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Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake for #BundtBakers

Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake | Magnolia Days

The road to this cake was a rocky one. The plan was to bake a completely different one. Ingredients had to include cookies, chocolate, fruit, nuts, and marshmallows. I scoured through cookbooks and found a recipe in my old faithful one by Nordic Ware. The base was crushed vanilla wafers and a little flour. It took almost two boxes of cookies to get 5 cups of crushed ones. I mixed, stirred, and poured soupy batter into the pan. After baking came the moment of removing it from the pan. I flipped the pan over and the cake clung to the pan. After several taps, half of it fell out and crumbled on the wire rack. It was a disaster. Plan B went right into motion. Later in the day a successful Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake was cooling in my kitchen.

Why those ingredients? Rocky Road was announced as the theme for Bundt Bakers. My mind went immediately to American rocky road candy with chocolate, peanuts, and marshmallows. I thought about a chocolate cake filled with nuts and marshmallows. Then I read the details and discovered it was English Rocky Road that also has cookies and dried fruit. When I saw the vanilla wafer cake recipe I knew I could fit in the rest of the ingredients. Now if only that first cake had held together. Oh well.

Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake | Magnolia Days

Marshmallows inside cakes are challenging. They will float to the top if the batter is too thin. They sometimes melt and disappear too. I didn’t want to risk another disaster so topping it with marshmallow sounded like a good idea. A search on the internet lead me to Saveur where I found a recipe for marshmallow glaze. My adaptation is slight with only adding in some helpful notes. I was expecting a bright white glaze and yet mine came out beige. One key thing to remember is to spoon it over the cake right away. It thickens up fast.

Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake | Magnolia Days

Cookies in the cake was the next challenge. I opted for a teensy amount in this cake. One whopping tablespoon of finely crushed vanilla wafers is all I used. Leave the cookies out if you don’t want to buy a whole box to crush a couple of cookies for a cake. Of course having a box of vanilla wafers in the pantry could be a good thing. Perhaps use the rest to make banana pudding.

Blueberry pecan cocoa ripple cake has a dense crumb. The texture is similar to a classic pound cake. It starts with butter and cream cheese and, well, need I say more than cream cheese? Okay, I will. Dried blueberries and pecans are throughout. Ripples of chocolate cinnamon sugar bring even more flavor to the party.

Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake | Magnolia Days

What comes to your mind when you hear rocky road? Is it ice cream? Or candy? American, English, or Australian? I had no idea there were so many variations. I learned a lot in this baking adventure. Thanks to Laura of Baking in Pyjamas for hosting and setting the rocky road theme. Scroll down to see the list of bundts inspired by that sweet treat.

Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake | Magnolia Days
4.25 from 4 votes
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Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake

Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake is filled with dried blueberries and pecans. It has ripples of chocolate cinnamon sugar and topped with marshmallow glaze.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings 12 to 16 servings
Author Renee

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans divided
  • 2 cups granulated sugar divided
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon finely crushed vanilla wafer cookies optional
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3 ounces dried blueberries

For the marshmallow glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 cups mini marshmallows

Instructions

For the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 10- or 12-cup bundt pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cups pecans.
  2. Stir together 1/2 cup sugar, cocoa, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
  3. Beat butter, cream cheese, and remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  5. Whisk together flour, cookies, and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and beat until just combined (do not over-mix).
  6. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup pecans and blueberries.
  7. Spoon 1/3 of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cinnamon-sugar mixture over batter. Repeat with 1/3 batter, remaining 1/2 cinnamon-sugar, and ending with 1/3 batter.
  8. Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into center comes out clean.
  9. Cool cake in pan for 12 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Top with marshmallow glaze.

For the marshmallow glaze:

  1. Place sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
  2. Melt butter and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
  3. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until marshmallows are melted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Mixture will become thick and translucent.
  4. Pour melted marshmallow mixture into sugar and whisk to combine. Drizzle or spoon over cake immediately (it will thicken quickly).

Recipe Notes

Blueberry Pecan Cocoa Ripple Cake is filled with dried blueberries and pecans. It has ripples of chocolate cinnamon sugar and topped with marshmallow glaze.

Cake recipe adapted from Nordic Ware Bundt cookbook published in 2004 (no longer in print). Glaze adapted from Saveur (see above link).

Are you ready to bake? Take a look at these rocky road inspired bundt cake recipes by talented bakers around the world:

Bundt Bakers LogoWhat is Bundt Bakers? It’s a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Bundt Bakers Pinterest board for incredible bundt cake recipes and inspiration. Stacy of Food Lust People Love heads up our group and has a #BundtBakers page where you can find information and links to the recipes for each month.

How is the monthly theme determined? We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Would you like to join in the fun? If you are a food blogger, send an email with your blog name and url to Stacy at [email protected].

Recipe Rating




Rich

Thursday 10th of December 2020

I haven't made your recipe yet, but it is nearly identical to a recipe of mine called Cocoa Ripple Currant Cake, which has been a family favorite for more than 40 years. I believe it originally came from a Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest. The only difference is that my recipe substitutes chopped walnuts for pecans and uses them only in the bottom of the Bundt pan (so just 1/2 cup). It omits the vanilla wafer crumbs entirely and substitutes 1 cup of currants or raisins for the dried blueberries. And you simply sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar before serving. No glaze or icing. Otherwise, the ingredients and quantities are the same. So interesting!

Katie Moseman

Thursday 10th of December 2020

That is really neat! I find it fascinating how recipes travel over the years.

Catherine

Thursday 28th of May 2015

I love where you went with this month's challenge. Your bundt looks wonderful and that drizzle is thick and beautiful...such a treat. xo, Catherine

Margaret

Monday 25th of May 2015

Bundts can be so frustrating. But when they 'act right' they are fantastic. Love the swirl in yours.

Teri@The Freshman Cook

Friday 22nd of May 2015

What could be a better combination than blueberries and pecans?! Love the marshmallow topping too! What a great idea!

shilpi

Friday 22nd of May 2015

Beautiful Cake... Great combination..