Hot Chocolate Cake

5 from 4 votes

Rich and fudgy, this Hot Chocolate Cake is made with hot chocolate mix, best served warm, ideally with a dusting of powdered sugar and a dollop of whipped cream.

Prep Time25

Cook Time1 5

Total Time1 30

Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Dessert

Cuisine: German

Keyword: cake, Chocolate, hot cocoa, mascarpone

Servings:

Calories: 675kcal

Equipment

Stand Mixer
9" springform pan

Ingredients

Chocolate Mascarpone Filling

175 grams mascarpone
150 grams dark chocolate
50 grams granulated sugar

Cake

300 grams all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
40 grams cocoa powder natural or dutch processed
40 grams hot chocolate mix
350 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs room temperature
250 grams butter very soft
200 grams sour cream room temperature

Whipped Cream

50 grams powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
250 milliliters heavy cream cold

Instructions

Chocolate Mascarpone Filling

In one, microwave safe bowl, add in the dark chocolate. In a second, add in the mascarpone.
Microwave the chocolate in short 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted.
Microwave the bowl with the mascarpone in two 10 second intervals until soft, similar to the texture of sour cream.
Add the 50 grams of sugar into the bowl with the mascarpone and stir to combine.
Pour half of the melted chocolate into the bowl with the mascarpone and stir until fully mixed in. Then add in the remaining chocolate and stir one more time. Set aside.

Chocolate Cake batter

Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and hot cocoa mix. Whisk to combine.
Add in the sugar, eggs, butter, sour cream, and vanilla. Use the paddle attachment to mix the batter first on low speed for 10 seconds and then medium high for another 10 seconds until just fully mixed.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Fully line a 9" metal springform cake pan with parchment paper.

Assemble & Bake

Add half of the cake batter into the lined pan and smooth it out. Then add in about 3/4ths of the chocolate mascarpone filling and spread it out into an even layer.
Pour in the remaining cake mix, smooth it out. And then dollop the top with the remaining chocolate mascarpone and swirl it into the cake batter.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, rotate the cake 180 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.
When the timer goes off, the outside edges should be set but the center of the cake should still be quite jiggly.
Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool for 10 minutes before removing the springform.
Transfer the cake to whichever plate or stand you want to serve it from.
Dust the top with powdered sugar and serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream.

Whipped Cream

In a medium mixing bowl, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cold heavy cream.
Use an electric mixer (stand or handheld) with the whisk attachment to whip on medium high speed until medium peaks form.
Serve dollops of the cream with each slice of cake and store any extra in a covered bowl in the fridge.

Notes

This cake is best eaten straight out of the oven while it's still warm but it's also delicious at room temperature. Simply store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Tips for making a hot chocolate cake
- Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature - this will help get a smooth and fluffy cake batter.
- Any metal 9" round pan will work for this cake. I prefer a springform pan but a regular cake pan will work too!
- Be sure to line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. Ideally use one large piece, it's ok that the sides will wrinkle a bit but this way the cake batter won't leak out.
- Don't over bake this cake, it basically will go against everything that feels right but if you over bake the cake, the chocolate mascarpone filling will fully bake into the cake and you won't get that yummy fudgy taste. The cake should still have a substantial wobble in the center but the edges. should be set.

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