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The neighbor man took one look at my mother’s cake cooling on the counter and asked her, very kindly, whether she had dropped it. It is supposed to look like that. Earthquake cake comes out of the oven cracked and buckled and caved in, with pockets of sweet cream cheese bubbling up through the chocolate and a chewy layer of toasted coconut and pecans on the bottom. It is the best ugly cake I know. He ate three squares, and he went home with the recipe written on the back of an envelope.
It is built upside down. Coconut and pecans go in the bottom of the pan, a rich chocolate batter goes over them, and a sweet mixture of cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar goes on top. The question everybody asks is how to get the cream cheese to sink instead of sitting on top like frosting. The answer is in how you drop it. The cream cheese mixture must be soft and spoonable, at room temperature, and it goes on in many separate heaping spoonfuls, about a dozen of them, spaced all over the batter and never spread. Then you drag a knife through each one just once. Heavy, separate dollops sink as the cake rises around them, and that is what heaves the top open in cracks.
Why this earthquake cake works
- Separate heavy dollops. Spooned on and left alone, the cream cheese sinks into the batter as it bakes and cracks the top open.
- Soft, room temperature cream cheese. Cold cream cheese stays in stiff lumps on the surface. Soft cream cheese sinks and turns gooey.
- Coconut and pecans underneath. They toast in the pan into a chewy, nutty bottom layer.
- A from-scratch oil and buttermilk chocolate cake. It is moist and tender, and strong enough to hold the heavy cream cheese pockets.
Ingredients
Makes one 9x13 inch cake, about 16 squares. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the bottom layer
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut (75g)
- 1 cup chopped pecans (110g)
For the chocolate cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (65g)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (240ml)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (120ml)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water or hot brewed coffee (240ml)
For the cream cheese topping
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (225g)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (113g)
- 3 cups powdered sugar (360g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (85g), optional
Leave the cream cheese and butter on the counter for at least an hour before you start. They must be soft enough to drop from a spoon. The hot water thins the chocolate batter and makes the cake very moist.
How to make earthquake cake
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
- Scatter the coconut and pecans evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the hot water. The batter will be thin. Pour it gently over the coconut and pecans.
- Beat the soft cream cheese and butter until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy.
- Drop the cream cheese mixture over the batter in about 12 heaping spoonfuls, spaced evenly over the whole pan. Do not spread it. Drag a butter knife once through each dollop. Scatter the chocolate chips over the top if using.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake part springs back and a toothpick in a chocolate area comes out with moist crumbs. The cream cheese pockets will still look soft and the top will be cracked.
- Cool completely in the pan, at least 1 1/2 hours, before cutting into squares.
Tips that make the difference
- Pour the batter slowly over the coconut and pecans, close to the pan, so the bottom layer stays put.
- Keep the dollops separate. One big layer of cream cheese sits on top like frosting instead of sinking.
- Do not overbake. Test in the chocolate, not in a cream cheese pocket, which always looks wet.
- Cut it cool. Warm, the cream cheese runs everywhere; cool, it holds in gooey ribbons.
Variations
- Without coconut. Use 2 cups (220g) of chopped pecans on the bottom instead.
- Peanut butter. Beat 1/2 cup (130g) of creamy peanut butter into the cream cheese topping.
- German chocolate style. Use toasted coconut and swap the semisweet chips for chopped sweet baking chocolate.
- Smaller pan. Halve everything and bake in an 8 inch square pan for 35 to 40 minutes.
Storage and make-ahead
Because of the cream cheese, keep the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let squares sit out 20 minutes before serving, or warm for 10 seconds in the microwave for a gooey center.
Freeze squares on a tray, then wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the cream cheese to sink?
Make it soft, drop it in about a dozen separate heaping spoonfuls, and do not spread it. Drag a knife through each dollop once, and the cake rises around the cream cheese as it sinks.
Why is it called earthquake cake?
Because the top cracks, heaves and caves in as the cream cheese sinks and the cake rises around it. It looks like the ground after a tremor.
Is the cake supposed to look underbaked?
The cream cheese pockets stay soft and glossy, like cheesecake. The chocolate cake around them should test done.
Can I make it without coffee?
Yes. Hot water works perfectly. Coffee only deepens the chocolate flavor.
Serve it in the pan, cracks and all. Somebody will ask if you dropped it, and then they will ask for a second square.
Earthquake Cake from Scratch (Chocolate, Coconut, Pecans and Cream Cheese)
An old-fashioned earthquake cake made from scratch: coconut and pecans on the bottom, a rich chocolate cake batter, and a sweet cream cheese mixture dropped on top that sinks and cracks the cake open as it bakes. US cups with grams.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup hot water or hot brewed coffee
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (85g), optional
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
- Scatter the coconut and pecans evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the hot water. The batter will be thin. Pour it gently over the coconut and pecans.
- Beat the soft cream cheese and butter until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy.
- Drop the cream cheese mixture over the batter in about 12 heaping spoonfuls, spaced evenly over the whole pan. Do not spread it. Drag a butter knife once through each dollop. Scatter the chocolate chips over the top if using.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake part springs back and a toothpick in a chocolate area comes out with moist crumbs. The cream cheese pockets will still look soft and the top will be cracked.
- Cool completely in the pan, at least 1 1/2 hours, before cutting into squares.
