This Hot Chocolate Cake is a moist chocolate cake with hot chocolate buttercream frosting and marshmallow filling! The combination is wonderfully decadent and addicting!
Looking for more chocolate cake recipes? I love this easy chocolate cake recipe.
HOT CHOCOLATE CAKE
So this Hot Chocolate Cake has been on my mind for some time. It was on my calendar for the holidays and just kept getting bumped back until I finally got around to it after the holidays passed. Hot chocolate just feels very holiday-y to me, but it’s obviously perfect for any cold weather.
And I’m a big hot chocolate fan. Have you ever tried it with Baileys in it? It’s amazing. And the more marshmallows the better. As I was saying to the twins yesterday (and getting some fabulous laughs with), “mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm mmmm”. If only you could actually hear me say that. It’s apparently hilarious. 🙂
HOW TO MAKE A HOT CHOCOLATE CAKE
As for the approach to this making this cake, I went back and forth a bit. I initially started out making the cake using some hot chocolate in the actual cake. Since hot chocolate isn’t going to be strong enough on it’s own to give a cake a full on chocolate flavor, the cake has to use both cocoa powder and hot chocolate. Otherwise you’d have a vanilla cake with a smidge of chocolate flavor. Not what we want.
BUT. If we are going to go through the trouble of using hot chocolate (and waste a perfectly good packet of it), then you should taste it, you know? And I simply couldn’t use enough hot chocolate to even start to taste the hot chocolate over the flavor of the cocoa. So I decided to roll with my favorite Moist Chocolate Cake and then use hot chocolate for the buttercream frosting.
Best. Idea. Ever.
Not only is the chocolate make amazing (if you haven’t tried it yet, you have to), but the frosting is SO good! It’s made with four whole packets of hot chocolate (assuming you use the individual packets for a cup of hot chocolate), but it’s dissolved in a small amount of milk, so you get loads of hot chocolate flavor without thinning out your buttercream. Sweet!
HOW TO MAKE FLUFFY MARSHMALLOW FROSTING
The only thing that could make this cake better is a wonderful marshmallow filling. I used a marshmallow frosting made with just three ingredients – butter, powdered sugar and marshmallow cream. And since more marshmallows are better, I used almost a full container and a half of cream. I also made sure that this cake had three layers of filling. Not one, not two, but three. MORE MARSHMALLOW! Get in my belly!
The trick with this cake is layering everything. The marshmallow filling is on the softer side when at room temperature, so you will want to refrigerate the cake for about an hour after you torte and fill it – prior to frosting the full cake and decorating it. You might be able to get by without that step, but you’ll have to be really careful, since the layers slip around a bit. So do yourself a favor, and refrigerate it – it’ll be much easier to work with and it won’t budge again.
Once the cake is frosted, I added a white chocolate drip and a ring of marshmallows on top. I was torn between a white chocolate and regular chocolate drip. Both would have been so fun. But ultimately, since hot chocolate is covered with white marshmallows, I went white. Such a fun look and the hubs quite enjoyed stealing my marshmallows while I decorated.
To help give yourself full coverage with the marshmallows, it’s helpful to have both mini marshmallows and marshmallow bits, which can fill in gaps and small spaces really well. It also gives a little size variety, which looks a little more interesting.
THE BEST HOT CHOCOLATE CAKE
The final result of this Hot Chocolate Cake is one amazing dessert! The combination of moist chocolate cake, smooth hot chocolate frosting and fluffy marshmallow filling is to die for. My mom about died over it herself when she tasted it and I tried to give it away as fast as possibly so that I didn’t hoard it all to myself. SO yummy and such a fun cake!
Hot Chocolate Cake
- Prep Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 12–14 slices 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Hot Chocolate Cake has it all—moist chocolate cake layers, creamy marshmallow filling, and decadent hot chocolate frosting, all finished with white chocolate ganache and mini marshmallows.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups (260g) flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (85g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup (240ml) hot water
Hot Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 4 tbsp (60ml) hot water/milk
- 2.92 oz hot chocolate powder mix*
- 1 1/2 cups (336g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup (237g) shortening
- 10 cups (1150g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp (14g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1–2 tbsp water or milk
Marshmallow Filling
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (115g) powdered sugar
- 10 oz marshmallow creme
White chocolate Ganache
- 6 oz (1 cup) white chocolate chips
- 3 tbsp (45ml) heavy whipping cream
- Mini marshmallows
- Marshmallow bits
Vanilla Buttercream, optional
- 1/2 cup (112g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (230g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1–2 tbsp water/milk
Instructions
To make the chocolate cake:
- Prepare two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom, and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C).
- Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Add the hot water and mix until well combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
- Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
To make the hot chocolate frosting:
- Dissolve the hot chocolate powder into the hot water or milk. It’ll be fairly thick. Set aside.
- Add the butter and shortening to a large mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add the hot chocolate mixture and cocoa powder and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
- Add additional water or milk as needed to get the right consistency.
To make the marshmallow filling:
- Add the butter to a mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat until well combined and smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Stir in the marshmallow cream. Set filling aside.
To build the cake:
- Remove cake domes from the top with a large serrated knife, if needed. Divide each cake into two layers, so you have four total layers.
- Place the first layer of cake on a cake plate or cardboard cake circle. Add half a cup of hot chocolate frosting and spread into an even layer.
- Pipe a dam around the outer edge of the cake, then fill it with about 3/4 cup of marshmallow filling. Spread into an even layer.
- Place the second layer of cake on top and add another layer of hot chocolate frosting and marshmallow filling.
- Repeat with the third layer of cake and filling, then top the cake with the final layer.
- Spread a light crumb coat around the sides of the cake, then refrigerate for about an hour to let the filling firm up.
- After refrigerating, frost the outside of the cake. (Feel free to use a tutorial for frosting a smooth cake with buttercream.)
To make the white chocolate ganache:
- Add the white chocolate chips to a medium-sized bowl.
- Heat the cream just until it begins to boil, then pour over the white chocolate.
- Whisk the chocolate mixture so it begins to melt. Heat for another 10 seconds and whisk to continue melting. If needed, heat another 10 seconds.
- Drizzle the white chocolate around the top edge of the cake, using a squeeze bottle, spoon, or another method.
- Fill in the top of the cake with the ganache and spread evenly.
To create the ring of marshmallows:
- First, make the vanilla buttercream. Add the butter to a mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- Add a tablespoon of water or milk and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
- Add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth, adding additional water or milk as needed for the right consistency.
- Pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream around the top edge of the cake, then add mini marshmallows and marshmallow bits.
- Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Let it sit out for a few hours before serving to come closer to room temperature. The cake is best when stored well-covered for 2-3 days.
Notes
- For the hot chocolate powder mix, I used four 0.73 individual packets of hot chocolate powder. If you have one large container of hot chocolate powder, it would be about 20 tablespoons.
- These two cakes are fairly tall once baked, so they will completely fill an 8×2-inch cake pan. If you have 8×3-inch pans, those would be ideal.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 1022
- Sugar: 113.9 g
- Sodium: 373.9 mg
- Fat: 56.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 131.2 g
- Protein: 6.5 g
- Cholesterol: 82.2 mg
Enjoy!
my batter is really runny is that normal
Yes! Totally normal.
Can you substitute butter for the shortening?
Yep, you certainly can.
I’m going to make this today for my son/daughter/hisband’s Birthdays (1 born on the 7th the other 2 on the 8th of March!). About how tall is the finished cake? I’m wondering if it will fit under my cake dome. So excited to give it a try!
I’d say it’s about 3 1/2 inches tall or so.
I made this cake for my husbands birthday exactly like the recipe minus the marshmallow on top, decorated instead, he’s not one to eat marshmallows. Anyway, he really like the cake but he loves anything sweet. Most of us found it a bit too sweet and unusually texture for the cake. AGAIN, it was liked by all, it was very pretty lots of compliments, thank you Lindsey!
What was unusual about the cake texture? I’m making a birthday cake and would love to know before I get started 🙂
This cake looks amazing, Lindsay! So pretty and moist and decadent 🙂 Can’t wait to give it a go.
what type of shortening do you use?
I use crisco.
This is the nicest cake i’v ever seen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanx for sharing Lindsay, the twins sound gorgeous
Thanks Meilani!
I have four 8” pans. I’m assuming times would need adjusted for baking the cakes, do you have any idea what those times would be?
Well, you could use two of those pans for this cake. If you want to bake the four layers individually, that’s fine but I’m not exactly sure what the baking time would be.
did you rate this 5 stars but have not made the cake?
Beautiful, as always ♥♥♥
Thank you, Caron! 🙂
That is a beautiful cake,I am going to make it soon.
Making it today. Will probably finish frosting it tomorrow. ????
I hope you enjoy it!
It is exceptionally rich…. ???? I have a lot to learn when it comes to stacking cake layers. My cake looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. ???? Each time I bake I just see it as another learning experience. Thank you for your detailed instructions.
Oh no! 🙂 This one definitely needs some refrigeration along the way when stacking and frosting. The marshmallow filling is on the softer side. I hope you enjoyed it!
Wow. Inspired. Can’t wait to make this!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!
This is so beautiful and sounds so delicious. How on earth did you get such a perfect ring on the marshmallows. I can see the two sizes would help but yours looks perfectly perfect!
Thanks Scarlet! Well there’s a little frosting underneath to help things stick, and then just some patience as I placed them all. 🙂
This looks like an amazing cake and I love the way it is decorated!!
Thanks Kelly!
This looks absolutely perfect! Applause for your beautiful creation????
Thank you, Madeline!
Sounds delicious.
Thank you!
Wow! What a beautiful cake. I’m going to have to make this one too. I love your recipes and I have made many of them, sorry that i forget to post comments on how awesome they are. Friends and family are going to flip over this one. And I just ordered your beautiful book.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoy them! Thanks so much for supporting my book – I hope you love it! 🙂
Would it be possible for me to substitute the cocoa powder with hot cocoa in the cake?
No, not in this cake. I tried very hard to make this cake with hot cocoa and it just wouldn’t bake well with the amount needed to even slightly taste the hot chocolate. I’ve seen other cakes that use hot chocolate, but you can’t taste it without adding a good bit more and it messes with the cake. You definitely get great hot chocolate flavor from the frosting though!