There are chocolate cakes that use unsweetened cocoa powder, some real melted chocolate, or a combination of both. And then there's a Hot Chocolate cake that uses some hot chocolate mix as well. It's nothing new and is pretty easy to make like most cakes of its kind.
This cake goes quite well with most glazes and frostings. But since it's made with hot chocolate, a fitting type would be marshmallow frosting for obvious reasons. This is also quite simple to make but its main ingredient isn't regular marshmallows, mind you.
Instead, it's made with marshmallow fluff, a paste derived from the white gooey snack.
Other frostings are ok, but if this one sounds good to you, make sure to pick this stuff up from the store for the frosting.
Tips
- Warm eggs - Never use cold eggs for any baking recipe. The cold will inhibit the chemical reactions needed from them. Make sure the eggs are long out of the fridge before starting. Room temperature eggs always.
- Unsweetened cocoa - This a chocolate cake as chocolate cakes go. Although hot chocolate is being used, its regular flavoring shouldn't be discarded. Therefore, the cocoa powder should still be used especially the unsweetened kind.
- Hot chocolate should stay hot - When making the hot chocolate, it should be made as instructed and should be used immediately. The hot liquid will produce steam quickly for leavening the cake. Plus, it's the only way to make the hot chocolate anyway. The hotter the better.
- Use marshmallow fluff for frosting- There should be no exceptions with this. When making the frosting, marshmallow fluff is required. Don't use melted marshmallows or anything else as a substitute. However, real marshmallows can be used to garnish the cake.
Recipes
Cake Ingredients:
- 1 cup hot chocolate
- 1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients:
- 2 cups marshmallow fluff
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- Real marshmallows for garnishing
Directions
Cake Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 175°C. Use butter to grease the insides of 3 pans (6-inch size each). Spoon some flour into each of the pans. Bobble them to cover the bottoms, then tilt on a side and rotate to cover the sides. Shake out any excess flour.
- Prepare a cup of the hot chocolate mix as instructed (make sure to use water and not milk). Cover and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until well blended.
- Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the oil and milk together at low speed until combined. Switch to medium speed and beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract.
- Switch back to low speed. Gradually add the hot chocolate and flour mixture alternatively in stages until fully combined.
- Dived the batter among the chosen amount of pans. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted into the center of the cakes, comes out clean.
- remove the cakes and cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Frosting Directions:
- Using the electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the marshmallow fluff, butter, confectioners sugar, and vanilla extract together until well combined.
- Beat in the milk by the tablespoon for adjusting the consistency.
Assembly:
- Use a sharp bread knife or chef knife to carefully shave the domes from off the tops of the cakes horizontally straight.
- Divide the marshmallow frosting evenly to be used for each cake. Use a spatula to spread the frosting across the shaved tops of each cake.
- Stack the cake on top of each other starting from their bottoms so the frosting remains at the top. Place marshmallows on top of the layered cake for garnishing. Serve the cake or seal and freeze.
Serves: 12
