German Chocolate Pie Recipe

A closeup of German chocolate pie for feature image.

This no-bake German chocolate pie is rich, fudgy, and not here to play nice. It’s got all the coconut-pecan goodness of the classic cake, but in a pie that takes zero effort and still gets all the applause. Warning: may cause sudden bouts of hoarding and recipe requests. Proceed with fork in hand and attitude fully loaded.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American - Vintage

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Chilling Time 3

Total Time 3 30

Servings

Calories 890kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Equipment

Pie Pan

Ingredients

1 Crumb crust

German Chocolate Filling

16 ounces German Sweet Chocolate may substitute bittersweet chocolate
2 ¼ cups heavy cream
½ cup butter room temperature, cut into pieces

Coconut Pecan Topping

⅔ cup evaporated milk
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups coconut shredded sweetened - toasted
⅔ cup pecans chopped and toasted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons butter cubed

Instructions

Chocolate Ganache Filling:

Heat cream in microwave (or on top of the stove) until it is steaming hot.
Add the chocolate (If the chocolate won't melt all the way you can add it to the microwave and heat it for 20 second increments, stirring in between - just until it is melted and blends with the cream)
Stir until smooth.
Add in the butter and stir until well blended.
Pour into the prepared crust, either cookie or chocolate (or even a traditional pastry that's been pre-baked!)
Cover and chill for at least 2-3 hours.

Coconut-Pecan Topping

Toast the coconut and pecans as directed in the notes below.
Set aside.
Whisk the egg in a small bowl until it's completely blended.
Set aside.
Combine the evaporated milk, sugars, and butter in a small heavy saucepan.
Cook, stirring continually, until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil.
Remove from heat.
Whisk a little of the hot milk mixture into the egg then add it back to the pan, whisking continually so you don't end up with scrambled eggs.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, coconut, and chopped pecans.
Spoon over the chilled filling .
Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Add chocolate shavings to top for garnish if desired.

Notes

Storage:

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

How to Toast Pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F
Chop Pecans -You don't have to always chop the pecans before toasting but for this recipe it's necessary. Just chop them coarsely while the oven is preheating.
Toast Pecans - Add the pecans to a cookie sheet and place in the oven.
Stir the pecans well about halfway through. This allows all the surfaces to get toasted.
Watch the pecans carefully. When they start to get aromatic remove them from the oven. It takes about 5 minutes.

How to Toast Coconut

You'll toast coconut basically the same way as the pecans above but preheat the oven to 325F. Coconut will go from golden brown to crispy black in seconds so you'll need to watch it very carefully.

Nutrition