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Mississippi Mud Cake is a rich, fudgy chocolate cake, with a layer of gooey soft mini marshmallows, a warm fudgy frosting, and crunchy salty pecans. It’s a classic southern dessert famous for it’s decadent layers and satisfying combination of flavors.

For more Mississippi southern cuisine try Crockpot Mississippi Meatballs and Easy Mississippi Mud Bars.

Mississippi Mud Cake inside the white baking pan with pecans and chocolate on top.

Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe

Mississippi mud cake is a classic chocolatey dessert that’s known for it’s amazing layers – the cake is dense chocolate cake, either a homemade chocolate cake, or a semi-homemade, short-cut variation with a chocolate cake mix.

The next layer is a layer of mini marshmallows that gets spread over top the warm chocolate cake, which melts slightly and creates a gooey, sweet topping. Top the cake off with a layer of warm chocolate frosting and chopped pecans for the best, ultimate dessert.

A slice of the cake with a fork next to it on a white plate.

Overhead pic of the baked chocolate cake with the pan and a serving plate next to it.

Ingredients Needed

Chocolate Cake Ingredients

Devils Food Cake Mix : Any chocolate flavor cake mix will work wonderful in this recipe; milk chocolate, dark chocolate, chocolate fudge, etc.
Water : For best taste I always recommend using bottled, filtered, or purified water whenever a baking recipe calls for water. Sometimes the odd taste of tap water can impact the final flavor of a cake.
Vegetable Oil
Large Eggs

Topping Ingredients

Mini Marshmallows
Butter : I always use salted butter for all my baking and cooking.
Milk : The higher fat milk is much better to use here such as whole milk or half and half.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract
Chopped Pecans : Use toasted pecans for an extra flavor but regular chopped pecans work really well also.

How To Make Mississippi Mud Cake With A Cake Mix (Printable Recipe Card)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x 13-inch pan (cake pan) with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add the devils food chocolate cake mix, large eggs, water, and vegetable oil. Beat on medium-high speed, using an electric mixer, until combined thoroughly; about 1-2 minutes.

Pour the chocolate cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.

Bake for 26-32 minutes (or according to the box directions) until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately spread the mini marshmallows evenly over the cake. Place the cake back into the oven for 3-4 minutes until the marshmallows are softened. Remove the cake from the oven.

In a medium saucepan, over medium-high heat, add the butter, milk, and cocoa powder. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and let it cook for 2 minutes, while stirring continuously.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, then whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and stir until smooth and combined. Pour the chocolate mixture over top the marshmallows.

Sprinkle the top of the cake with the chopped pecans.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!

How To Store Decadent Mississippi Mud Cake

The cake should be stored, covered, at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. I prefer storing the cake at room temperature – well, besides the 1 hour chill time listed in the recipe, which is needed to help the cake set slightly. But we prefer this cake at room temperature because the marshmallows stay softer.

Substitutions

Devils Food Cake Mix : You can also use triple chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate cake mix; any chocolate variety of cake mix will work just fine.
Water : You can use milk (I love using whole milk) or a carbonated beverage (like coke, sprite, etc) to help with the moisture content of the cake. If using carbonated soda, I recommend using a full sugar one for best results and not diet.
Vegetable Oil : You could also use equal parts melted butter instead of the oil, or canola oil, but vegetable oil is preferred for moisture.

A serving spatula with a piece of cake on it above the cake pan of cake.

Serving Suggestions

Mississippi mud cake is a rich and decadent cake – for serious chocolate lovers! You can eat the cake as is, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the side. My family prefers this cake at room temperature and it’s best enjoyed immediately after the fridge time so the marshmallows are still soft.

Recipe FAQs

Is There A Trick To Make Slicing The Cake Easier & Less Sticky?

To keep the knife from becoming too sticky and making a mess while you are trying to slice the cake, you can spray the blade with nonstick cooking spray before cutting the cake.

Could I Use Marshmallow Fluff Instead of Mini Marshmallows?

I don’t recommend using marshmallow fluff but you could if you really wanted to. The flavor and texture will be different, and you’ll want to make sure that you don’t heat the fluff at all as it would cause it to disintegrate into the cake. Another downside to using fluff vs. mini marshmallows is that it will not have the light pillowy effect that you get with the actual marshmallows.

How Can I Get The Cake To Be A Little More Fudgy In Texture?

If you would like the cake to be more fudge-like, you can leave out one of the eggs it calls for in the cake mix. So use 2 large eggs instead of 3.

My Frosting Is Grainy. What Happened?

If the frosting is grainy it can be because of a few things; it’s most likely because the sugar or butter overheated and was not mixed enough. So, when you are stirring the chocolate icing mixture over the heat and when you add the powdered sugar, you want to make sure you are stirring it constantly and for a few minutes until it’s well mixed. It could also be because the powdered sugar needs to be sifted. I always recommend sifting the powdered sugar, especially when making the warm icings, because it will lend to a smoother texture.

Can I Make Mississippi Mud Cake Gluten-Free?

Use a gluten-free chocolate cake mix and I recommend either adding an extra egg OR replace the water with buttermilk to help prevent dryness in the cake texture.

Easy Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe (Chocolate Cake Mix)

Mississippi Mud Cake Recipe