Earthquake Cake from Scratch

bite of earthquake cake on a fork in front of a plate

5 from 1 vote

Earthquake Cake from Scratch

Most Earthquake Cake recipes start with a box of cake mix. This one doesn't. A from-scratch chocolate cake — made with bloomed cocoa and boiling water — gives you a thinner, gooier result with richer chocolate flavor, with coconut and walnuts on the bottom and cream cheese swirled in before baking.

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 422kcal

Author: Leona Konkel

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. 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.

Notes

This recipe uses a dark chocolate cake recipe rather than the milder German chocolate flavor traditional to earthquake cake.

Use pecans in place of walnuts. You can adjust the ratio of nuts to coconut, as long you use no more than 2 cups total.

I used full-fat cream cheese, but lower fat Neufchatel cheese will likely be fine if you usually use it for baking anyway.

This cake turns out fine if you put the nuts/coconut on top of the batter, instead of underneath.

I covered this cake entirely (to the edges) with the cream cheese layer before; it was a mistake. You're looking for a nice marble look before baking.

To make an extra decadent cake, sprinkle ½-1 cup mini chocolate chips over the cake when it comes out of the oven.

Cake layer adapted from Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe.

Calorie count is an estimate only.

Nutrition