Hot Chocolate Poke Cake

Chocolate Cake Mix (and ingredients to make cake) – You will need one box of chocolate cake mix to make a 9×13 cake. I like Devil’s Food as it has a rich chocolate flavour, but you can use any chocolate cake you like. You can also use your favourite chocolate cake recipe if you’d rather make your own from scratch.

Marshmallow Fluff – Marshmallow fluff tastes just like marshmallows. It is sweet, sticky and flavoured with vanilla. But instead of the soft, squishy marshmallows sold in a bag, marshmallow fluff is sold in a jar and is spreadable. By adding a bit of water and heating, it liquifies to a pourable consistency, making it easy to fill the holes of the poke cake. If you don’t like marshmallows, vanilla pudding is a great substitute.

Heavy Cream (whipping cream) – This creates a soft fluff topping for the cake. If you don’t have heavy cream, or don’t want to spend time whipping, you can use frozen whipped topping instead.

Powdered Sugar – This is used to sweeten the whipped topping. You can substitute granulated sugar if needed.

Hot Chocolate Mix – This gives the whipped topping a light chocolate flavour. You can use your favourite, but I find the darker chocolate varieties will provide a slightly stronger chocolate flavour without adding too much sweetness. If you don’t have hot chocolate mix, you can use unsweetened cocoa powder, but you will want to reduce the measurement to about one tablespoon.

Mini Marshmallows – Hot chocolate is always better with marshmallows! However, if you don’t like them, you can leave them off.

Optional Toppings – Think of all your favourite hot chocolate toppings. This cake is delicious, drizzled with chocolate sauce, sprinkled with chocolate shavings, sprinkles, or even caramel sauce.

Step 2 – Scoop the marshmallow fluff into a microwave-safe bowl or a small saucepan and add the water. In the microwave, heat the cream for 10-second intervals, stirring between intervals until it is smooth and runny.

If using the stovetop, heat it over medium-low heat, stirring until it is smooth and runny.

Drizzle the melted marshmallow fluff over the cake, paying particular attention to filling the holes you created.

Step 3 – Pour the heavy cream into a chilled metal or glass bowl and add the powdered sugar and hot chocolate mix. Using a hand mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Spread the cream over the cake and sprinkle with marshmallows.

Chill the cake for at least 1 hour before serving to allow the cream to set.

Cake – You can use any chocolate cake mix to make your cake or your favourite 9×13 chocolate cake recipe if you want to make it homemade. You can buy a premade chocolate sheet cake if you want to make things even easier.

Marshmallow fluff – If you don’t like marshmallows or can’t find marshmallow fluff, you can substitute it with vanilla pudding. Mix one box of instant vanilla pudding with one and a half cups of milk and whisk until it begins to thicken, then pour over the cake filling the holes. If you want this to be super chocolatey, you can use a fudge sauce or chocolate pudding.

Whipped cream topping – If you don’t want to make your own whipped cream you can use thawed, frozen whipped topping instead. You can leave it plain or make it chocolate by mixing one box of chocolate instant pudding with one cup of milk until it begins to thicken, then fold in four cups of whipped topping until combined.

Leftovers can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator for about 5 days.

I don’t recommend freezing this cake as the whipped cream topping can become watery when it thaws.