This Mississippi Mud Cake includes a homemade chocolate cake with melted marshmallows and warm chocolate frosting poured on top. Trust me, it’s as delicious as it sounds!
When I think of a chocolate lover’s dream, this is the cake that comes to mind! It’s called a “Mississippi Mud” cake because of the layers of soft marshmallow and chocolate that make up the topping and frosting. It’s one of the easiest cakes to make, baked in a simple 9×13” pan.
I adapted the recipe from my favorite Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe but instead of buttermilk I used milk and sour cream for an extra moist and tender cake. The warm chocolate frosting is the same recipe I use for this popular Texas Sheet Cake. It’s SO GOOD!
How to Make Mississippi Mud Cake:
- Combine dry ingredients: flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add wet ingredients: Add oil, eggs, vanilla, milk and sour cream and mix until combined. Reduce speed and carefully pour in the boiling water. Beat on high speed for 1 minute to add air to the batter.
- Bake: Pour batter into greased 9×13” pan and bake for 28-33 minutes.
- Add marshmallows. Remove cake from oven and sprinkle marshmallows all over the top of the hot cake, completely covering it. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes until marshmallows are puffed up. Cool cake before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add milk and cocoa powder and whisk well. Cook for about 2-3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. Use an electric mixer to make the frosting smooth.
- Drizzle frosting over cake.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
The cake can be made 1-2 days in advance, stored covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator. The baked and frosted cake can be frozen for up to 3 months.
More Chocolate Cakes to love:
- The BEST Texas Sheet Cake
- Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling
- German Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Mug Cake
- Dark Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
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Recipe
Mississippi Mud Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup oil , canola or vegetable
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 Tablespoons milk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 cup boiling water
For topping:
- 10.5 ounce package mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 6 Tablespoons milk
- 3 heaping Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13” baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add oil, eggs, vanilla, milk and sour cream and mix until combined. Reduce speed and carefully pour in the boiling water. Beat on high speed for 1 minute to add air to the batter.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 28-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cake from oven and sprinkle marshmallows all over the top of the hot cake, completely covering it.
- Return to oven (at 350 degrees F) for 2-3 minutes or until the marshmallows are just slightly puffed and melted.
- Allow cake to cool completely before drizzling frosting on top.
For the frosting:
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add milk and cocoa powder and whisk well. Cook for about 2-3 more minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. Use an electric mixer to make the frosting smooth.
- Drizzle warm frosting immediately over cake. Refrigerate cake for about 30 minutes or until frosting has set. Store at room temperature.
- Next time try Mississippi Mud Brownies!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.x
I originally shared this post September 2015. Updated February 2021.
i love choclate cakes, thank you very much for the inspiration
The pictures are mouthwatering!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
I just made this for my husband’s birthday, and it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Thanks for sharing Amanda! I’m glad it made a great birthday cake!!
Hi Lauren. Great Recipe. We posted this on “Rad Cake Network” Facebook page. ❤️
Oatmeal cake is so yummy. And I like to think that it is a little healthier too. I will have to change things up and give your recipe a try. It looks amazing.
My husband was just telling me how much he loves this cake–and I have never even tried it myself. Time to make!
Thanks Kristen! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
I had never heard of this 🙁 I have seen other versions since & yours looks the best. I’m so going to make it for a potluck this wknd. Could the cake be made a day ahead of time & then go from there the next day?
Also does it matter what kind of cocoa powder you use? I’m thinking for one it needs to be sweetened vs unsweetened. Never baked with it before.
I use unsweetened for both 🙂
Yum! I’d love to hear how you like it! Yes, you could make the cake in advance. Bake it, let it cool completely, then cover it well at room temp.
Love your recipes and thank you so much.
Maria
Love your recipes!!!
Thank you so much!
This cake is reminding me of my childhood from Mississippi.
My frosting was really runny compared to the one in the video
It should be slightly runny as you pour it over the cake and then it hardens as it cools.
I can’t wait to try this 😉
Can i have a slice of it? Joking but thanks for sharing this recipe, it bring a lot of memories
Someone help please….I want to make this (right now) but, pic shows a cookie sheet type pan but homemade
chocolate cake link (which recipe says: bake cake according to instructions…) is a 2 layer cake.
Hi Sue, you can make that cake recipe using a 9×13” pan. Check it around 30 minutes bake time. Hope you love it!
I made this cake a couple of months ago and it was delicious! I want to make it again, but…. I can’t find where you told how to convert your two layer made from scratch chocolate cake into a single layer baked in a 9×13 pan.
Hi Renee, I’ve updated the chocolate cake recipe with ingredients for a 9×13” pan. (Grease and flour pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.) Thanks!
I have made this twice and am getting ready to make it again for my daughter in law’s birthday. It’s so easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This is an awesome cake!!! It’s easy and I went exactly by the recipe. It turned out perfect. I’m getting ready to make it again and take it to a girls weekend get together. This is a keeper for sure!!
I can not find a chocolate cake recipe on your site that uses the ingredients in the video. Please let me know which chocolate cake recipe to use to get the moist cake shown in the video. Thank you.
Hi Andie, I used the chocolate cake from this recipe: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/chocolate-cake-oreo-cream-filling/ Enjoy!
Can I sub milk and sour cream with buttermilk?
I haven’t tried it but I think it should work 🙂 Enjoy!
Love this recipe! Just another recipe for your site that is a total winner!
I grew up eating Mississippi Mud at my grandmother’s in Mississippi and was craving it. This filled the craving and thrilled my family who had never had Mississippi Mud. Will definitely make again.
Could I make this recipe in a jelly roll pan? I need to make about 100 pieces. Each piece about 3”x3.
It would probably work fine, I haven’t tested this so I can’t say for sure.
You may want to 1-1/2 x’s the recipe just to make sure it is not too thin.
Can you put pecans in the batter
Sure! enjoy 🙂
My friend made this cake & brought it to a church dinner. I had to get this recipe from her because it’s the best cake I have ever eaten. TY!
My FAVORITE cake!
I’ve got mine in the oven. I can’t wait to dig in. I haven’t had this cake since my childhood, many many years ago.
I replaced the hot water with hot coffee. Super moist & rich. We also added chopped pecans & caramel drizzle for even more decadence. Loved this SO moch! Tyvm for sharing 🙂
Tammy from Missouri
Can this cake be made with a regular chocolate box cake?
Yes, of course 🙂 Enjoy!
This is ok. Not as great as everyone says. Will not make again.
Super!
It was delicious. Everyone loved it!
Loved this cake, especially on the 2nd and 3rd day. This is definitely one I will make again. I’m going to try the brownies next!
Can I replace the cocoa with nestle quick?
No, I would not do that.
Can you make cupcakes using this recipe? I would really love to.
yes. I have not tested this to tell you exact baking time. I would start with 10 minutes.
Made this for a family get together and everyone loved it! I’ve had it before made by my aunt but love this recipe even better. It was loved by everyone but especially by my five year old boy. 🙂 thank you
I made this cake for my book group and it was amazing! You don’t need a large piece to enjoy but the cake is so moist and the combination with the marshmallows is divine. I wasn’t sure everyone would eat a cake topped with marshmallows but they really enjoyed it! I would make the cake even my itself, it was so moist. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Wow it was wonderful. Thanks for the recipe.
This cake is out of this world and I am not a huge chocolate cake lover but this cake changes everything…its not a sickening rich chocolate that makes you sick after a few bites, perhaps not a good thing, but the chocolate flavor is perfectly delicious with the moist texture I can honestly say this is the best cake I’ve ever had in my entire life and my very first cake I’ve ever made from scratch and it was surprisingly easy!! Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe with all of us!!
I made it. It was very good. My family loved it.
I remember my aunt making this for us as kids. But she never shared the recipe and until now I could not find a recipe for it. This is something I have been telling my wife about for the ten years we have been together. Hopefully it will taste as good as I remember when I make it.
I baked the cake for less time than suggested; however, the bottom half-inch or so is a little dry. Any feedback is appreciated.
I suspect it is your over temp. What is 350 in one oven might be almost 400 in another. Also try baking your cakes in the top rack, not middle or lower. Happy baking!
I made this today. Too many marshmallows and I just used a ten ounce package. Too much icing. It was dripping all out of the pan and I didn’t even put all the icing on it.
Have 2 nieces that asks for this all the time. 1 that lives on west coast wanted me to bake and send to her!