Why Germany had no answer to the Hawkins class

How did Imperial Germany respond to the Hawkins-class cruiser?

It did not; Germany lacked the construction capacity for a meaningful counterpart.

Imperial Germany made no practical response to the Hawkins class because it lacked spare construction capacity. German yards were already failing to build enough of the ships on their existing program. That left no room for a new counter-cruiser when Hawkins appeared. The absence of a reply follows from industrial capacity and competing priorities.