Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe
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This Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe makes a simple yet scrumptious chocolate dessert with marshmallows, pecans, and rich chocolate icing. Perfect to make ahead and a hit with chocolate lovers!
Looking for more easy cakes? You’ll love my favorite Best Chocolate Cake, Cream Cheese Poundcake, Easy Carrot Cake, and many more!
This Mississippi Mud Cake recipe is one I love to make again and again for a simple yet amazing dessert for family suppers and casual get-togethers. Just look at this cake covered in pecans and marshmallows and topped with chocolate icing! It always gets rave reviews and disappears in a flash. I’ve been making it for many years, and this delicious recipe is still one of my favorites when entertaining groups of people. It comes together easily and is even great to make ahead because it is just as good when made a day or so ahead of serving!
How to Make Mississippi Mud Cake
This easy Mississippi Mud Cake has such a rich and amazing chocolate flavor that everyone loves! It is so simple to bake in a 9×13 dish and is chocolatey, nutty, and amazing with its rich chocolate poured icing!
I’ve made this cake for so many casual parties, potlucks, and more. I often make it the night before because it is perfect the next day. But it comes together quickly and can be made for a last-minute dessert or invitation to a friend’s house. And get ready—because everyone loves it and asks for the recipe.
Combine dry ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and flour.
Whisk together the wet ingredients. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Combine wet with dry ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the sugar and flour mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in 1 cup of the toasted pecans.
Bake the cake. Pour the cake batter into the prepared 9×13 baking dish and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes. I have tips you can follow on how to tell when your cake is done. Once the cake is done, remove it from the oven and top it with mini marshmallows.
Make the icing. During the last 10 minutes of the cake’s baking time, prepare the chocolate icing by melting the butter and cocoa in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add confectioners’ sugar and milk and bring to a full boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla until well combined.
Ice the cake, cool it, and serve. Pour the chocolate icing over the warm, marshmallow-topped cake, making sure to cover the cake to the edges of the pan. Top with the remaining pecans. Let cool, cut into pieces, and serve.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
Store the cooled, iced cake in an airtight container or under a cake cover for up to three days.
I do not recommend freezing this cake since it contains marshmallows.
More Easy Chocolate Desserts
Here’s my Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe. I think you’ll love it, too!
Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Mississippi Mud Cake:
- 2 cups (396 g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (28 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (1.4 g) kosher salt
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (226 g) butter, , melted and cooled
- 3 large (150 g) eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 g) vanilla extract
- 2 cups (228 g) roasted pecans, chopped
- 1 (10.5-ounce) bag (297 g) miniature marshmallows
For the Chocolate Icing:
- 1/2 cup (113 g) butter
- 2 tablespoons (10.5 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups (340.5 g) confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon (4.7 g) vanilla extract
Instructions
Mississippi Mud Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare the baking dish with butter and flour or by spreading with cake goop or spraying with baking spray.
- Whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and flour in a medium bowl. In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, eggs, and the vanilla extract until well combined. Pour the egg mixture into the sugar and flour mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in 1 cup of the toasted pecans. Pour the mixture into the prepared 9×13 baking dish and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 to 40 minutes. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
- Remove from the oven and top with the mini marshmallows.
Chocolate Icing:
- During the last 10 minutes baking time for the cake, prepare the chocolate icing by melting the butter and cocoa in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add confectioners sugar and milk and bring to a full boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla until well combined.
- Pour the chocolate icing over the warm, marshmallow topped cake, making sure to cover to the edges of the pan. Top with the remaining pecans.
- Let cool, cut into pieces and serve.
Notes
Store Mississippi Mud Cake in an airtight container or under a cake dome for up to 3 days. Do not recommend freezing since marshmallows do not typically freeze well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2011.
It is a bad, bad sign that I have everything I need already to make this. I still have 3 lbs to lose!
Really cute story, Robyn. And that mud cake…oh my!
Love how “muddy” this looks. I bet I could accomplish this dessert since it’s about taste over form 🙂
i cannot even look at this . . . no seriously . . . because you see, i’ve made a commitment to 2 other women that i am running a 5k w/them in February . . . so nope. not gonna even look at this . . .
I have to say, I’m a little jealous of the 65 people that got to taste these! Wow indeed!
That looks DIVINE!!! I know my hubs does the same thing- I wish they would just say YUM or YUCK & keep the guessing game out of it. 🙂
You are amazing. Not only does this recipe look wonderful, but the fact that you made it for 65 people for what was surely an awesome event is even better!!! Well done!
Love this cake, and yours looks fantastic!!! Will have to make this cake when my granddaughter comes over!! This cake will make her very happy!!!!
oh wow robyn! this is so great! Funny story 🙂
Sounds perfect!! I love chocolate sheet cake, and this is even better 🙂