Earthquake Cake from Scratch is one of my favorite desserts of the past five years. Earthquake Cake - an inside-out German Chocolate Cake, with coconut, nuts, and cream cheese frosting baked into the cake - usually takes a cake mix, which I don't use. Instead, I developed a homemade version without cake mix, using a from-scratch dark chocolate cake batter in place of the milder German chocolate cake flavor.
From Scratch Earthquake Cake at a Glance
- ⏱ Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🔥 Bake Time: 45 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 75 minutes
- 👪 Serves: 20
- 🍽️ Calories: 422
- 🌾 Main Ingredients: All-purpose flour, sugar, cocoa powder, milk, vegetable oil, eggs, cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, coconut, nuts
- 👌 Why You'll Love It: From-scratch dark chocolate cake, no box mix required.
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I don't come across truly new-to-me recipes often. This old-fashioned earthquake cake recipe came from a comb-bound cookbook of chocolate recipes compiled by a 6th grade class after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - the same place where I found my Easy Homemade Chocolate Fudge - and I knew immediately that I had to try it.
While it's just as rich and delicious as layered cake, Earthquake Cake becomes fudgy and gooey with the ribbon of cream cheese frosting swirled throughout. No layering, no decorating - the frosting is already inside. Once you pull it from the oven, your work is done.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
You'll love this Earthquake Cake from Scratch because it's:
- 🎂 Cake and frosting combined - cream cheese swirled throughout, with no separate frosting step.
- 🥥 Full of coconut and walnuts without the distracting texture, thanks to finely chopping both. I do the same for my Coconut Cream Pie and Freeform Honey Walnut Pie.
- 🍫 A dark chocolate cake instead of a milder one, for richer flavor.
- ✨ Best slightly underbaked and gooey - another intentionally gooey recipe worth trying is St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake.
Key Ingredients
Rather than use a box mix, I make a chocolate cake from scratch.
Vegetable oil: Using oil instead of butter in the cake keeps it soft in the refrigerator. You'll still use butter in the frosting.
Cocoa powder and boiling water: Any unsweetened cocoa powder will work. We add boiling water to the batter as a final step so that the cocoa blooms and becomes richer.
Nuts: Walnuts and pecans work interchangeably; chop them finely.
Shredded coconut: I use sweetened, although unsweetened should work. Chop it finely for the best texture.
Cream cheese: Must be soft to be beaten properly, just like for a Brownie Cheesecake. Lower fat Neufchatel will work if you prefer it.
How to Make Earthquake Cake from Scratch
One: Finely chop the walnuts and coconut for the best texture. Place them in the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch pan.
Two: With a mixer, combine all cake batter ingredients except the boiling water. Beat on medium speed for two minutes. Then, scrape down the bowl, add the boiling water, and mix to combine.
Three: Carefully pour the batter over the nuts and coconut. Batter is very thin, so go slowly to keep it from moving things too much. Scrape as much from the bowl as possible.
Four: Reusing the same bowl and mixer, cream the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar, then beat until fluffy.
Five: Carefully dollop the cream cheese frosting on top of the cake batter, getting it along the edges and in the corners so every slice gets cream cheese.
Six: Use a knife to swirl the frosting into the batter to break up the biggest clumps of frosting, but don't mix it in too much.
Seven: Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes. The center will still be shaky and the cake won't look done, but it will set as it cools. If you like your cake less gooey, bake until the cake jiggles but no longer sloshes.
Serving and Storage
Let the cake cool for at least an hour to set up before you cut into it. The center will deflate as it cools. Serve cold or at room temperature - on its own, under a scoop of vanilla ice cream on hot days, or with a glass of milk to cut the sweetness as an afternoon snack. Earthquake cake is a great dessert for sharing at potlucks, just like my Chocolate Sheet Cake or 5-Ingredient Cookie Bars.
Storage: After it cools, earthquake cake must be stored in the refrigerator due to the cream cheese frosting. It should last 5 days covered, if you don't eat it all first.
Earthquake Cake from Scratch FAQs
Earthquake cake gets its name because it looks like it's been through a disaster. Cream cheese frosting sinks into the cake while it bakes, causing the top to crack and buckle like the ground during an earthquake.
Earthquake Cake is done when the top is set but the center is shaky; it will set as it cools. A toothpick test will not work. While this dessert is best when it's gooey and almost underdone, bake until the center jiggles but isn't sloshy if you prefer a more set, cake-like texture.
🍫 Other Casual Party Desserts
I hope this becomes a recipe you'll return to. If you try it, a star rating below helps others find it - and I'd love to hear how yours turns out in the comments! 💕 Questions or trouble? Drop a note, and I'll do my best to help.
📖 Recipe
Earthquake Cake from Scratch
Equipment
- electric mixer
- 9x13 inch pan
Ingredients
Mix-ins
- 1 cup chopped walnuts 120 grams
- 1 cup shredded coconut firmly packed; 100 grams
Chocolate Cake Batter
- 2 cups sugar 400 grams
- 1 ¾ cups flour 236 grams
- ¾ cup cocoa powder 60 grams
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup milk 227 grams
- ½ cup vegetable oil 112 grams
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 10 grams
- 1 cup boiling water 227 grams
Cream Cheese Layer
- 8 ounces cream cheese 227 grams; at room temperature
- 8 tablespoons butter 113 grams; at room temperature
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar 454 grams/1 pound
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5 grams
Instructions
Mix-Ins
- Finely chop walnuts and shredded coconut, and place them in the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch pan (affiliate link). Set aside.
Chocolate Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Place cake batter ingredients EXCEPT boiling water in a large bowl. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the boiling water. (Just boiled but still hot is fine.) Mix on low until the batter is uniform. Scrape the bottom to be sure that there's no thicker batter hanging out down there.
- Carefully pour the batter over the nuts and coconut in the pan; the batter will be very thin, so go slowly to not disturb the mix-ins. Scrape as much out of the bowl and off of the mixer as you can.
Cream Cheese Layer
- Place cream cheese and butter in the same bowl you used for the cake batter. (No need to wash it first, as long as you scraped it as clean as you could.) Beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until creamy. You should have no lumps; scrape down the bowl to be sure.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix briefly on low so you don't make a mess, then turn the speed up to medium. Beat until everything is creamy and uniform, scraping down the bowl again.
- Use a spoon to dollop small amounts of cream cheese frosting evenly all over the cake batter, being sure to get it along the edges and in the corners. Do not cover the cake batter entirely; you want some of the chocolate batter poking through.
- Use a knife to gently swirl the cream cheese into the batter. Break up big clumps of cream cheese frosting, but don't mix it in too much or push the cream cheese to the bottom.
- Bake at 350F for 45-50 minutes. The cake will be shaky and jiggly in the middle and it won't look done; it will set as it cools. A toothpick test won't work. If you prefer a more set, cake-like texture, bake until the center jiggles but isn't sloshy.
- Cool about an hour if possible before cutting just to let the cake set. After it's cool, store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Leona Konkel says
I love making this earthquake cake because all the work is done before the cake goes into the oven. Plus, since it's so gooey, it's at its best when it's almost underbaked - definitely something I crave from time to time. I hope you love it as much as we do. Let me know if you try it!