Hot Chocolate Cake

Merry Christmas everyone! This is such a cute cake.  To spice it up a little I made a chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream and in the layers are mini marshmallows, crushed candy canes and chocolate chunks. How can you wrong with a pile of marshmallows? Let’s get baking!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup boiling water
• Mini marshmallows (to top)
• Jumbo marshmallows (to top)
• Crushed candy cane (for layer)
• Chocolate chucks (for layer)
• Mini marshmallow (for layerDIRECTIONS FOR CAKE:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8 in. round cake pans
2. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add in the wet ingredients, eggs, oil, milk, vanilla.
4. Once fully incorporated, add in the boiling water.
5. Bake for 30 min. or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Cool completely.

DIRECTIONS FOR DECORATING:

1. First, make this  chocolate buttercream recipe. Frost the layer and sprinkle on the mini marshmallows, crushed candy cane, and chocolate chunks (Be generous 🙂
2. Now frost the outside in a crumb coat and then pop in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Frost the outside completely. Leave about a half cup of chocolate buttercream left.
3. Fill a piping bag with the saved chocolate buttercream, fitted with a number 2D tip. Pipe a shell border around the bottom. 
4. Pile the jumbo and mini marshmallows (this will make your cake pleasing to eye and creates texture). You can use buttercream to make the stay. And there you go, a hot chocolate cake (my two favorite things). Enjoy! 

Thanks for baking with me!

~ Natalie