S’mores Cake

Oh yeah, baby.  It’s as good as it looks.  Two layers of graham cracker cake separated by a layer of Marshmallow Fluff and topped with a milk chocolate glaze.  In other words, a cake that really does taste like s’mores.  One thing I love about birthdays as an adult is that we can celebrate them multiple times with various groups of friends, family, etc.  So even though I made a caramel peanut-topped brownie cake for Ben’s birthday with my friends, I needed to make something for a family celebration as well.  Ben didn’t have any specific requests this time around.  I thought a s’mores cake seemed a fitting way to end a Labor Day meal of my dad’s barbecue ribs AND steaks (Ben’s two other favorite foods besides Benchiladas).  Oh, did we ever enjoy this!

As far as making the cake goes, it’s one of the easier layer cakes I have made.  Using graham cracker crumbs in place of flour for the cake layers made it a graham cracker cake – genius idea!  The only difficulty I had was in the assembly.  You see, the marshmallow fluff between the layers is incredibly sticky as you might expect.  This makes it very difficult to spread onto the bottom layer without pulling off chunks of cake into the filling.  (I may try freezing the cake layer next time to see if that helps avoid the issue.)  The result was a huge mound of marshmallow fluff between the layers, which seemed fine – until it all oozed out EVERYWHERE.  Thankfully I had anticipated this and waited to glaze it after the oozage.  I wiped off all the excess around the edges.  At first I was really bummed about the messy appearance, but then I came to like it.  After all, s’mores are one of the gooiest treats out there, so it seems fitting that a s’mores cake should look, well, gooey!

The little decorations around the top with the graham and milk chocolate segments are of course totally optional, but I thought they really added to the presentation of the cake.  I used the marshmallow filling from the “fauxstess” cupcakes to hold them in place and it worked like a charm.  Make this cake for your next celebration, it is sure to be a hit!

More irresistible chocolate cakes:
Cookies and Cream Cake
German Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Overdose Cake
Devil’s Food White-Out Cake
Dark and White Chocolate Layer Cake

S’mores Cake
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Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs, separated
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk

For the filling:
Marshmallow fluff

For the milk chocolate glaze:
8 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
2 tbsp. light corn syrup

For decoration:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ cup marshmallow fluff
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tsp. heavy cream or milk
Small rectangles of graham cracker and milk chocolate, for garnish

Directions:
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 375° F.  Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment or wax paper.  Grease and flour the sides of the pans; set aside.  In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; stir together and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.  Replace the mixer bowl and fit with the paddle attachment.  Cream together the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the egg yolks until well combined.  Stir in the vanilla extract.

Add in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk on low speed, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in about a third of the egg whites to lighten the batter.  Gently fold in the remaining egg whites until completely incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Bake the cakes for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper and let cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled completely, transfer one of the cake layers to a cardboard cake circle and place on a serving platter.  Carefully spread a layer of marshmallow fluff over the cake, not quite reaching the edges.  Top with the remaining cake layer and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

To make the milk chocolate glaze, combine the chocolate, cream, butter and corn syrup in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water.  Heat until the chocolate has melted, then whisk the ingredients together until completely smooth.  Pour glaze over the top of the chilled cake, allowing it to run down the sides in some places.  Return to the refrigerator to chill until set.

To make the marshmallow frosting for decoration, combine the butter and marshmallow fluff in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium speed until smooth.  Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until well combined.  Stir in the cream or milk to smooth the frosting out a bit, adding a tiny bit more liquid if necessary.

Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag.  Pipe dollops of frosting around the edges of the chilled cake and decorate with segments of graham cracker and milk chocolate.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  Allow to sit at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from Baking Bites