Mississippi Mud Cake

Disclaimer: The cake will taste great if eaten on the same day as prepared, but it might look like a chocolate lava flow if not given time to cool. So this cake is best if made the day before to ensure adequate time to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 9 x 13″ pan with baking spray. Make sure you spray the sides really well…you will be thankful for this later when you have melted marshmallows covering the pan!

Mix together the cake mix, melted butter, milk, eggs, and instant coffee on low speed for about a minute. Then increase the speed and mix for a couple of minutes until thick and light brown in color.

Pour in prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes.

Take cake out of oven and cover with mini marshmallows. You might not need the entire bag, but make sure you cover the cake completely.

Put cake back in oven for 3 minutes. Take out when marshmallows are melted and just the faintest bit brown on top. You don’t want to overly toast them because it will make the marshmallows tough and the cake overdone.

Let the cake cool slightly. With a fork or knife, pull the marshmallows slightly away from the edges of the pan. It will make it easier to get the cake out when you cut it later.

To make the icing, mix the powdered sugar, melted butter, and cocoa powder. Add half-and-half as needed to get correct frosting constency. Note: you want this frosting to be a little on the thinner side. Use low speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Then increase the speed to completely mix everything together.

Drop spoonfuls of the icing over the cake. It will melt from the heat of the cake. Smooth the icing over the surface of the cake, noting that it will be somewhat bumpy due to the texture of the marshmallows.

Allow to cool completely. This will take a while. I prefer to make the cake the night before, so it will have plenty of time to cool. You can speed up the process by putting the cake in the refrigerator.