Earthquake Cake Recipe

There’s always a time and a place for a multi-layer cake, dressed up in beautiful frosted details. But when you’re searching for a cake to feed a crowd, few things compare to a 9×13 cake served straight out of the pan. 

These rectangular cakes can certainly be paired with your favorite flavor of frosting spread on top, but what if you could skip the step of having to frost the cake after it has baked and cooled altogether? Enter earthquake cake.

I love a no-fuss dessert, and this one-bowl chocolate cake has a cream cheese frosting-like filling baked right into the top of the cake. You can assemble it all at once in a trusty 9×13 and pop the pan in the oven. The cream cheese filling bubbles up to create little cracks and pockets of flavor all over the cake, giving earthquake cake its name. Once the cake has baked, it won’t be long before it’s cool enough to slice right into to serve. 

Each bite is well-balanced with a variety of flavors and textures without being overly sweet. It has a flavor profile similar to a German chocolate cake, but with a cream cheese upgrade.

Serve Warm or Let It Cool

Once the cake is removed from the oven, the cream cheese filling will need a bit of time to cool and set. I like to wait about one hour before cutting a slice and digging in. When the cake is still warm, it’s the ideal balance of gooey textures thanks to melty chocolate chips and the cream cheese filling. 

You can choose to wait a bit longer for the cake to fully cool as well—it’s good for making ahead. Serve it on its own, add a drizzle of caramel sauce, or cut smaller slices and pair it with ice cream.

Earthquake Cake Tips and Tricks

• Use coffee to amp up the flavor: The chocolate cake recipe calls for hot water to be added to the batter at the end, which helps to add moisture. If preferred, swap the water for coffee. The chocolate cake batter is flavorful enough as-is, but the addition of hot coffee will enhance the chocolate notes even more.
• To swirl or not to swirl: My preference is to gently swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate cake batter, creating a pretty pattern on top. This helps to disperse the pockets of cream cheese as well. For more of an “explosion” effect with your cake, you can choose to add smaller dollops of the cream cheese mixture and skip the swirling.
• Place the cream cheese carefully: For this cake, a deep 9×13-inch pan is best, with at least a 2 1/2-inch side wall. Keep the cream cheese mixture from getting too close to the edge of your cake pan to avoid it overflowing into the oven. Place a baking sheet on the lower oven rack if you’re concerned about the cake overflowing and making a mess. After all, it’s called an earthquake cake for a reason.

A Clever Shortcut

For slightly quicker prep, skip the homemade chocolate cake batter and use a cake mix in its place. Prepare the cake mix according to the instructions on the box and assemble the rest of the earthquake cake per the recipe.

One Pan Cakes