This cake is for everyone who loves chocolate and marshmallows. Hot chocolate cake - chocolate marshmallow frosting - marshmallow filling.
This cake is a combination of super soft and moist chocolate cake layers, a dreamy creamy chocolate marshmallow frosting, and a sweet and gooey marshmallow filling.
Hot Chocolate Cake Recipe
Calories: 447kcal
Servings: 16 servings
This cake is for everyone who loves chocolate and marshmallows.
Ingredients
cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- ¾ cup dutch-processed cocoa (65g)
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar (300g)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil (120ml)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk (120ml)
- 1 vanilla bean* (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- ¾ cup hot cocoa, unsweetened (180ml)
frosting
- ⅔ cup butter, room temperature (150g)
- 1 ⅓ cups powdered sugar, sifted (160g)
- ¼ cup dutch-processed cocoa powder (21g)
- 7 oz marshmallow creme (200g)
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tbsp milk, if needed
filling
- 2 tbsp butter, soft (28g)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar, sifted (30g)
- 7 oz marshmallow creme (200g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line the bottom and the sides of two 8" (20cm) baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cake: In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir to combine. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl with a stand or a handheld mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla* just until combined. Stir in dry ingredients to combine. Slowly mix in hot cocoa until combined. The batter will be very thin. Divide batter into the two prepared baking pans equally. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake. I baked mine for 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then remove from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool to room temperature.
- Frosting: In a large mixing bowl with a stand or a handheld mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat butter until creamy for about 1-2 minutes. Sift in powdered sugar and cocoa and mix until combined and sugar is dissolved. Add marshmallow creme and stir until smooth. Add salt to your taste. If the frosting is too firm, stir in 1-2 tbsp milk to lighten it up. Stir until creamy.
- Filling: In a medium mixing bowl with a stand or handheld mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat butter and powdered sugar until creamy for about 1-2 minutes. Add marshmallow creme and stir until smooth.
- Assemble: Cut a thin layer off the tops of your cakes to create a flat surface. Then cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one cake layer on a cake stand, turner or serving plate. Spread ¼ of the chocolate frosting over the cake. The frosting should be higher around the edges that it holds the marshmallow filling inside the cake (watch the video for better understanding). Layer with ⅓ of the marshmallow filling (where the frosting is lower). Repeat two more times. Place last cake layer on top and lightly frost the outside and the sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Chill at least 3 hours in the fridge or overnight. Decorate with marshmallows or whipped cream to your preference. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days.
Video
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Notes
*First, cut off the straight end of the vanilla bean. Then place the tip of your sharp knife below the curled end and cut the vanilla bean through the middle of the bean lengthwise. Although you don't need to cut it all the way through, it's ok when you do so. Then open the vanilla bean and scrape out the flavorful seeds with the back of your knife. Then just use the seeds.
Nutrition
Calories: 447kcal
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Hi Sabine,
This ake looks divine! I am thinking of aking it as my birthday cake on Sunday and just wanted to ask, when you say hot cocoa, do you mean just the normal unsweetened Dutch press cocoa powder with some water? And also, when you say marshmallow cream, is that like marshmallow fluff? Many thanks in advance xx
Hi Karin, Yes, exactly. It's dutch-processed cocoa powder with water. Second yes, it's marshmallow fluff. Happy birthday!
Hi Sabine,
I just read the previous comment and post. My daughter is 9 and she wants to make this Thursday to serve Friday night. I just want to make sure for the hot cocoa you are not talking about like swiss miss hot chocolate but 1 tablespoon of Hershey’s cocoa powder mixed with 3/4 cup of hot water? So the dutch-processed cocoa is like the Hershey’s special dark chocolate cocoa powder or are we talking like raw caca powder? My family never made homemade cakes so my daughter and I are learning together. Thank you!
Hi Heather,
That's so lovely that you bake together with your little sunshine! Exactly, hot cocoa is cocoa powder mixed with water. And no it's no raw cocoa powder You can use the Hershey's special dark chocolate cocoa powder, but because it is not pure dutch-processed cocoa powder but a mix of dutch-processed cocoa powder and natural cocoa powder, you will need to add baking soda that the cake rises.
Replace the 1 tbsp baking powder with 1+1/2 tsp baking powder and 1+1/2 tsp baking soda.
Hope that helps! If you need anything else, just let me know!
Happy baking (:
Hi Sabine this cake looks amazing I am going to attempt to make this for Thanksgiving my question is can I make the cake a day before and leave it in the fridge? And also how did you make the hot chocolate?
Thank you in advance for your feedback
Hi Ashley, Thank you so much! This is a perfect Thanksgiving dessert. Yes, you can make it the day before and store it in the fridge. You can serve it then straight out of the fridge or let it sit on the counter for 1-2 hours that it gets to room temperature. I prefer to eat the cake at room temperature because the marshmallow filling is then even gooier and the taste even more intense. The 3/4 cup of hot cocoa what is in the cake is just cocoa powder and hot water. I made it accordingly to the package instructions. I took 1 tbsp of cocoa powder and 3/4 cup of hot water. I did not add sugar to the hot cocoa. Hope that helps! Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
I hope you are having a fantastic trip to NY, Sabine. You probably don't have the time, but in case you are interested, here is a new list of the top 38 restaurants with quite a few being in New York: https://www.eater.com/best-american-restaurants-review/2018/11/13/18071890/best-restaurants-america-2018
Safe travels and can't wait to hear all about your latest adventure.
Thank you so much, Amanda! Our trip is awesome. But it is way too cold for me. Have a great day!