12 Days of Christmas Treats: Hot Cocoa Cake

Editor’s Note: Welcome to the 2013 edition of The 12 Days of Christmas Sweets! Every day from now until Christmas, we’ll bring you a new, scrumptious recipe for a holiday cookie, cake, or other dessert treat. Whether you leave them out for Santa or simply sample them all yourself is up to you, we just encourage you to try them all! Leave your comments below each recipe and upload a photo if you make your own batch at home. Season’s Eatings!

by Amy Johnson, Managing Editor, HockeyPub.com

PHILADELPHIA, PA — There aren’t many things more comforting and delicious on a cold, snowy, blustery winter day then a steaming cup of hot chocolate with fluffy white marshmallows floating on top.  Well today’s recipe takes all the best parts of a cup of hot cocoa and transforms them into a warm, gooey pudding cake!  And what’s better yet, it’s a perfect recipe for people who don’t want a lot of fuss when it comes to baking…the recipe starts with a boxed cake mix and the whole thing comes together in a Crockpot slow cooker!

Hot Cocoa Cake
Recipe Courtesy: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade

Prep/Cook Time: 4 hours
Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients:
Butter-flavor cooking spray
2 cups milk
1 (18.25-ounce) box chocolate cake mix (like Betty Crocker)
1 1⁄4 cups water
3 large eggs
1⁄3 cup canola oil
1 (5-ounce) box Jell-O® chocolate cook-and-serve pudding mix
Miniature marshmallows
Hershey’s® Chocolate-flavored syrup

1. Coat a 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray; set aside. In a small saucepan over high heat, heat milk until almost boiling. Remove from heat; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, water, eggs, and canola oil. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping side of bowl.

3. Transfer batter to prepared slow cooker. Sprinkle pudding mix over cake batter.

4. Slowly pour in hot milk.

5. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 hours. (Do not lift lid for first 3 hours of cooking.)  Turn off slow cooker. Sprinkle cake with 1 cup of the marshmallows. Cover; let stand for 5 minutes.

6. Serve warm by scooping out cake. Top with additional marshmallows and chocolate-flavored syrup.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next holiday recipe – Eggnog-Panettone Bread Pudding! And if you missed any of our previous recipes in this series, take a moment to check them out below:

Day 1 – Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Day 2 – White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies
Day 3 – Apricot Rugelach

Photo credits: Amy Johnson

Tags: baking, cake, christmas, cocoa, dessert, featured, holidays, hot chocolate, recipes, treats