Making an Easter cake can be intimidating, but not with this easy recipe! This Chocolate Easter Egg Cake is super easy to make and perfect for beginners. It's a cute Easter cake decorated with lots of Easter eggs. The moist chocolate cake with the dreamy creamy chocolate marshmallow frosting is a match made in heaven.
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Why You Will Love This Easter Cake Recipe
- Easy Easter Cake Recipe. This way you can enjoy celebrating Easter with your family instead of being in the kitchen forever!
- Light and Fluffy Frosting: Marshmallow cream is added to the chocolate frosting for this decadent chocolate cake giving it the perfect texture!
- Simple Decorations. We're adding some festive Easter egg candies to the top for a splash of color and seasonal perfection.
- So Much Chocolate: If you love chocolate Easter desserts then this cake is the perfect recipe for you!
If you prefer an Easter cake recipe without chocolate, this Lemon Blueberry Cake would be perfect!
Ingredients
Here's a glance at the main ingredients you need to make the best chocolate Easter cake. You can find the full list of ingredients and quantities of each further down the page in the recipe card.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens and tenderizes the cake while powdered sugar easily dissolves into the frosting ingredients making it smooth and creamy.
- Cocoa powder: You will need two types of cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake with Easter eggs. The cake uses Dutch-processed cocoa powder while the frosting uses unsweetened cocoa powder. If you use unsweetened natural cocoa powder in the cake instead of the Dutch-processed you will need to add ¾ teaspoon of baking soda and ¾ teaspoon of baking powder as natural cocoa powder and Dutch-processed cocoa powder need different leavening agents to properly rise a cake.
- Baking powder: Use an aluminum-free baking powder for better flavor. Baking powders containing aluminum can have a bitter flavor which may come through in the cake.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk provides an acid that is important to the chemistry of the cake. If you don't have any you can make it yourself. Add one tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a liquid measuring cup and then add regular milk to it up to the one-cup line.
- Oil: You can use any neutral oil for making this cake. Avoid any oils such as olive oil and unrefined coconut oil with a strong flavor that may interfere with the other flavors in the cake.
- Butter: For the simple buttercream frosting on the cake.
- Marshmallow cream: This brings a creaminess and fluffiness to the chocolate frosting for your Easter egg cake. If you can't get marshmallow fluff at the store, you can make marshmallow fluff using homemade marshmallows and corn syrup.
- Chocolate eggs: You can use any kind of chocolate eggs you like. No matter if they are colored, all chocolate, or filled. I love using and mixing different brands of chocolate eggs. Candy-coated eggs that are colored work great for adding on top of the cake for a splash of color.
Step by Step Video Tutorial
How to Make an Easter Egg Cake
Here's a look at the main steps for making this cake. It's not complicated but there are a few steps and will take a bit of time.
Step 1: Make the Easter Cake Layers
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
- Stir everything together and set it aside.
- Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk and egg mixture.
- Mix the cake batter until fully combined.
- Divide three-quarters of the batter evenly between the two prepared baking pans. Place the chocolate eggs on top of the batter in each pan and cover with the remaining batter.
- Bake the cake layers in a preheated oven for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for 10-20 minutes before removing them from the pans and transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Step 2: Make the Frosting
- Mix the butter until creamy using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment.
- Add the powdered sugar and cocoa to the butter.
- Mix them together until combined.
- Add the marshmallow cream and mix until smooth and creamy.
Step 3: Assemble the Easter Chocolate Cake
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand or turntable and spread half of the frosting on top. Add the second cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting on top.
- Decorate the top of the cake with the chocolate eggs.
- Serve the cake and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use the Right Cocoa Powder. Use the cocoa powder or the substitute specified in the recipe or mentioned in the ingredient section above. The cake layers will turn out flat if you swap out the cocoa powder without changing the leavening agents.
- Adding the Chocolate Eggs. You can adjust the number of chocolate eggs used in the cake batter to your liking but don't add more than 2 cups as it will interfere with the texture of the cake.
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the baked cake layers before adding the frosting. Wrap the cake layers in plastic and aluminum foil and freeze for up to a month. Allow them to thaw out on the counter before frosting the cake.
Recipe FAQs
You can bake the cake layers in bunny-shaped cake pans to make a kid-friendly cake for Easter. If you want to make an Easter basket cake, I recommend making 1 ½ - 2 times the amount of frosting for decorating. You can also top the cake with some Peeps as they taste great with the frosting.
Another Easter cake recipe to consider is this Bee sting cake, which is the cake my mother used to make for Easter. It's a delicious yeast bread filled with pastry cream and topped with honey and almonds.
More Cake Recipes
If you love making cakes, you've come to the right place. Here are some of my favorite cake recipes for you to try that are loved by family, friends, and readers around the world.
If you tried this Chocolate Easter Egg Cake recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Chocolate Easter Egg Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ⅝ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder spooned and leveled
- 3 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate eggs
Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 14 oz marshmallow cream
- 2 cups chocolate eggs (less or more - for decoration)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two 9" (23cm) baking pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and stir. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Divide ¾ of the batter evenly between the two prepared baking pans. Then place the chocolate eggs on top of the batter in each pan and cover with the remaining batter.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10-20 minutes. Then remove the chocolate cake layers from the pans, transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Frosting
- Using an electric mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, mix the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa and mix until combined. Then add the marshmallow cream and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand or turntable and spread half of the frosting on top. Then place the second cake layer on top and spread the remaining frosting on top. Decorate with the chocolate eggs. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Use the Right Cocoa Powder. Use the cocoa powder or the substitute specified in the recipe or mentioned in the ingredient section above. The cake layers will turn out flat if you swap out the cocoa powder without changing the leavening agents.
- Adding the Chocolate Eggs. You can adjust the amount of chocolate eggs used in the cake batter to your liking, but don't add more than 2 cups as it will interfere with the texture of the cake.
- Storing: Store leftover in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the baked cake layers before adding the frosting. Wrap the cake layers in plastic and aluminum foil and freeze for up to a month. Allow them to thaw out on the counter before frosting the cake.
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kp
do you have a recipe for sticky buns. i know you have one for cinnamon rolls. i tried it and it worked out perfectly.
thanks
Sabine
No, I'm afraid I don't. I'm glad you liked my cinnamon rolls though!
Glenn Payne
This looks absolutely deeelish! This is a must for this Easter... in fact all year round.
randi
The cake tastes delicious I had to keep mine in the oven an extra 10 minutes for the tooth pick to come out clean.
Albert Bevia
This cake looks absolutely stunning, and surprisingly easy to make....amazing recipe
Alina
This looks so moist and I love the idea of marshmallow frosting. I can't imagine Easter without chocolate, great recipe!
HT
which chocolate eggs are these - the colors are beautiful!
Sabine
For the cake, I used Lindt Lindor chocolate eggs (milk chocolate and dark chocolate). For the decoration, I used Lindt, Milka, and a no-name brand from the store. The colored eggs on top are called nougat eggs.
Karly
This looks super moist! Perfect for Easter!