Chocolate cake gets an exciting makeover with three distinct chocolate flavours hidden beneath luscious vanilla marshmallow fluff buttercream in this recipe for triple chocolate layer cake. It’s a simple but effective concept.
Serve this cake with mugs of white hot chocolate or malted hot chocolate.
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What makes this cake special?
Aside from the three distinctly different layers of chocolate cake? Plenty:
- The magic of this three-layer cake lies is a secret – until you cut into it. At first glance, it’s simply a rich triple chocolate cake. But once sliced, the distinct layers reveal themselves, taking it to a whole new level.
- Both in appearance and flavor, this triple chocolate layer cake outshines most ordinary chocolate cakes by miles.
- The sponge layers are wonderfully light, fluffy, and perfectly moist – proof that this cake delivers on both style and substance.
- And then, of course, there’s the marshmallow fluff buttercream… happy sigh.
This recipe for triple chocolate cake is the ultimate treat for any chocolate lover – child or adult.
Jump to:
March is my crazy month of birthday cake baking. My record is 4 cakes in the space of just 10 days. That’s a lot of eggs. A lot of icing. A lot of cake. It really is a cake-a-thon. In the midst of this baking madness a few years back this fantastic triple chocolate layer cake with marshmallow buttercream was born to celebrate my younger daughter’s birthday.
We’re talking about three distinct layers of light & bouncy chocolate sponge cake:
- White chocolate & vanilla – sweet & fresh.
- Malted milk chocolate – homely, comforting chocolate heaven.
- Dark Chocolate – satisfyingly intense.
I knew I was onto a winner for my girl with this triple chocolate cake recipe. She adores chocolate & marshmallows so to have a multitude of chocolate all stacked up into a birthday cake and then include marshmallow in the icing was like a dream come true for her. And, let’s be honest here, for me too!
If you want to go all out on white chocolate take a look at my white chocolate and raspberry cake and my Biscoff, pear & white chocolate cake. But if a 3 layer cake seems a step too far then try my far simpler Dairy Milk cake – it’s guaranteed to put a smile on faces as it’s eaten.
What is Marshmallow Fluff buttercream?
It’s a regular cream cheese frosting with the addition of Marshmallow Fluff & vanilla bean paste mixed in.
Marshmallow Fluff, if you’ve not come across it before, is a spreadable marshmallow creme, hugely popular in the US. It is now commonly available in UK supermarkets too – try looking for it in the chocolate spread area.
This marshmallow fluff buttercream is my absolute favourite – you may remember it from my Pumpkin Pie Whoopie Pies. It is everything you could wish for in an icing: sweet, light, fluffy, easy to spread and, without a doubt, a step up from standard vanilla buttercream.
And this cream cheese frosting makes a welcome deviation from the cocoa theme in this decadent triple chocolate cake recipe.
Ingredients notes
It’s fine to use butter or baking margarine for making the sponge cakes. But when it comes to the cream cheese frosting only butter will do. Margarine is a poor substitute here as it lacks depth of flavour and is softer than butter.
Use decent quality chocolate when making the sponge cakes. Really cheap chocolate does not always melt well. I have found Callebaut to give consistently great results.
Ovaltine is a malted milk powder designed to be mixed into hot milk to create a comforting warm milky drink. It’s absolutely fine to use Horlicks in place of Ovaltine. But whichever brand of malted milk powder you select do ensure that you use the regular ‘full-fat‘ version rather than the ‘light‘ or ‘skinny‘ ones. The latter do not always give fantastic results in baking.
For the buttercream frosting, use the original Marshmallow Fluff rather than the strawberry version.
Equipment notes
Please note: the recipe listed is for a three-layer chocolate cake made in 6-inch cake pans. This cake is ideal for serving 8-10 people.
These cake pans are smaller than typical ones, which tend to measure 8-inches. I have included some instructions in my recipe notes for scaling up to large pans.
How to successfully mix melted chocolate into cake batter
Before we get to the instructions, I’d like to talk about working with melted chocolate. It can be a tricky beast to master.
Each layer of this extravagant triple chocolate cake contains real chocolate. When melted chocolate is added to the cake batter, it can have a tendency to seize before it is fully mixed in.
Occasionally readers write in to tell me that although they enjoyed the cake, they experienced this problem. So I’d like to share a few tips to help you avoid this issue too:
- Use room temperature ingredients – melted chocolate will start to reset if it comes into contact with other colder ingredients, so never use chilled ingredients for this recipe. This is perhaps the main reason chocolate seizes when mixed into cake batter.
- Work quickly – chocolate that has cooled too much after melting is the second most likely reason that the chocolate does not mix smoothly into the cake batter. If you are a slow baker, keep this in mind. I’m a relatively quick baker, so I melt the chocolate before I begin to mix the cake batter. This is so that it can cool for around 5 minutes.
- Do not pour the chocolate directly into the cake batter. Instead, stir one tablespoon of cake batter into the chocolate and then blend it all back into the remaining cake batter. This step really does help reduce the risk of the chocolate seizing when incorporating it into the cake batter since it helps even-out the differences in temperature between the chocolate and the batter.
Keep these 3 points in mind as you make this triple chocolate cake recipe and you’ll be rewarded with 3 perfectly blended batters.
Step by step instructions
There are three stages to making this fantastic triple chocolate layer cake:
- Baking the sponge cakes.
- Making the buttercream.
- Assembling and decorating the layers.
Make the Cakes
Now we’ve covered the basics of working with chocolate in cake batter, follow these instructions to make this fantastic triple chocolate layer cake:
- Grease and line 3 x 6-inch circular baking tins and preheat the oven.
- Melt the 3 types of chocolate in separate bowls. Set aside.
- In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using electric beaters. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
- Add 3 tablespoon of milk and beat again. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix well.
- Divide the cake batter equally into 3 small mixing bowls – you can weigh it out for precise division if desired.
- Now proceed to flavour the 3 portions of cake batter as follows:
For the White Chocolate & Vanilla Sponge:
- From one of the 3 bowls of cake batter take a tablespoon of the cake batter and quickly mix it into the melted white chocolate.
- Gently fold this white chocolate mixture and the vanilla extract back into the bowl containing the rest of the cake batter – remember, this double-action will stop the chocolate from seizing when it is mixed into the cake batter.
- Spoon the batter into one of the baking tins and spread it out with a blunt knife.
For the Malted Milk Chocolate Sponge:
- Stir an extra tablespoon of milk and the Ovaltine powder into the second bowl of cake batter.
- From this bowl, take a tablespoon of the cake batter and stir it quickly into the melted milk chocolate.
- Fold this chocolate mixture back into the rest of the cake batter then spoon the batter into another of the baking tins & spread it out.
For the Dark Chocolate Sponge:
- Stir an extra tablespoon of milk and the cocoa powder (sifted) into the remaining bowl of cake batter.
- Quickly mix a tablespoon of this cake batter into the melted dark chocolate.
- Fold this chocolate mixture back into the rest of the cake batter, spread the batter into the last of the baking tins.
- Bake all three cakes for approximately 20 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed or a skewer comes out clean.
- Remove from the tins and let cool completely on a baking rack.
Make the Marshmallow Fluff Buttercream
There is absolutely nothing complicated in making this buttercream:
- Beat the icing sugar, butter & vanilla paste together until smooth.
- Add the cream cheese and beat well.
- Finally, mix in the marshmallow fluff.
Assembling the cake
- Spread a heaped tablespoon of frosting over the white chocolate cake layer, smooth with a blunt knife and top with the malted milk chocolate layer. Repeat to add the final layer of dark chocolate cake.
- Once the final layer of cake has been added, carefully spread a thin layer of icing all over the top and sides of the cake – a palette knife is good for this. I find that coating the cake in a thin layer all over helps to seal in the crumbs, especially if you can chill the cake for 20 minutes or so at this point too.
- Use the remaining icing to create a thicker layer that covers the cake entirely, then carefully move your cake onto a serving plate and touch up the icing if necessary.
- Once you are satisfied, you can add a pattern if you want to. I used the back of a dessert spoon to lift the icing in places to give it a rugged appearance.
- Decorate with crushed or chopped chocolate if desired.
Expert tips
- Remember that the buttercream contains cream cheese so this triple chocolate cake does need to be refrigerated if it will not be consumed within a few hours. Just let it come back to room temperature before serving.
- Be accurate when measuring ingredients out. The best cakes are produced when careful attention is paid to measurements. For this reason I advocate the use of digital scales (and grams) over the cup system.
- Use the correct sized baking tins (6-inch not 8-inch) and don’t forget to grease then all over and line the bases with baking parchment. Even if they are meant to be non-stick, it’s much easier to get the baked cakes out of the tins when parchment is used.
- Ensure the oven is preheated to the correct temperature before the cakes go in.
- It is easy to overheat chocolate when melting it in the microwave. Melt it at low-moderate in 15-second bursts of power. Stir well between each burst of power as the chocolate melts and stop heating when just a few lumps remain – simply keep on stirring until it is smooth.
- Heed my previous advice about stirring the melted chocolate into the cake batter:
- Don’t let the chocolate sit for so long that it begins to solidify
- Use room temperature ingredients when making the cake batter
- And stir a little batter into the melted chocolate before mixing it back into the rest of the batter.
Frequently asked questions
If you follow my instructions and tips carefully then this should not happen. However, if despite your best efforts, the chocolate does solidify whilst being mixed into the cake batter my advice is to proceed with baking it regardless.
Decide whether or not to use this imperfect layer of cake when assembling the triple layer chocolate cake. If you decide against using it then whip up a fresh layer to use in its place and drop the imperfect sponge cake into the freezer ready to pull out when emergency chocolate cake is required to cheer somebody up.
By all means. Although the marshmallow fluff cream cheese frosting is delicious against the chocolate flavours in this cake you could swap it for vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, white chocolate buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream or chocolate ganache. Get creative!
Yes, this triple chocolate cake can be frozen.
The sponge cakes can be made, cooled, wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost fulling before proceeding to decorate.
Alternatively, bake assemble the cake as instructed then transfer to the fridge for several hours to firm up the buttercream. Wrap the cake carefully and freeze for up to 2 months. Remove the wrap before defrosting. The cake could also be cut to allow individual slices to be wrapped and frozen.
Go for it. To do this you’ll need to apply the marshmallow buttercream in a smooth layer then just drizzle your chocolate ganache around the edge of the cake.
Have you seen my other triple layer cakes?
I have plenty of decadent & delicious layer cake recipes. Here are a few popular triple-layer cakes from my library.
Have you made this triple chocolate layer cake? I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know how you got along by leaving a comment or rating below – it would mean so much to me if you do. You can also show me your creation on Instagram by tagging me @jane_littlesugarsnaps.
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📖 Recipe
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Triple Chocolate Layer Cake
Equipment
- Please note: this recipe uses 3 x 6-inch circular cake tins. If you are using standard 8.5 inch tins please see my notes below.
Ingredients
For the Cakes
- 180 g/ 6 ½oz softened butter
- 180 g/ 6 ½oz caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 5 tablespoon milk
- 180 g/ 6 ½oz plain (all purpose) flour (sifted)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 50 g/ 2oz white chocolate – finely chopped
- 50 g/ 2oz milk chocolate – finely chopped
- 50 g/ 2oz dark chocolate – finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoon Ovaltine (chocolate malt powder)
- 1 ½ tablespoon cocoa powder
For the buttercream
- 125 g/ 4 ½oz softened butter
- 250 g/ 9oz icing (confectioner’s) sugar
- 125 g/ 4 ½oz cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 150 g vanilla Marshmallow Fluff
Decoration – 1 Cadbury’s flake (or 40g chopped/ grated milk chocolate)
Instructions
Bake the cakes
- Preheat the oven 170°/ 325°F/ GM3
- Grease and line 3 x 6-inch circular baking tins (note these are smaller than average tins – if you are using 8-inch tins see my notes on how to scale up the recipe)
- Melt the 3 types of chocolate in separate bowls. Set aside
- In a bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, using electric beaters. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition
- Add 3 tablespoon of milk and beat again. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and mix well
- Divide the cake batter equally into 3 small mixing bowls
- For the White Chocolate & Vanilla Sponge: from the first mixing bowl take a tablespoon of the cake batter and stir it quickly into the melted white chocolate. Then gently fold this white chocolate mixture and the vanilla extract back into the bowl containing the rest of the cake batter. This double-action will stop the chocolate from seizing when it is mixed into the cake batter. Gently spoon the batter into one of the baking tins and spread it out with a blunt knife
- For the Malted Milk Chocolate Sponge: stir an extra tablespoon of milk and the Ovaltine powder into the second bowl of cake batter. From this bowl, take a tablespoon of the cake batter and stir it quickly into the melted milk chocolate. Then fold this chocolate mixture back into the rest of the cake batter. Spoon the batter into another of the baking tins & spread it out
- For the Dark Chocolate Sponge: stir an extra tablespoon of milk and the cocoa powder (sifted) into the remaining bowl of cake batter. Quickly mix a tablespoon of this cake batter into the melted dark chocolate, then fold this chocolate mixture back into the rest of the cake batter. Spread the batter into the last of the baking tins
- Bake all three cakes for 20-25 minutes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed or a skewer comes out clean
- Let cool in the tins for 2 minutes, then remove from the tins, peal off the baking parchment from the bottom of each sponge cake and let cool completely on a wire rack
Make the Marshmallow buttercream
- Put the icing sugar, butter & vanilla paste into a large bowl and beat until smooth
- Beat in the cream cheese until smooth, then mix in the marshmallow fluff
Assemble the cake
- Lay the white chocolate sponge cake onto a board and spread a heaped tablespoon of the icing on top, then place the malted milk chocolate cake carefully on top of the layer of icing
- Top with another spoonful of icing, spread it out and add the dark chocolate layer of cake
- Once the final layer of cake has been added, carefully spread a thin layer of icing all over the top and sides of the cake – a palette knife is good for this. I find that coating the cake in a thin layer all over helps to seal in the crumbs. Once you have done this, use the remaining icing to create a thicker layer that covers the cake entirely.
- Carefully move your cake onto a serving plate and touch up the icing if necessary. Once you are satisfied, you can add a pattern if you want to. I used the back of a dessert spoon to lift the icing in places to give a rugged appearance
- Decorate with crushed or chopped chocolate if desired
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients – melted chocolate will start to reset if it comes into contact with other colder ingredients, so never use chilled ingredients for this recipe. This is perhaps the main reason chocolate seizes when mixed into cake batter.
- Work quickly – chocolate that has cooled too much after melting is the second most likely reason that the chocolate does not mix smoothly into the cake batter, so if you are a slower baker, keep this in mind. I’m a relatively quick baker, so I melt the chocolate before I begin to mix the cake batter. This is so that it can cool for around 5 minutes.
- Stir a tablespoon of cake batter directly into the chocolate and then blend it all back into the remaining cake batter. This step really does help reduce the risk of the chocolate seizing when incorporating it into the cake batter since it helps even-out the differences in temperature between the chocolate and the cake batter.
Angela Barnett
BEAUTIFUL CAKE , DO YOU THINK I COULD COVER THE OUSIDE WITH CHOCOLATE GANACHE INSTEAD OF THE CREAM CHEESE ICING AND JUST HAVE THE CREAM CHEESE TO SANDWICH THE LAYERS TOGETHER.
Jane Saunders
Thanks Angela. I don’t see why you couldn’t customise the icing to your tastes and requirements. Let me know how it turns out.
Ashley
Hello, Jane!
I love this cake, I made it for my birthday last year and it turned out great! Well, I’m not sure what’s going on now, but I made this cake for my sisters birthday a couple of weeks ago and it stuck to the pan horribly and fell all apart. I ended up having to cut the cakes into chunks and serve it as a trifle. It was a hit and the cakes were delicious, but I was really looking forward to serving the cake the wai yt was intended. I just tried to make the cake again, and the same thing has happened. I follow the recipe to a T…. except I make it in the 8” pans. Help, please!!
Jane Saunders
Oh, how strange. It sounds like an issue with the pans, to be honest. When you say the cake stuck to the pan, do you mean the base or sides or the pan? Did you grease and line the pans with baking parchment? I’ve had trouble with greaseproof paper rather than parchment and likewise, I’ve had difficulty making cakes if my pans get too old and loose their coating. Even with new pans I always grease and line with parchment. Hope my thoughts help.
Ashley
Thank you so much for your quick reply! The base of the cakes stick. I did grease the pans, but did not use parchment paper. I’m going to try again this morning using parchment paper, wish me luck! ????
Jane Saunders
I’m sure that will make all the difference. Pesky tins.
Claudette Wesley
Hi, I want to make this cake for my sons birthday party. I want to make double barrel cake with six layers. Will his recipe produce a cake that is dense enough be stacked and not topple over?
Thanks!
Jane Saunders
Wow, that sounds like an epic cake. Lucky boy! The texture is very much that of a typical sponge cake – I’ve never attempted to stack a cake more than 3 layers high, so I can’t say for certain if it might topple. I’d suggest using cake dowling to offer support to be on the safe side. And perhaps make the bottom 3 layers slightly wider than the top 3 layers of you have a variety of baking tins. Hope that helps.
Narine
Hi, I love your cake looks amazing. I recently started to learn how to make cakes, I will definitely make this.
Jane Saunders
Thanks Narine, I hope you enjoy your baking. Once you start, it’s hard to stop 🙂
Lauren
Hi Jane,
Your cake looks amazing and I’m in the process of recreating this (as a two tier version) for my niece’s Christening cake, however the milk chocolate layer is proving problematic for me. I have made several attempts and this layer always looks fine when baking but once out of the oven shrinks. I just wondered which Ovaltine it is that you use – the one that is to be mixed with milk or the one that is made with water? – this is the only thing I can think that could be making a difference, the white chocolate and dark chocolate layers have baked perfectly and I’m at a loss with this but don’t like to give up!
Jane Saunders
Hi Lauren, sorry to hear that the malted chocolate layer is misbehaving. How strange. I baked mine with the original ovaltine, which requires milk. Are you using the same flour, baking powder etc as with the other layers? Everything else equal I’m at a loss as to why this layer keeps shrinking for you. Fingers crossed the change in powder works.
Jenna
Hello,this cake looks amazing and would like to make it for my chocolate obsessed daughters birthday. I am just wondering if I can eliminate the marshmallow from the icing? I am planning on doing a chocolate ganash drip cake so am worried the marshmallow will make this to sweet.
Jane Saunders
That sounds lovely. I can see why you might need to switch the frosting though. I’d switch out the marshmallow frosting for a regular buttercream or one from a drip cake if you have a recipe to hand. Happy baking.
Tania
Gosh, this not only looks damn delicious the photos with the fairies are just gorgeous’! love, love, love!
Jane Saunders
Thankyou so very much Tania.
Lara
HI Jane – how many do you think it would feed at the larger size. Need a birthday cake for 25 people and my 10 yr old daughter is making it (with my help!)!
Jane Saunders
Hi Lara, how lovely. I’d say the 6 inch layer cake would serve 10-12 comfortably whereas the 8 inch layer cake would serve 16-18. I honestly think you’ll struggle to get 25 servings from it (sorry). If you go ahead and bake it, have fun. My tip would be to get your daughter to read through the instructions beforehand so she’s clear when & how to mix the chocolate into the cake batter to avoid it seizing up on her.
Becky
Hi Jane, I have just come across this and after I stopped laughing at your chocolate explosions I thought I would offer some advice ? I make sugar bowls with balloons and after a couple of colourful sugar explosions I found that filling the balloon with cold water stops it from exploding! I hope you don’t give up on pinata domes.
Becky
Jane Saunders
Oh Becky, thankyou for your advice. Occasionally the photos of myself and my kitchen after the explosion pop up in my personal Facebook memories feed (as if I could ever forget). I’m sure I will venture back to these cakes at some point – maybe when I’m a Granny – but I’ll remember that tip. I think sugar explosions sound a bit more dangerous than chocolate ones 🙂
Maria Bazemore
I’d like to make this for my daughter’s third birthday. She’s asked for red icing on her cake. Will this buttercream hold up to piping if I wanted to do some red accents around the edge? Thanks!
Jane Saunders
Hi Maria, that sounds fun. I don’t think you’ll have any problem piping it. Can I make a couple of suggestions – if you think it’s too loose to pipe straight away let it firm up in the fridge for a short time and maybe try piping a little bit first (off the cake) to see how you get along.