A decedent chocolate cake that infused with chocolate sauce and topped with marshmallow crème. This marshmallow chocolate poke cake is the perfect dessert for a serious chocolate lover!
Poke cakes are the best desserts to make when you’re looking for some thing easy. It’s baked and served in the same dish, perfect for parties and potlucks.
I love chocolate cake and marshmallows, so I combined them to make this ooey gooey marshmallow chocolate poke cake!
About This Recipe
- This marshmallow chocolate poke cake is made with my go-to oil based chocolate cake recipe, so need to cream butter and sugar.
- It’s called a poke cake because of the holes that are poked into it before filling it up with flavor. And the possibilities here are endless, the base could to be chocolate, carrot, vanilla…You can fill it with custard, condensed milk, cheesecake filling etc. but chocolate in chocolate sounds great to me!
- As the name suggests, this poke cake is topped with the fluffiest marshmallow crème, it isn’t made with marshmallows but it tastes just like it.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Chocolate cake ingredients
Chocolate sauce ingredients
Marshmallow crème ingredients
- Oil : use a neutral oil like vegetable or canola, this will make the cake super moist!
- Coffee: adding hot coffee to the batter will bloom the cocoa giving the cake an extra chocolatey flavor!
- Heavy cream: make sure you’re cream has at least 35% fat this will make the ganache nice an rich.
- Chocolate: I used dark chocolate because that’s my favorite, but you could also use milk chocolate. I wouldn’t use white chocolate though.
- Vanilla in cake : the vanilla is optional, so you could leave it out if you wish but I find it still tastes great without it. Now, we’re not starting a debate on whether chocolate cake should have vanilla in it! 🙂
- Cream of tartar: this is used to stabilize the egg whites in the frosting.
How To Make Marshmallow Chocolate Poke Cake
Step 1: Combine all your dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a hole inn the middle and add all your wet ingredients and mix well.
Step 2: Pour the batter into a greased 8×8 pan and bake in n oven preheated at 350 degrees Fahrenheit ( 175 degrees Celsius) for 30 min. Let it cool a bit and when its warm poke holes into it.
Step 3: In a small sauce pan mix together all the ingredients of the sauce except for the chocolate and cook on medium flame until bubbles start to form. Take it off the heat and add in the chopped chocolate mix and let it cool a little.
Step 4: Pour it on the cake and let it soak up for at least 30 min.
Step 5: In a large bowl mix together the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Place on a double boiler and wisk until the sugar is dissolved. ( Check this by rubbing some of the mixture between your fingers, there should be no grittiness)
Step 6: Take the bowl off the double boiler and beat it with an electric or stand mixture for 5-7 min till stiff peaks form. Add vanilla and beat for 1 more second.
Step 7: Spread on your soaked cake and drizzle on some chocolate sauce( I used a store bought chocolate sauce that’s used on ice creams). Swirl it up with a toothpick and the marshmallow chocolate poke cake is all done!
Pro Tips
- Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before making the cake, this will ensure even baking of the cake. So take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour ahead.
- Don’t have buttermilk? No problem, just fill up your measuring cup with milk until almost full (leave just a little space for the vinegar) then add vinegar till the cup is full. Let it sit for a while before using it. ( 1 1/2 tbsp. vinegar for every one cup of milk)
- Don’t overmix your cake batter this will result in a dense and tough cake!
- If the cooking time is over and your cake still isn’t baked through, cover it with tin foil and bake for another 5 minutes or as needed. This will prevent the top of the cake from burning.
- If you’re short on time you also make the cake ahead of time then soak it and frost it later.
- You could also top this with whipped cream that mixed with some marshmallow fluff if you’re short on time.
- When poking the cake make sure the holes aren’t so big that the cake falls apart when you cut it but also not too small that it won’t get filled.
Marshmallow chocolate poke cake
Storing the Cake
Since this cake has an egg white based frosting it does need to be refrigerated. It should stay fresh for 4-5 days.
FAQ’s
What can I substitute for buttermilk?
You could use full fat yogurt or sour cream instead, or use this tip to make it at home in just 5 minutes.
Can I make this in a round pan?
Of course! Just use an 8 inch pan and bake it for the same amount of time.
Can I use cake mix to make the cake?
Absolutely! If you don’t want to bake a cake from scratch or you just don’t have time, using cake mix is a great idea!
Can I make a gluten-free poke cake?
This cake can easily be made gluten-free by using a gluten free cake mix or a gluten free cake recipe.
Check out my YouTube Channel for detailed recipe tutorials! Made one of my recipes? Tag me on Instagram, I would love to see your creations!
Recipe Card
Marshmallow Chocolate Poke Cake
A decedent chocolate cake that infused with chocolate sauce and topped with marshmallow crème. This marshmallow chocolate poke cake is the perfect dessert for a serious chocolate lover!
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours
Course: Dessert
Servings: 12
Calories: 307kcal
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk room temp.
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla *optional
- 1/3 cup hot brewed coffee
- 1 egg room temperature
For the chocolate sauce
- 1 cup milk (240ml)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (120ml)
- 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 70g chocolate
For the marshmallow crème
- 4 egg whites room temp.
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat you oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease your baking tray with some butter.
- In a large bowl sift together your flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Make a hole in the middle of the dry mixture and add in the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg , hot coffee and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your baking tray and bake for 30 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set it aside.
- For the chocolate sauce, mix together the milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and heavy cream in a small sauce pan. Cook it on medium heat until bubbles form.
- Take it off the heat and add in the chopped chocolate. give it a mix and let it cool for 5-7 minutes.
- When the cake is almost cold, poke holes into it using the back of a wooden spoon. Pour the sauce on it and let it soak up in the fridge.
- For the marshmallow frosting, mix together the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Place it on a double boiler (a pot with hot water) and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Check it’s done by rubbing some of the mixture between your fingers, there should be no grittiness.
- Take it off the double boiler and beat using an electric or stand mixer for 5-7 minutes until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla while beating.
- Spread onto the cooled and soaked cake and add some chocolate sauce on top and give it swirl using a toothpick. Let it cool in the fridge for at least 30 min preferably 1 hour.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
All oven are different so the bake time may vary, start checking on the cake at 25 minutes.
When poking the cake make sure the holes aren’t so big that the cake falls apart when you cut it but also not too small that it won’t get filled.
Nutrition
Calories: 307.04kcal
Total Fat: 11.94g
Carbs: 47.66g
Sugars: 36.99g
Proteins: 4.77g
Sodium: 228.97mg
Fiber: 1.67g
** Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more. **
