Mississippi Mud Cake

Hey, it's Melanie and guess what?!  Today is my birthday!  To celebrate this greand day I decided to make my own cake.  Is it tacky to bake your own birthday cake?  Well, either way, I'm glad I did!

I have been craving this delicious southern treat--Mississippi mud cake, and now I have a reason to make it.




This recipe is a family one from my mother-in-law, Dawna.  Bless her heart! She acquired it when she used to live in Mississippi, over 20 years ago.  When we lived in California and had Sunday dinners at my in laws, Andrew and I would request it for our birthday dinners.

Warning: this is NOT low cal.  But it IS delicious.  The texture of the cake is a little bit dense, almost a bit like a brownie.  A chewy brownie with coconut and pecans baked inside, then topped with marshmallow and dreamy frosting.

Here's the breakdown.  What you'll need:

No butter judgements please.

Cake:
2 Tbsp Cocoa
2 C Sugar
2 Sticks Butter, softened
4 Eggs
1 1/2 C Flour
1 1/2 C Coconut
1 1/2 C chopped pecans 
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 small jar Marshmallow Cream

Frosting:
2 Cups Powdered sugar
1 stick Butter
1/2 C Evaporated Milk
1/2 C Cocoa
1 tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the sugar & cocoa together.  

Add in the softened butter and cream until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring in between.

Add the vanilla, flour, coconut and the pecans. 

Beat for 2 minutes. Spray 9x13 dish with nonstick spray then add batter. Bake for 30-40 minutes.  My cake was done at about 35 minutes

Cool for 5 minutes, spread with marshmallow cream.  

Combine frosting ingredients and beat until smooth, then spread on the cooled cake.

I apologize, I am no Martha when it comes it making the cake look perfect.  But, it does taste delicious.

Some like this served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  I prefer mine with a cold glass of skim milk.  You gotta cut back somewhere, right?  Well it won't be on the cake.