This fun Pink Snow all Cake was inspired by a nostalgic treat – the Hostess Snowball snack cake! Devil’s food cake holds a marshmallow center and the exterior is covered with a flurry of pink coconut.

If you are a regular visitor here, you may already be aware of my love for pink coconut confections. When I saw a giant Snowball cake on the Kraft Foods recipe site made with a box of cake mix, I knew I was surely destined to figure out a scratch-made version. It took a bit of trial and error, but I’ve worked out all the kinks. I hope you love this cake as much as I do!

Forget the cake pan – use a bowl!
This cake is baked in a bowl! A 1.5 to 2 quart stainless bowl is best. Because of its shape, the cake will need to bake longer than usual. Mine was completely set at 1 hour 15 minutes. It’s ready when a toothpick tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
The filling is nothing more than a jar of marshmallow cream, and wow. What a wonderful contrast to the deep chocolate notes of devil’s food.

Pretty in pink (coconut).
Sweetened flake coconut is tinted pink with some grocery store food color (neon pink from Betty Crocker, here) and makes a convincing Hostess Snoball lookalike.

This is such a simple and tasty cake to make. As I stated previously, it takes the cake longer to bake in a bowl than it does in flat cake pans. Waiting for it to bake and cool is the hardest part! Make it for the Hostess Snowball fan in your life (or for the coconut enthusiast!).
Edit 2/21: This recipe has been updated from its original version from 2011. None of the cake ingredients have changed, but metric measurements have been added, and the frosting and filling recipes have been re-written for easier assembly.

Pink Snowball Cake
Ingredients
Devil’s Food Cake
- 6 tablespoons dark unsweet cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons hot water
- 1 1/2 cups 180g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup 170g unsalted butter
- 1 cup 200g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup 4 oz. sour cream
Filling and frosting
- 1 cup 226g unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups 340g confectioners’ sugar
- Milk or cream to thin frosting
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Neon pink gel food color such as Betty Crocker brand
- 7 oz. jar marshmallow cream
- 7 oz. sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart heat-proof stainless steel bowl with shortening and lightly flour, or coat with flour-based baking spray (such as Baker’s Joy). Set aside.
- Whisk together cocoa and hot water. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer until mixture has cooled enough to add the eggs without scrambling them. Add eggs, vanilla, and then cocoa mixture. Beat until well combined.
- Reduce mixer speed and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream. Pour into greased bowl and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Let cool slightly.
- Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely. When cool, cut the dome of the cake off about 1/3 of the way down from the top. Using a serrated knife, remove some of the interior of the cake dome by trimming it away. This will make room for the marshmallow filling.
Filling and frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined. Add milk or cream a little at a time until the mixture comes to spreading consistency. Add vanilla extract and a small amount of pink food color. Mix well. Transfer to a piping bag with the end snipped.
- Pipe a ring of frosting around the inside of both cake pieces. Fill the hollowed center of the cake with the marshmallow cream. Sandwich the two cake pieces together, meeting the buttercream frosting at the edges. Cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Add extra frosting to the top of the cake and smooth into a dome shape.
- In a medium bowl, tint coconut with a generous squirt of pink gel food coloring. Mix well – you can use a fork but I found my fingers did a much better job (wear gloves, if possible). Coat frosted cake with pink coconut. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to serve.
Edit 2/19/21: The following excerpt is from this original 2011 blog post when I was nominated as finalist in Saveur’s Best Food Blog Awards. It was a wonderful honor, so I’m keeping it here for posterity.
I would like to share some good news today. Last Wednesday I received an email with the words “finalist” and “Saveur Magazine” and “Best Food Blog Awards”. After I figured out I wasn’t being punked and that they hadn’t confused me with someone else, I shouted “SHUT UP!” so loudly it sent my snoring pugs into a barking frenzy. I was surprised to say the least.
Then I got a second email. I’m a finalist twice? Pinch me!
So, if you find me worthy, I’d love to have your vote for Saveur Magazine’s Best Baking and Desserts Blog and/or Best Original Baking and Desserts Recipe.
To vote, click here or click the banner at the top right hand corner of my blog. You’ll need to register if you’re not already a Saveur online user.
Oh my goodness. These are amazing, I'm going to make them RIGHT NOW!!
http://wifelike.blogspot.com/
This is absolutely adorable! I will have to try it myself sometime although yours looks hard to beat!
This is pink coconut perfection!! We adore this…gah it's too cute and delicious looking for words…!
omg this is the cutest cake ever! It's just perfect.
Truly amazing! This cake is so pretty. Well done.
Cheers,
Rosa
This is one of the prettiest cakes I've ever seen!!!
This cake is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! I have to make it one of these days. I don't think I can find marshmallow cream in my country, but I think I might have to order it just for this cake. I don't think it would be the same without it.
My daughters would LOVE this cake – both are marshmallow addicts. It's really quite a pretty cake!
This looks fantastic. I love the Sno-Ball cakes. I can't wait to try it 🙂
This is seriously amazing!!
Congrats on being chosen TWICE. What an honor and well deserved. The photo of the unfosted dome is so good it makes me just want the chocolate part 🙂 I can almost smell it!
Holy pink! This is beautiful…and can you imagine any little girl's joy at having this as a birthday cake?! Or a big girl every day cake?! 😉
I hope someone makes this for me for Mother's Day!It's everything I love.
Your photos are just fabulous!
Great idea, I am sure it tastes at least as good as it looks
It's so cute! I love the unique shape!
I love love love love snowballs. My husband would look at me funny if I made it but it would totally be worth it.
Omgosh, I used to LOVE eating snoball cakes [and still do] if it weren't for my calorie conscience. This is so pretty though and sounds delish!
what kind of bowl did you use?
That is too cute! And I voted!
Hi Monette! I used a 2 quart stainless bowl. You can use pyrex also.
Thank you Kelly!
So PINK! I love it!
The cake looks delicious and so pretty in bright pink. Snowballs were my favorite store-bought cake as a kid. And oh my god, where did you get the milk carton glass?? I love it!!
This is beautiful!!
luscious! delicious & down right beautiful!!
i just voted for you…both categories…you deserve to garner the accolades!
my dad LOVES snowballs. i'll have to make this for him the next time i'm home!
Oh my gosh! This is awesome!!! I can't wait to make it! Everyone is going to love it!
Done and done voting!
I signed for a membership at Saveur just to vote you :-D!
I hope you win, you truly deserve it. Every time I see a new email from Sprinkle Bakes I cannot wait to open it, to see what wonders you concocted again.
Keep up the good job and thanks for letting me know about the Saveur competition, lots of great blogs to be discovered there!
Nina
Thank you everyone! And thanks Linda and Nina for the support! 🙂
Oh my Heather, this is DIVINE! Oh for a bite of that ooey gooey yumminess right now. And of course I voted for you, you are simply the BEST! xo ~Lili
This pink snowball cake is the prettiest thing I have seen! You are so creative! I voted for you – best of luck! I am most certainly going to try this! Karen from Iowa!
I discovered you via Saveur and am so excited to now have your blog on my reader. This is simply gorgeous.
How fun is this cake! I have a weakness for pretty pink things too. This would make such an awesome birthday cake. Many congrats on your Saveur noms!
Congratulations! Good luck with the final round. I love, love, love this cake, the colours the superb photographs of it. Just delightful.
I beat you to it, Heather:) I saw that you were listed TWICE and already voted, in both categories! WOW! I love the giant snowball…sure brings back memories:)
that is the most adorable cake i've ever seen in my life!!!!!
It's adorable, I envision me, my daughter and a ton of little ladies gobbling this up over The Little Mermaid.
SHUT. UP.
No you DID NOT make this cake!!!! It's official. I love you.
I am not kidding.
And of course you have my vote…hope you win!!
so sweet, so perfect
sublime!
greettings from chile, espacio culinario
So voted already…long time ago! The others can't hold a candle to your work!! Oh, that was kind of tart of me. Its near my bedtime!! Good luck!
Hi Heather.. voted you for both categories. Lovely blog, pictures, ideas and recipes.
This cake looks scrumpteous!
Hope you win the vote!
E' splendido 🙂 ciao
what is this stuff?jar marshmallow cream??can i get it over here?….(England)
Hi Karen,
Marshmallow creme is also known as Marshmallow Fluff. I found this site, which may be helpful if you can't find it locally.
http://www.americanfooduk.co.uk/category.php?catid=595&cn=Marshmallow-Fluff
Love the snowball cake – but I think i got just as excited as you when I saw your name all over the Saveur list. Heather you are so worthy of all that praise & I hope you take home the win! Either way, it is such a huge compliment to all of your gorgeous work! xo
This is so pretty that even though I should be studying I got sucked in to this for five minutes. Eek! Lovely!!
Voted! And this cake is SO pretty.
I've voted! Congratulations! This cake looks beautiful…and I can't wait to try the marshmallow frosting. YUM!
What a gorgeous cake, Heather! Love it 🙂