I realised I had condensed milk instead of evaporated milk after making the cake, which was a different recipe.
I mentally agreed with one reviewer about when you add egg to something warm/hot but I looked at it like making a bechamel sauce. There are two schools of thought - start with a roux or the all-in-one.  I went with the all-in-one, putting all but the coconut and pecans into the pot at the same time, at the same temperature and stirred together before putting on the heat. One point, do't have heat even slightly higher than low and keep stirring or it might catch. Caught mine and sieved it into another pot, keeping heat on low.
Once it started to thicken well, I removed from the heat and added the coconut and pecans and stirred well.  I then let it cool a few minutes before frosting my cooled cake and it was AMAZING!!! This is my first ever German Chcolate cake and will definitely be using this frosting again!

I cooked the sauce a bit longer, until in was golden and thick. I recommend toasting the coconut in the oven until lightly brown beforehand! This is better than store-bought, if only because there's no creepy preservatives or mystery ingredients.

This was amazingly easy (quicker than running to the store for a can which was my other option!) and it is DELICIOUS!! I cooked it over medium heat a *little* longer than seeing bubbles and I noticed the consistency changing (probably cooking the egg yolks too much)so I took it off heat and added last ingredients.  It was the perfect consistency.  Thank you!

YUM. THis is better than the store bought frosting.  Consistency is perfect if you cook a couple minutes longer than indicated on recipe and taste is perfect, surprisingly NOT too sweet.

Great recipe. I toasted the coconut and pecans in the pan by stirring it constantly and being careful not to burn. I added the yolks last. Low heat and they mixed in fine. Do not let it cook for too long or it will harden and be too thick to spread. This was perfect consistency. Easy to spread.

Tonight, I had a craving for something sweet but all I had on hand was 1 box of chocolate cake mix and no frosting.  I was looking for a recipe with ingredients I had on-hand.  This worked out great and was so simple to prepare while my cake was baking.  It's easy to spread when you use a rubber spatula.

This is the best icing ever.  Accidently bought a devils food cake mix and thought what the heck I'm going to put this on it, it turned out excellent.  I toasted some extra coconut and sprinkled on the top to give it a different look.

I almost gave this four stars because it was so obnoxious to make.  I had to do it twice because you literally have to stir it CONSTANTLY for 10 minutes or the sugar carmelizes on the bottom and makes the icing gross with hard chunks.  It's exhausting.  But the end product was so freaking amazing, it gets 5 stars.  I could not stop eating it.  It was the perfect amount to ice three 9" layers.

Reminds me f the frosting my Grandma makes!  Little longer cook time works great! 

This was a very good frosting to go with the Moist German Chocolate Cake.  Very easy, too!  I added a small amount of brown sugar simply to give it a more brownish color, but another reviewer mentioned cooking it longer to get it darker.  I might try that next time.

Splendid!  Exactly what I was hoping for!  I added a bit of extra pecans and coconut, and I spread it thickly on just one 9" German chocolate cake--it's perfect.  Thanks for a great recipe.

Oh, yum!  I am normally not a huge fan of German chocolate frosting, but this one is delicious.  I mixed the sweetened condensed milk and eggs together while still cold, then added barely melted butter to it a little at a time, no problem with separated cooked egg yolks.  The cook time was just about right on for me.  Just be sure to remove from heat when it starts bubbling.  I will use this recipe again.

I made this the other night and it was so good, it should be a sin!  Toasted the pecans and coconut to add more depth to the flavor as was suggested by another member earlier in the review.

Very Good!  Tastes much better than any pre-made frosting you can buy.  I'll use this recipe over and over again.

I am a die hard coconut hater from way back and I can barely tolerate pecans but this frosting is excellent. I used it on Dark Chocolate Cake II from Allrecipes. I usually tweak a recipe a little but this I made exactly as directed and it turn out great. This recipe has earned a permenant spot in my collection.

I REALLY wanted this to be awesome, but something just didn't work out for me and I don't know why. I followed the directions exactly, and the frosting came out a slightly greasy mess that didn't stick to anything and didn't hold any of the pecans or coconut. It didn't necessarily taste horrible, but it wasn't great. I'm sure it would have been better if it turned out right, but I have no idea what I did wrong.

Wow!  Delicious and easy!  It beats the socks off the canned stuff and it really fast to make.  Just don't forget the part of the recipe where it says to "stir constantly".  I almost forgot and had tiny brown flakes from the bottom of the pan.  It didn't affect the flavor, though.  I could have eaten it by the spoonful!

This was the best receipe I have ever made.  I did not add my eggs separately.  What I did was take a stick of frozen butter and added the condensed milk and the eggs when 1/2 of the butter was melted. It did not take long at all.  It is really good and not very sweet.

It has a good taste and I'm sure it would taste better with chocolate cake (I didn't use it). I don't really have much to complain about. Try it!

Love, love, love this recipe..I am just experimenting with making my own frostings and this was easy and very delicious! I toasted the coconut before adding just to enhance that coconut flavor. Definately gonna make this again

This was delicious and far better than the old recipe I used to make. Be careful when cooking the milk mixture. It burns easily.

Delicious and easy to make. Followed recipe as written and it is perfection!!! My go to recipe for frosting my German Chocolate Cale’s... would make a great topping for ice cream also.

I loved this frosting.  I made a date cake in my Betty Crocker fill pan, and filled it with vanilla pudding.  Then I topped it with this icing.  Everybody loved it.  I'll be making it again!

Just made this and its AWESOME !!!! I was really woried about using the sweet milk because of all the reviews but its not too sweet &amp;  set up just right. I didnt have any evaporated milk and had already baked the cake so I had to try this one and Im glad that I did. I like this verson better than the other and its REALLY easy. YUM thanks for the recipie :)

I got rave reviews on this from my husband’s brothers and they don’t usually comment one way or another. They’re still talking about it, and suggested I bring the cupcakes for Christmas with this frosting.

This took some work but it is well worth it. Much better than store-ready or boxed frosting mixes.

I didn't have condensed milk, so I used Vanilla coffee creamer. Also, I used brown sugar in stead of white sugar.  Toasted the pecans and the coconut.   O....M....Gooooodness.  It was delicious!

This was a good recipe, but not outstanding.  It tasted as I expected, but in my opinion, was not that much better than the pre-made frosting.  When the cost of ingredients, and the preparation time is considered,I will probably not make this again.

Although this frosting was a little thick (because I cooled it in the fridge, I assume), the taste was incredible. I ate about a quarter of the recipe with a spoon before I got around to frosting the cake.

Tasted like the german chocolate cake frosting I remember my mother making

When I was cooking it, it seemed too light, because I'm used to the store-bought kind, which is darker. Before the 10 minute cook time, it was rapidly boiling, so I pulled it off at only 8 minutes. I let it sit while I measured the coconut, pecans, and vanilla, then stirred them in after about 5 minutes of cooling time. This stuff is the BOMB! Not only is it a great frosting, but I'm going to buy some Ben&amp;Jerry's vanilla icecream and use this as a topping tomorrow! WOW! Awesome stuff! Could hardly get my boyfriend to give me the pot and spatula back to save any!

This is a great recipe.  Everyone loves it. I double the recipe for my 3 or 4 layer cakes.  The icing is the best part of a German Chocolate Cake. :)

It's all I can do not to eat it right out of the pan. Forget the cake. Heated first three ingredients together from the start. Stirred constantly with a wisk except to stop and check for bubbling. Removed from heat immediately after it started bubbling. No curdles. I only had 1/2 cup pecans and 1 cup coconut, but the consistency is just right. I'm never buying the tub  again.

Quick, easy, spectacular!! I used it atop German chocolate cheesecake! Makes enough for two 8"-9" round layers!

I made it exactly as written. Even though I don’t like coconut I loved this!

5 stars, even though I had to substitute.  I didn't  have any condensed milk, so I heated an 8 oz  pack of cream cheese, 1/2 cup milk and a little more than 2/3 cup sugar.  Woohoo! Tasted just like sweetened condensed milk.  Followed the rest of the recipe and it turned out great!

It was fantastic! It's not the sweetest recipe, but it doesn't need any sugar.

I did not care for this recipe. Too dry. Followed directions perfectly.

I don't know what the problem was but this stuff scorched even while the pan was cool on low. I live at high altitute (&gt; 6500 ft) and funny things happen sometimes when I cook. I made up a fresh batch and put it in the microwave! I just nuked it until it was thick and bubbly. You will see the difference right away.  It came out perfect!

Turned out perfect and just the right amount. No extra except the few spoonfuls I tested  I did toast coconut and pecans before adding.

I just finished my first slice of cake frosted with this. I couldn't wait for it to cool completely, it smelled so amazing. And the taste, it doesn't seem as sweet as the evaporated milk method to me, which is fine. I was out of evaporated milk and am glad I was! I'll definitely use this recipe again, We love it!

This is a good basic recipe. Texture and amount is perfect for frosting two layers without the sides covered.    Like other reviewers, I thought it was a bit bland.  I toasted my pecans while preparing and added 1tsp coconut extract after tasting.  It helped. I will tweak and make my own version, adding the extract and probably 2T brown sugar while cooking.

Very easy recipe.  I had to double the recipe to cover my cake, but overall this recipe is a keeper!!

This is a fabulous frosting that I will definitely make again!

This was a nice easy recipe.  I did not cook it to the curdled-macaroni-and-cheese stage.  I took off a star because when I tasted it before adding the coconut and pecans, it needed something. So I ended up adding 3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar. This was exactly what it needed, and the resultant frosting was just delicious. I used it to make coconut pecan yeast rolls, and they were incredible!

Ok, here's the deal, I made this recipe exactly as written.  I did use another reviewer's suggestion about melting the butter at low temp. and then adding the condensed milk and egg yolks.  When it's all in the pan mix the heck out it with a whisk before you put it back on the burner and you won't have to temper the eggs.  No offense Cooking Divas, I just hate tempering eggs.  You must whisk AND cook it for the whole 10 minutes.  (I understand that finding an entire 10 minutes without a child crises, the phone ringing or someone coming to the door is next to impossible, but this step is crucial.)  The mixture really thickens the last 2 1/2 minutes. Follow these steps and you'll be rewarded with a sinfully delicious frosting that will leave your family begging for more.

Delicious.  Being forewarned of easily burning it, I started out with a "make shift" double boiler...cooked it in that for 10 min. (it did not bubble) then moved to the stove top to bubble for an additional 5 min. 
stirring constantly. NO separation at all. Easy, and now I know that the yellow color simply means "homemade"!

This is really good, though I never saw any bubbles and got some scorched stuff from the bottom of the pot mixed in. Still really good. Probably my cheap electric stove and cheap pot, nothing to do with the recipe. I started timing the 10 minutes from when the butter melted, maybe I over-cooked it slightly, but once you mix in the pecans, the brown scorch chunks don't show at all. Pretty easy, IMO!

Its ok.  Good.  I'm just used to the evaporated milk recipe and this taste too sweet to me.  Or maybe candy-like as another reviewer said.  

Because of the reviews saying the flavor was less nuanced than the other recipe, I added a few drops of almond extract and maple extract.  Figured that would be to little to taste but might help.  

Also, I made a double batch because this recipe makes less than the other, and we like lots of coconut pecan frosting.

I loved this recipe it was so simple. taking a hint from the reviews i opted to try something and substituted half of the butter for whipped coconut cream. it made no difference int he texture but the taste was unbelievable. I will be trying it again but i will exchange the whole half cup of butter for the coconut cream. My new go to german chcolate cake topping!

Great flavor and easy to make.  I toasted my almonds and coconut to bring out the flavor.  And I also used almond slices because that's what was available.  Everyone loved it.  They said they never want can icing again.

I thought this recipe was good.  I tried it  2 times and the first time I put too much coconut, and it turned out hard and sticky.  The second time was better and spreadable, but it turned out a little sticky and hardened instead of  being creamy still.  I might be doing something wrong.  Great Flavor though!!

I used this frosting recipe to complete the German Chocolate Cake II that I found on allrecipes.com.  Made this for my dad's birthday.  What a hit!

I made this for my residents at work and they loved it! I added a little brown sugar to mine to lessen the taste of the condensed milk. I will definitely do it again.

I just got done making this and it was YUMMY!  I did follow the advice of the other reader and tempered the yolks and it was great!  I doubled the recipe since I like lots of frosting and I am so glad!  My husband and I started eating it by the spoonfuls. Who needs the cake?  (o:  Thank you for sharing! Such an easy recipe!

Good frosting, but I could taste the condensed milk in the recipe.  I'm not sure I liked that.  I'll make it again with a modification.

coconut pecan frosting i

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Servings: 1

Cost: $38.14 /serving

Author : Marsha

Ingredients

Instructions

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