This cake recipe can get really messy, but makes very yummy cake using German chocolate cake mix, cream cheese, and coconut.
This is one of my favorite desserts. My family/friends love this cake and I have often been offered $$ to bake it for them. I spoon the cream cheese mixture using a tsp over the batter so that it will sink into the batter as it bakes, forming delicious treat inside. It does normally take about 50-60 minutes to bake. Also, instead of pecans, walnuts seems to stand up better to the cake and cream cheese mixture.
Read MoreI do not know what I did wrong with this cake. I followed another reviewers tips on making it in a bundt cake, and reducing the butter and sugar a bit. I even cooked it 10 minutes longer, and it seems it turned out half-cooked. The top of the cake looked done and we were really excited about eating it. When it was turned over, the bottom half of the cake was all liquid. I expected messy, but not uncooked. It was still edible in the area that was cooked, but quite a disappointment for what I expected after these reviews. I'll try it in a 9x13 next time, and if it doesn't work, I won't do this again.
Read MoreThis is one of my favorite desserts. My family/friends love this cake and I have often been offered $$ to bake it for them. I spoon the cream cheese mixture using a tsp over the batter so that it will sink into the batter as it bakes, forming delicious treat inside. It does normally take about 50-60 minutes to bake. Also, instead of pecans, walnuts seems to stand up better to the cake and cream cheese mixture.
A yummy cake, but the baking time is off. I took the cake out after 50 minutes expecting the middle to "set up" as the recipe indicates. Mine did not. Thankfully, as moist as the cake is, I was able to return it to the oven even after it cooled for 20 minutes and it was fine. Still gooey!! I followed the recipe exactly and I'm a seasoned cook, so I'm not sure what happened. If the submitter reads this, please respond with any tips as the cake is sinfully delicious and I would like to make again.
I only used 2 cups confectioners' sugar in the filling this was plenty sweet enough! I also added a teaspoon of coconut extract into the filling which brought out the flavor of the coconut in the cake. I gave it four stars because of the 4 cups confectioners' sugar but if you cut it back then I would say it's five stars. It sure didn't last long in our house!
This is the same recipe my aunt uses, except she goes with a richer, fudge cake mix. I prefer the fudgey richess over german chocolate, but this is great.
This recipe is also great made with a lemon cake mix.
Made this for my husband for his birthday. Wow what a great cake!! Decreased powdered sugar to about 3 cups and added 10 minutes to bake time per other reviewers and was perfect! Thanks for a great and easy dessert recipe!
This was the coolest looking cake! We loved it. Next time I will not add coconut or nuts, but love everything else.
This has become a family favorite and I make it a great deal--everyone asks for the reciepe and it has become my trademark cake along with cheesecakes.
I am in LOVE with this cake! This is HEAVEN! I have to take this cake to work so I don't eat the whole 9x13 pan myself! Thank-you thank-you thank-you!
This recipe is better using a fudge cake mix rather than a german chocolate cake mix. I put the cream cheese filling in a gallon zip lock bag, snip the corner off, and pipe the filling all over the cake batter. It comes out more uniform this way.
Absolutely unbelievable! I used a bundt cake pan and followed directions EXACTLY and prepared the cake mix using: four eggs, 3/4 cup oil and 3/4 milk. The cake looked beautiful while baking and perfect when I took it out of the oven. After about 10 minutes, it looked like it was starting to cave in. I left it in the pan for about five hours and when I flipped it out, it was gorgeous! The taste of this cake is like no other ... I will be making this recipe for all special occasions.
I noticed that several of the pictures show this done in a bunt cake pan which would definitely change the cooking time from the directions of a 9 x 12 pan.
I used a coconut cake mix, and substituted pecans for walnuts. More like an Italian Cream Earthquake cake. Delicious!
This is great. I was looking for something to make for a birthday when I knew I would not have time to frost something before we went out. I looked this up at work, went to the store, put it together and put it in the oven. I actually left the house with it hot. I love something that does not need to be frosted. Everytime I make it, it comes out different and usually takes longer then 50 minutes. Sometimes it all just sinks to the bottom but still tastes great. I have started using a dark chocolate fudge cake mix instead of German chocolate. My sister in law loved it on her birthday and now makes it for all kinds of things. She also makes it in cupcake form and has dyed the cream part red on halloween to imply something gruesome. :)
I make this on a regular basis except I used a 9 x 13 cake pan and start checking the cake after 45 minutes. I have never had a problem with it setting and I am also able to check the doneness with a toothpick right in the center of the cake.
I have been making this cake for a while. My variation: mix the coconut and almond slivers in with the cream cheese mix, drop by spoonfulls onto batter in pan then swirl w/knife. I also cut down the sugar in half. If you use a dark chocolate mix, it has the taste of an Almond Joy candy bar.
Wow, is this cake rich! I made this for my husband's son's birthday. He did not want the coconut or pecans, and we added a cup of dark chocolate chips to the cream cheese mixture. It has a very good taste, but I think, as some of the other reviews suggested, I'll use less sugar next time and perhaps another 3 oz of cream cheese, also. The taste is very good, and I think this one has definite possibilities for future experiments.
One of the best cakes around! Big hit at a Thanksgiving party. Changed nothing in the ingredients. Took others advise and baked for 50 mins. Definitely a keeper!
I was waiting for my husband in a book store when I caught sight of a German cookbook. I flipped through it and found this recipe in the dessert section...there it was simply called German Chocolate Cake. I didn't buy the book but wrote out the recipe, bought the ingredients and made it for my family that weekend. It was and always has been a hit! The only thing is the men in the family don't like coconut so I leave it out and increase the pecans a little and 31/2 cups of icing sugar seems perfect, to each their own. I've been asked for this recipe when I've brought it to pot lucks or served to friends. Yummy!!
I made a german chocolate cake from the Fanny Farmer Cookbok in lieu of the cake mix and it turned out excellent. I highly recommend the extra work of creating the "cake" from scratch.
I made this for my christmas party and everyone loved it! It tasted great and very moist. I baked it about 55 min and it was perfect. I used about 3 cups sugar. I dropped the filling by tablespoons all over the top ,then swirled with a knife. I also used 1 tsp of coconut extract in the cake mix. This will be a favorite to make again!
This is very good!!!!!! Got a lot of compliments at pot luck lunch on it. Might use more cream cheese next time to break the sweetness just a tad. Might even try without nuts and coconut (my son doesn't like either).
Used lemon cake and almonds. Delicious and can use whatever you have on hand. Wasn't sure it was done but it was, the icing sugar turns into a glaze making it appear raw. Thanks
I didn't have german chocolate mix so I used white and added a box of instant chocolate pudding plus 1/2 cup of unsweetend cocoa and added and extra egg and an extra 1/2 cup of water to the cake recipe. OH MY GOSH!!! It was soooo goooood.
Hi :) Every year my family and I have a tradition that all the women in the family contribute a dessert to the Thanksgiving table and this year I choose this cake simply because I thought it'd add a little edge to our clean-cut regular desserts. To be honest, I was a bit worried when I was beginning to bake this---the layers looked beautiful but as time went on there was a certain chaos in my oven! It overflowed a bit and I had to cook it for a little bit longer than the time reccomended to get the middle nice and done. Overall it was delicious! It was very messy and looked rather exciting and unusual but in the end it really was the talk of the night. It even tasted just as good the morning after with some coffee. MM MMM MMMMMM I'll definately be making this again! Thank you xoxo
I used the dark chocolate cake mix instead and I made this without the coconut and it was still mighty irresistible and VERY moist. We prefer the dark chocolate cake mix. This is a keeper recipe and very rich. A little goes a long way.
Really yummy cake recipe. It was a little mushy in the middle of the cake so will need to add some more time on if I make it again. The parts that were cooked through were tasty though. I found it to be even better the next day.
I do not know what I did wrong with this cake. I followed another reviewers tips on making it in a bundt cake, and reducing the butter and sugar a bit. I even cooked it 10 minutes longer, and it seems it turned out half-cooked. The top of the cake looked done and we were really excited about eating it. When it was turned over, the bottom half of the cake was all liquid. I expected messy, but not uncooked. It was still edible in the area that was cooked, but quite a disappointment for what I expected after these reviews. I'll try it in a 9x13 next time, and if it doesn't work, I won't do this again.
Delicious! I used a mixer to mix the melted butter, cream cheese and conf sugar, then dropped by small spoonfuls all over cake. Also took others advise and cooked for 50 minutes. Will definately be making this again.
My aunt has been making this cake for over 15 years!!! Works great on any cake, just change up the coconut and nuts to whatever you'd like. At Christmas I will add a few chopped peppermints to the cream cheese mixture....YUMMMMM!
It looks ugly, but tastes soooooooooooooo good!I did add an extra 8-oz. of cream cheese...it cut down the sweetness of the frosting a little and gave it a little more cream cheese taste (I love cream cheese!)I think the frosting is what makes the cake :)
If you want to know what it is like, it is like making a German chocolate cake and the frosting ends up on the bottom of the pan. Was not messy in my opinion. I only used around 3 c of sugar. Had to bake for 50 min or so b/c it was really jiggly yet at 42. Easy to make, really yummy! Got rave reviews when I took it to someone's house for dinner. Will definitely make this again!
Not a bad cake, and def. not the best cake either. Dont think I would make it again.
i made this tasty treat as a birthday cake for my mother. a few modifications included substituting pecans for the walnuts (any german chocolate cake we've ever eaten had pecans in it & we're german), cutting back the butter & cream cheese to 7 T. & 7 oz. & only using 3 cups powdered sugar. this was in effort to trim the calorie count. i also baked our earthquake cake for 45 minutes in a bundt pan then inverted it when almost cool. very good as is or ala mode. thanks kim!
if using tube pan make sure to cool COMPLETELY before removing to platter!! will try less icing sugar next time
It was very difficult to sit there and watch this beauty bake, it was just so tempting. I cut the sugar in half, as others suggested and also swirled the cream cheese/butter/sugar mixture through the chocolate. I might consider dusting my bundt pan for this one next time, as just a few bits stuck to the pan (although I did enjoy eating those). Really a wonderful cake. Can't wait to share it with others.
I made this cake about 2 weeks ago. I followed the recipe almost exactly except for the walnuts. It still came out pretty good. I brought some pieces to work and my co-workers loved it. They couldn't get enough of it.
My sons favorite cake and he doesn't like chocolate. Really messy but delicious!
This is an incredible dessert - and I make this recipe but substitute milk instead water when mixing the German Chocolate cake mix. YUMMY!
a nice surprise! easy and sinfully yummy. i sprinkled powdered sugar over the top (had to spruce it up a little, it was for a birthday cake) and just about all the lil kiddos vacuumed this up! quick to throw together, too. i baked it for about 10 minutes past the stated time... it was still sticky but not wobbly-wet in the middle anymore.
Followed the recipe but kept it in the oven for 45 min. Served a la mode and it was sinful!!! Everyone wanted the recipe
Excellent! I found it difficult to get even coverage of the icing, but it worked out great. I used a mix of walnuts and hazelnuts and reduced the sugar to 2.5 cups.
This was really good. I made this for my mom's birthday because i thought it would be more like a cake, but it actually turned out to look sort like a bar/brownie recipe. My mom and my sister liked it. GOOD RECIPE!!! Thanks.
This is a great recipe!! But beware..it is very rich and a definate risk to your waistline!! I ended up taking it to work to share with co-workers. If it had remained in my house I would have eaten it all!! LOL I followed the recipe exactly, and had no problems with the baking time..This recipe is a definate keeper!!!!
WOW! thats all i got to say. So good, so yummy and so easy. I will be making this at least once a month, good good stuff.
Not made to wow your guests by its looks...but my family died over the taste of this thing. Making it right now again for a family gathering. Wonderful!!
WOW this was DELISH! I altered the recipe, for one I don't care much for coconut in anything, and I only had regular chocolate cake mix...so I made it with regular chocolate cake mix, no nuts or coconut...and only used 3 cups of the confectioners' sugar....and I'm glad I did...it was still a little too sweet for my taste...next time I will do only 2 cups of confectioners' sugar and add 8 more ounces of the cream cheese for a more cheese cake taste...oh and It took 50 minutes in my oven.
WOW this was awesome ~ My husband let me know that this is now his birthday cake it was so good ! I didn't have oil on hand and used applesauce in its place and it was still yummy just increased the time by 10 min..
sinful and yummy
Very good cake. My mother makes the same cake but it has different name "Chocolate Delight Slap Your Momma Cake" her friend in Florida gave her the recipe. The cooking time was accurate any longer and the cake would have burned. The kids loved it.
This cake was a big hit and it was so easy to make, that's always a winning combination easy and yummy! It's one of the ugliest cakes I've ever baked but I guess that's why it's called an earthquake cake.
Great cake! My friends and my husband loved it alot! Will definitely make again!
Delicious! I won a company bake-off awhile back with this recipe. The extra bake time (~10min) is right on par. Don't expect to have much left over if you serve this to company!
I made this cake for work and everyone loved it. I had at least three people ask for the recipe. It was so easy to make. I will definitely try it again.
Excellent Dessert.Very easy to make.Very moist.Recieved rave reviews from my family
YUM!!! Made this cake for a church gathering and had several requests for the recipe. Only thing I changed was using pecans instead of walnuts because I'm not a fan of walnuts! Otherwise made exactly as directed and turned out perfectly. Baked for 50+ minutes like others suggested and it was definitely done.
My husband was in the mood for chocolate cake and cream cheese - so I searched and found this. It was awesome. It is messy and isn't necessarily beautiful looking. I doubled the cream cheese as suggested by another reviewer and I think this made it a little less sweet - which was a good thing otherwise we would have only been able to eat a sliver in one sitting. I will definitely be making this again!
This was a huge hit with my guests! It looks neat and tastes great. I had this, a pinapple upside down cake, and a store-bought yellow cake on the dessert table, and everyone went for this. The only thing I didn't know was if I was supposed to invert the cake onto a platter, but I assume the whole point of the cake is to keep the "earthquake" side up. Thanks for a great recipe!
It was just mouth watering. its very messy but i guess it was worth it. I added a little whipped cream and viola. It came out just right.
I took Sheeza's advice and only used two cups of conf. sugar (more than enough sugar). I also used a bundt cake pan, as she did. I dusted with confectioners sugar which made a great presentation. And by the way, this is a great cake!
I made this cake for the first time on Mother's Day. It is a chocolate lovers delight. Brought the leftoevers to work.Everyone enjoyed it. The only criticism I have is what many others say...frosting is too sweet..would put less confectioners sugar in it. HOWEVER, I would make this again.
My mother and I made this together this weekend. It was easy. Everyone loved it.
Absolutely delicious, my husband and I ate a piece of this cake every night until it was gone! The only thing I changed was that I only used 2 cups of the powdered sugar, and I used devil's food cake mix. The next time I think that I will try this recipe using lemon cake.
Made this cake, it was wonderful, took three slices out and company came wiped out the rest out. I want to thank the other reviews for the 10 min. longer baking tip. I cooked it for the 52 min. and it was perfect. absolutely perfect.. Now I find myself having to print out a dozen recipes to pass out.
Cloyingly sweet as written but five stars if you halve powdered sugar in the cream cheese mixture. That's the difference between the "frosting" taste and yummy, decadent sweet cream cheese filling flavor.
the taste was great but it did not go down into the cake maybe i did some thing wrong
Sorry but I thought this cake was terrible. The confectioners’ sugar was overkill. It may be better if the XXX sugar was cut down by half but I don’t even want to try it again. A waste of time and cream cheese. It took way longer than 40 minutes to cook. More like 1 ½ hours.
I made this for a party and everyone went nuts for it. The only thing I did different was I used the whole package of coconut (7oz) and 1.5 cups of chopped walnuts. I cooked it for 55 minutes and it turned out perfect. I will make this cake often thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!!!
Excellent. Easier alternative to the traditional German Chocolate cake. Did take other reviewer's advice and swirled the icing mix in with a knife after dropping by tablespoons into batter. Also used less sugar as suggested.
I made this cake for Easter. It was so AWESOME.... I totally recommend it. It is so gooey and delicious my whole family loved it. Whoever invented this cake is a genius!!
You really can't go wrong with cream cheese and a cube of butter with chocolate cake...I didn't add the coconut or the walnuts and it was delicious. I also didn't find it necessary to use 4 cups of powdered sugar- I used 2, tasted it, it was plenty sweet and it turned out great. Fun alternative to plain chocolate cake!
I ate some of this cake probably 20 years ago and thought it was outstanding but never had a decent recipe for it. This was DIVINE! For some reason only a small part of the frosting actually sank into the batter and it cooked on top of the cake. Next time I'll swirl it a tad into the batter.
This is VERY good - a package of coconut is twice the called for amount but used most of it. Took this to a party & many people did not like coconut so be aware. My cake batter & "icing" were both very thick & icing did not sink but cake was still very good.
I noticed that several of the pictures show this done in a bunt cake pan which would definitely change the cooking time from the directions of a 9 x 12 pan.