Dot Cakes- Chocolate Cake Cups with Marshmallow Frosting

Dot Cakes are going viral on social media and all it really is, are cardboard ice cream containers filled with layers of cake, frosting and/or fillings, topped with a copious amount of non-pareil sprinkles to create a playful crunchy shell on top. You can do this with any cake or frosting flavor your prefer but I was feeling rather nostalgic for Hostess Cupcakes, plus i’m 7 months pregnant and baby gets what baby wants ;) I give you moist, rich chocolate cake layers (actually the same recipe as my Matilda Cake!) with a fluffy and sweet frosting made with Marshmallow Fluff and lots of vanilla bean, and to cut through the sweetness, a beautiful dollop of tart Raspberry Preserves. These have been tested on both children and adults and they’re an overall crowd pleaser!

DOT Cake Dupe (Chocolate Raspberry Marshmallow) 

Makes 8-10 cake cups (I made 8 but had cake scraps left that you could use to build more cups, you would just increase the frosting by 1/2)   

Chocolate Cake Layers-  

 2 cups sugar  

2 cups all purpose flour  

3/4 cup dark cocoa powder (good quality dutch processed such as Guittard Rouge or Ghiardelli. Black Cocoa is great here too!)

 1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon baking powder

 1 teaspoon fine table salt 

 1 teaspoon instant Espresso powder 

 2 large eggs  

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 

 1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1 cup of boiling water 

 1/2 cup sour cream  

Marshmallow Frosting-

8 Tablespoons (1 stick), unsalted butter, softened/room temp

8 oz Marshmallow Fluff

1 2/3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1/4 teaspoon fine table salt 

1-2 Tablespoons Milk (2% or whole)  

Raspberry Jam Layer- About 3/4 cup of Raspberry preserves (I like Bonne maman brand)  

Sprinkles - Rainbow Non-pareil sprinkles   

Paper Cups- Use whatever vessel you’d like but I prefer to use 12 oz paper ice cream containers with lids you can purchase on Amazon   

Make the Cake Layers- 

1.Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease and line 3 separate  9 inch square cake pans with parchment paper then spray the top of the paper with a little nonstick spray. 

2. Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or by hand In a large bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of sugar, flour,  cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder until combined.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and oil. 

4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add in the egg mixture and mix until almost combined (but it will be very thick). You will then whisk in the hot water and then finally the sour cream just until blended, don’t overtax. 

5. Divide the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans and then bake for about 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean but you may see some fudgy crumbs, you want them just set. 

6. Allow the cakes to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes then carefully flip the cakes out onto parchment lined sheet pans and remove the parchment paper. Cool completely. While the cakes are cooling make the Marshmallow Frosting.  

Marshmallow Frosting-

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or with an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and marshmallow fluff until smooth and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla paste, salt and 1 Tablespoon of milk and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add more milk if needed, but you want it creamy, fluffy and pipe-able.  2. Pour the frosting into a large pastry bag with a 1/2- 3/4 inch hole. 

Assembly -  

1. Use a round cutter to cut circles of cake that fix your cups (my cutter was about 2.5-3 inches in diameter). You will need 2 cake circles per cup! They don’t have to be perfect circles, they will be shoved into the cups and once everything melds together it is very forgiving.

2. Place 1 cake round at the bottom of each cup (I made 8 cups). Next spread a heaping tablespoon of raspberry jam on top of the cake in each cup. Then, Pipe about 2-2.5 tablespoons worth of the marshmallow frosting on top of the jam, followed by the 2nd cake layer. Finally pipe  more marshmallow frosting on top of each cake layer and spread it with an offset spatula to completely cover the cake layers (about 1 tablespoon or so). And lastly, sprinkle enough non-pareil sprinkles on top of each cup to completely cover the top frosting layer, in a single layer. Place the lids on the cups or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to set for at least 2-3 hours to allow everything to meld together (or overnight!). Enjoy cold or room temp with a spoon! Be sure to dig down to the bottom to get all the delicious layers!