Is there anything better than a crunchy graham cracker, layered with melty chocolate and smoky toasted marshmallows? S’mores are the ultimate summertime campfire treat. Capturing the textures and flavors of this classic dessert, this s’mores cake recipe (or smores cake recipe, as the search engine gods want us to spell it) layers a graham cracker crust with chocolate cake, homemade marshmallow fluff, and rich chocolate ganache for the ultimate in cake cravings.
What Makes a Cake a S’mores Cake?
Most of the s’mores cakes cover the exterior of the cake with graham cracker crumbs, and while it looks pretty, you don’t really get that s’mores experience. The graham cracker crumbs become a little soggy, and soggy crumbs don’t offer that “crunch factor” that one expects from a s’more eating experience. So rather than covering the exterior of the cake with crushed graham crackers, this cake has a graham crust as a bottom layer.
The cake is layered with a homemade fluff. You could use the store-bought kind, but this frosting is truly from the heavens, so we heartily recommend you give it a try. You can reserve the store-bought kind for the marshmallows on top. They are torched just before serving, so you get the toasted marshmallow, slightly blackened and gooey inside, like the dessert it’s based on.
Finally, no s’more cake is complete without chocolate. The cake itself is an American Hershey’s-style cake. There’s also a whipped ganache with a little added butter. The salted butter cuts through all that sweetness and gives the ganache a glorious shine. If you love chocolate, then you will love this cake! You can use either semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate for the ganache; just make sure it’s good quality either way.
This cake originally appeared in the September/October 2017 issue of American Cake Decorating.
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S’mores Cake
Description
Layer a graham cracker crust with chocolate cake, homemade marshmallow fluff, and rich chocolate ganache for the ultimate in cake cravings.
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1½ cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Marshmallow Fluff
- 3 egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅓ cup water
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Cake
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 3⁄4 cup cocoa
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup milk
- 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Whipped Ganache
- 16 ounces semi-sweet/bittersweet chocolate
- 8 ounces heavy cream
- 3 ounces salted butter, room temperature
Instructions
Make the Graham Cracker Crust:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon until well blended. Press the mixture an 8-inch cake pan.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool before turning out onto a flat surface.
Make the Marshmallow Fluff:
- Place the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Ensure the mixing bowl and whisk are completely grease-free.
- Place the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Over low heat, stir to combine and let the sugar dissolve. Do not let this mix simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
- Insert a candy thermometer into the pot and heat over medium heat. Do not stir from this point on, as crystals will form.
- Simmer this mixture until it reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer and remove from the heat.
- Turn on the stand mixer to medium/high speed and whip the egg whites to soft peaks, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and very slowly and carefully pour the sugar syrup into the whites in a thin, steady stream (if your sugar mix has firmed up, pop it back on the heat to make it liquid again).
- Once all the syrup is in, set the mixer to medium/high and continue whipping for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla and whip until the fluff mixture has cooled.
Make the Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round pans.
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add eggs, milk, oil, mayonnaise, and vanilla. Beat the mixture at medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove to wire racks and cool completely.
Make the Whipped Ganache:
- Place the chocolate in a large microwave-proof bowl and set aside.
- Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and heat over medium heat until scalding.
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and shake the bowl slightly to submerge the chocolate.
- Leave at room temperature for 5 minutes. Then stir the cream and chocolate until smooth and creamy. If a few chunks of chocolate remain, microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth.
- Let cool to room temperature or overnight before adding the softened butter and whipping for 1 minute, until light and fluffy.
Assemble the Cake:
- Place a dab of chocolate ganache onto an 8-inch cake board and then place the graham cracker crust on top. Cover the graham cracker crust with a layer of chocolate ganache.
- Torte each 8-inch cake into 2 even layers, removing the domes. Place 1 layer of cake onto the graham cracker layer and cover with an even layer of fluff.
- Add another layer of cake and cover with an even layer of ganache.
- Add a third layer of cake and cover with a layer of fluff.
- Add your final layer of cake and crumb-coat the whole cake with ganache.
- Refrigerate until firm, then cover the cake with a final layer of ganache.
- To serve, cover with marshmallows and carefully blowtorch until slightly toasted.
- Category: Dessert
ACD Staff
The staff of American Cake Decorating magazine is passionate about celebrating the artistry, innovation, and community of cake decorating. The ACD team is dedicated to educating and connecting decorators of all skill levels. With decades of combined experience in publishing, baking, cake design, and sugar artistry, the staff works closely with talented artists and educators from around the world to bring readers the best in cake decorating inspiration.
