Both of these eponymous foods feature chocolate, but they also both feature some issues with timelines and attribution that need to be unraveled. 
Research:

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. “The Baker Chocolate Company: A Sweet History.” History Press. Charleston, S.C. 2009. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/bakerchocolateco00samm/page/80/mode/2up
“Celebrating Not-So-German Chocolate Cake.” NPR. All Things Considered. June 23, 2007. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11331541
Asher Edwards advertisement. Goldsboro Messenger. Nov. 18, 1878. https://www.newspapers.com/image/62317791/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
Pat’s Steak House advertisement. The Welsh Citizen. October 12, 1951. https://www.newspapers.com/image/855431677/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
“This is the Youngland Look for Fall.” Lincoln Journal Star. July 19, 1959. https://www.newspapers.com/image/312770953/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
“A Tested Recipe.” Star Tribune. Dec. 2, 1901. https://www.newspapers.com/image/180802997/?terms=%22German%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
“Miss Florence Davis Charms Family With German Chocolate Cake Recipe.” Denton Record-Chronicle. January 27, 1952. https://www.newspapers.com/image/36794004/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
“German Sweet Chocolate Cake.” The Guthrie Daily Leader. Feb. 3, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/591933621/?clipping_id=79147909&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjU5MTkzMzYyMSwiaWF0IjoxNjczNjYzMDYxLCJleHAiOjE2NzM3NDk0NjF9.1-IZfz1ipCaYbFDzYrvI4l8vbgh-yruhCMNpjLUZVe4
“County Cook’s Corner.” Taylor Daily Press. July 24, 1955. https://www.newspapers.com/image/52547082/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
Bode, Mary Jane. “Anything, Just So Long As It Is With Chocolate.” Austin American-Statesman. Sept 4, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/356073125/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
Lundeen, Kay. “Buttermilk Mystery Solved.” The Eugene Guard. August 21, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/140086242/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
“German Chocolate Cake.” Chickasha Daily Express. April 28, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/591919201/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
Garrison, Eudora. “Here’s That Chocolate Cake Again.” The Charlotte Observer. Oct. 10, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/619939965/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
“Curried Chicken Asparagus Salad.” Cookin’ With Daisy. Irving News Record. May 10, 1956. https://www.newspapers.com/image/44445870/?terms=%22Summer%20German%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
United States Copyright Office. “Works Not Protected by Copyright.” Circular 33. March 2021. https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ33.pdf
“History of Pecans.” Texas A&M. https://pecankernel.tamu.edu/history-of-pecans/
Dysard, Virginia. “German’s Cake Sweeps Country.” Sept 1, 1958. https://www.newspapers.com/image/398144745/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
“German Sweet Chocolate Cake.” The Llano News. June 6, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/11305935/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
Lacy, Mary. “Favorite Recipes – Jefferson County Variety.” Waurika News-Democrat. January 31, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/590019658/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
Treaster, Hazel Hogan. “Home Tested Recipes.” Oklahoma City Advertiser. January 11, 1957. https://www.newspapers.com/image/594427114/?terms=%22German%27s%20Chocolate%20Cake%22&match=1
Byrn, Anne. “American Cake.” Rodale. 2016.
Eschner, Kat. “Tootsie Rolls Were WWII Energy Bars.” Smithsonian. Feb. 23, 2017.
Hirschfeld, Leo. “Process of making candy.” 1907. https://patents.google.com/patent/US903088
“Kills Himself in Hotel.” New York Times. January 14, 1922. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/01/14/109830963.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
Kawash, Samir