Ant House Cake with Chocolate Mascarpone Frosting

Prep 30 min
Total 1 hr 45 min
Servings 12

A childhood favorite, our Ant House Cake is made with Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ White Cake mix, shredded coconut and chocolate candy sprinkles, and layered with a dark chocolate and mascarpone cheese filling. MORE+ LESS-

By Paula Kittelson

Updated August 21, 2012

Make with

Betty Crocker Cake Mix

Ingredients

Cake

box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

3/4

cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2

cup Betty Crocker™ Decorating Decors chocolate candy sprinkles

Filling and Frosting

oz chopped good quality (70% cocoa) dark chocolate (not baking chocolate)

1/2

teaspoon espresso powder

containers (8 oz each) mascarpone cheese, softened but cool

cups powdered sugar

1 1/2

teaspoons vanilla

Garnish

to 8 oz Betty Crocker™ Decorating Decors chocolate candy sprinkles

Steps

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1

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for nonstick pans). Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour; line bottoms with cooking parchment paper.
2

Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Use spatula to gently stir coconut and 1/2 cup chocolate sprinkles into batter. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake as directed on box until toothpick inserted in center of each cake comes out clean. Cool cakes in pan 15 minutes. Transfer cakes to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.
3

To make Frosting, use double boiler to melt dark chocolate. Stir in espresso powder with whisk until dissolved. Set chocolate mixture aside to cool.
4

In large bowl, beat mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gently add cooled chocolate and continue to mix at low speed until well incorporated.
5

To assemble Cake, place 1 cake layer flat side down on cake plate. Spread 1 1/2 cups filling over top of cake layer. Place second cake layer flat side up over filling. Spread remaining filling over sides and top of cake. Cover entire cake with 6 to 8 oz chocolate sprinkles.

Expert Tips

To make cake assembly easier, freeze cakes for 30 minutes first.
To keep cake plate clean, place strips of cooking parchment paper or waxed paper on the plate. Then slide out the strips when you’re finished.
To make garnishing the cake with chocolate sprinkles less messy, place cake platter inside a larger one to collect the sprinkles that fall off.