Despite its name, German chocolate cake is an American invention, a decadent dessert consisting of three interspersed layers of buttermilk sponge and chocolate, combined with desiccated coconut and peanuts. The cake is often garnished with even more desiccated coconut, pecans, or maraschino cherries, giving it a luxurious visual appearance.

The name comes from Sam German, who invented a baking chocolate for Baker's chocolate company in 1852, and in return, the company named the cake in his honor. The cake became famous in 1957, when a Texas cook sent her recipe to a Dallas-based newspaper.

As time went by, the possessive form was lost, creating the name German chocolate cake, which gives the wrongful impression of the cake's German origin until this day, although it is an American classic, celebrated every year on June 11, also known as the National German Chocolate Cake Day.