Hot Chocolate Layered Cake

A rich, moist chocolate cake filled with layers of chocolate ganache and fluffy whipped cream. The cake is topped with gooey homemade marshmallows making it a true show stopper!

This cake is truly like hot chocolate in cake form. It combines all of my favourite elements of hot chocolate.  During the winter months I love cozying up with a mug of hot chocolate and reading a good book. Or as I have been doing lately, watching a cheesy Christmas movie. When trying to decide on a dessert to add to our table this holiday season I knew I wanted to recreate one of my favourite drinks as a layered cake. The cake itself is a rich chocolate cake that is incredibly moist. I knew when I pulled it out of the oven that it would be delicious based on its rich chocolate smell alone. I wanted to add another chocolate element to the cake and I knew a chocolate ganache would be perfect. I spread a thin layer between each layer to add to the chocolate flavour and moistness of the cake. I went with a naked cake to showcase the beautiful homemade whipped cream frosting. I always forget how delicious and special homemade whipped cream is. I really should make it more often considering how simple it is to make. I had to top the cake with homemade marshmallows! You can't have hot chocolate without marshmallows it just seems wrong.  I kept my cake simple, playing off a classic hot chocolate but it would be easy to make even more festive by swapping the vanilla extract in the cake for peppermint extract and adding crushed candy canes to the chocolate ganache filling for a Peppermint Hot Chocolate variation. 

Homemade Marshmallows

The best part of hot chocolate is of course the marshmallows! I highly recommend making homemade marshmallows to top the cake but if you are short on time store bought marshmallows will work as well. You will need a stand mixer to make homemade marshmallows - a hand mixer's motor just isn't strong enough. I killed a few hand mixers that way in university before finally getting my stand mixer. If you have never made homemade marshmallows before they look more intimidating then they are and they taste divine! A few tips for making marshmallows: read the entire recipe through at least once before you start (this is good practice with any recipe but especially helpful for marshmallows), have your pan prepared before you start making the marshmallow, and have a warm wet cloth available to wipe your hands or clean up any spills! These marshmallows freeze great as well - so if you have any extras just pop them in the freezer. 

Making the Cake

Everything for this cake except the whipped cream frosting can be made a day or two in advanced of when you are going to be serving it. The homemade marshmallows can be made in advanced and frozen - they freeze great and can be frozen for up to 3 months! The cake layers and the ganache can be made a day or two before. Be sure to store the ganache in the fridge and tightly wrap the cakes in plastic wrap. 

Hot Chocolate Layered Cake

Yield: Two 8 inch cakes 

Ingredients:

2 c flour

3/4 c coco powder

2 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 c butter, room temperature, cut in cubes

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 c vegetable oil

1 c sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare two 8 inch pans, grease and coat in coco powder

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment mix together dry ingredients

Cut butter into dry ingredients. Mix until mixture resembles corse sand

On medium speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, scrapping down the side of the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla and vegetable oil

Stir in sour cream until just incorporated be careful not to over mix

Evenly divide batter between prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the centre comes out clean

Chocolate Ganache 

Ingredients:

6 oz heavy cream (approx 3/4 c)

6 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

In a small heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat, heat cream until just before it boils

Poor heated cream over chopped chocolate. Whisk until smooth

Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

2 c whipping cream, cold

1 c powder sugar, sifted

2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Place bowl and whisk of stand mixer in the fridge to chill for a least 10 minutes

Beat cream on high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form, be careful not to over beat or cream will start to separate

Marshmallows 

I followed this recipe from the Kitchn for my homemade marshmallows

Assembling the Cake

To assemble the cake. Torte each cake so that you have 4 layers in total. Spread a thin layer of ganache on each layer. Put a small dab of ganache on your cake board and place your bottom layer on top. Fill with fresh whipped cream frosting. Repeat until your cake is assembled. Frost the top of your cake with whipped cream frosting and pile your homemade marshmallows on top. Drizzle with ganache. Store in the fridge until you are ready to serve. 

Best Vanilla Buttercream

I have made this vanilla buttercream recipe more times then I can count. It is always my go to when making cupcakes and cakes. It pairs well with just about any flavour and is often my jumping off point for different flavour variations. My family and friends rave about this buttercream frosting. It is hard to beat a classic.  

How To Get Fluffy Frosting

The fluffy texture of this frosting is one of its best selling features. In order to get super fluffy frosting it is best to work with butter that is at room temperature. If your butter isn't at room temperature or you're impatient like me - cut your butter into small cubes and microwave on low in 10 second increments until your butter is softened. Be sure to watch it closely, you don't want your butter to melt! 

I use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to make my vanilla buttercream but you can get the same results using a hand mixer.  I mix my butter on a medium-high speed until it is light, fluffy and pale in colour. Scrape along the sides of the bowl at least once in between mixing to make sure you are incorporating the most air into your butter.

Using & Storing Your Buttercream

I find the 3 cups of icing sugar to 1 cup of butter ratio the perfect ratio for me when frosting cakes and cupcakes. If you would like your buttercream to be a little softer - add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. If you would like a stiffer buttercream you can add additional icing sugar - just remember it will make your icing sweeter! I will be sharing a video on how I frost my cupcakes using this buttercream recipe later this week! When frosting cupcakes I generally gravitate towards the Wilton 1B tip - it is what I've used to frost the cupcake in this post. You can easily tint this buttercream using gel food colouring.  The recipe below creates enough buttercream to frost one dozen cupcakes or to fill and frost one 6 inch cake. Store any left over frosting in an air tight container for up to three days, in the fridge. Allow it to come to room temperature before you use it again. 

---

The Best Vanilla Buttercream 

This vanilla buttercream frostings is super simple to make, incredibly fluffy and yields delicious results. 

Yield: Frosting for 1 dozen cupcakes
Time: 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups icing sugar

2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

1-3 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy

Beat in icing sugar, one cup at a time, until well combined

Beat in vanilla

Optional - beat in heavy cream 1 tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reached

Follow my blog with Bloglovin