Mississippi Mud Cake is an easy, crowd-pleasing chocolate cake that’s a variation on classic Texas sheet cake. The chocolate cake batter comes together in just one bowl for a simple dessert that’s perfect for parties, potlucks, and feeding a crowd.
Mississippi mud cake is the kind of dessert that’s perfect when you need something easy that will feed plenty of people. It’s a variation on classic Texas sheet cake with a rich chocolate flavor, and the cake batter comes together in just one bowl.
There’s no complicated assembly or decorating, which makes it a great choice for parties, potlucks, holidays, or anytime you need dessert for a crowd. It’s simple to make, easy to serve, and always a hit.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Salted butter: If using unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
- Buttermilk: You can make a quick substitute with this buttermilk substitute recipe.
- Sour cream: Plain Greek yogurt makes a good substitute.
- Flour: To properly measure the flour either weigh it or sift or stir to break it up, lightly spoon into a measuring cup, and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you heavy, dry cake.
How to make Mississippi mud cake
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a cookie sheet (I use a 15×11-inch rimmed cookie sheet/jelly roll pan) with edges. Set aside.
Step 2: Melt butter in a large saucepan.
Step 3: Once butter has melted, stir in water and cocoa powder; bring to a boil.
Step 4: Once at a boil, add buttermilk, and stir to combine. Remove pan from heat.
Step 5: Add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, and stir until well-combined.
Step 6: Stir in sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
Step 7: Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Step 8: Sprinkle marshmallows over the cake and return to the oven for about 3 minutes.
Step 9: While the cake is baking, prepare the icing. For the icing, combine the butter, cocoa, and buttermilk. Bring to a boil.
Step 10: Remove from heat, and add the powdered sugar, vanilla. Stir to combine.
Step 11: Stir pecans into icing, if using.
Step 12: Pour icing over hot cake and spread evenly over cake.
Step 13: Let the cake sit for at least 30 minutes for the frosting to set up.
Recipe Tips!
- Measure the flour carefully: Too much flour can make chocolate cake dry. Weigh the flour if possible, or lightly spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Once the ingredients are combined, stop mixing. There’s no need to keep beating the batter.
- Use the correct pan size: The size of the pan affects both the thickness of the cake and its baking time, so stick with the pan called for in the recipe.
- Watch the baking time: Sheet cakes bake relatively quickly. Start checking the cake when directed so it doesn’t overbake.
- Cut smaller pieces for a crowd: This is a rich dessert, so you can easily cut it into smaller squares when serving a larger group.
Storage
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature. The cake will keep for about 2-3 days when properly stored.
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Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 15×11 pan
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 ounce bag mini marshmallows
Chocolate Icing
- ½ cup salted butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a cookie sheet (I use a 15×11-inch rimmed cookie sheet/jelly roll pan) with edges. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan.½ cup salted butter
- Once butter has melted, stir in water and cocoa powder; bring to a boil.¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 cup water
- Once at a boil, add buttermilk, and stir to combine. Remove pan from heat.½ cup buttermilk
- Add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, and stir until well-combined.¼ cup sour cream, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stir in flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until just combined.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Sprinkle marshmallows over the cake and return to the oven for about 3 minutes.10 ounce bag mini marshmallows
- While the cake is baking, prepare the icing.
- For the icing, combine the butter, cocoa, and buttermilk. Bring to a boil.½ cup salted butter, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ⅓ cup buttermilk
- Remove from heat, and add the powdered sugar, vanilla. Stir to combine.3 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Stir pecans into icing, if using.1 cup chopped pecans
- Pour icing over hot cake and spread evenly over cake.
- Let the cake sit for at least 30 minutes for the frosting to set up.
Notes
- Salted butter: If using unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.
- Buttermilk: You can make a quick substitute with this buttermilk substitute recipe.
- Sour cream: Plain Greek yogurt makes a good substitute.
- Flour: To properly measure the flour either weigh it or sift or stir to break it up, lightly spoon into a measuring cup, and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you heavy, dry cake.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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