S’more’s Cake embodies all of the elements of the quintessential campfire dessert and all the nostalgia that comes with it! Three layers of soft chocolate cake, smooth, melt-in-your mouth ganache, crisp, buttery layers of graham cracker crusts, and billowy marshmallow meringue frosting will transport you to your favorite, cozy campfire memory.
S’mores Cake – Tips for Success
- Bake ahead. I tend to bake the layers the day ahead and refrigerate them overnight. I stir up the ganache and set it on the counter overnight to thicken. And I make and freeze the graham cracker layers a day ahead.
- Cold cake layers are firmer and, therefore, stack well. So, refrigerating the cake layers prior to assembling is a great safety measure against cracking, crumbling, etc.
- Ganache takes varying amounts of time to thicken depending on the temperature of the heated cream, the temperature of room air in your kitchen, and I would argue, the chocolate’s mood. But if you leave it out overnight (unless your kitchen is a sauna) it should have plenty of time to come to a perfect spreadable consistency.
- Also, ganache will thicken more when sandwiched between a cold cake layer and a frozen graham cracker crust. The thickened ganache will help stabilize or “glue” the layers. Best. Glue. Ever! When the ganache returns to room temperature, it’ll be silky-smooth, melt-in-your-mouth once again. Yum!
S’mores Cake Shortcuts – if you must
- Try baking two chocolate cake mixes in place of the made-from-scratch chocolate layer cake recipe.
- Purchase graham cracker crumbs instead of grinding your crumbs from a box of crackers. Or even purchase pre-made graham cracker crusts and break them into small pieces to fit between layers.
- Sub marshmallow creme for the marshmallow meringue frosting – although it won’t be quite as light and fluffy or set up quite like meringue. It’ll still offer marshmallow goodness to the S’mores Cake.
Leftover Egg Yolks
Meringues, in all of their glorious egg white fluffiness, leave us with lots of leftover egg yolks. What to do?! Here are a few recipes that call for just the yolks:
- Honey Ice Cream – The Power of Yum
- Banana Curd – The Power of Yum
- Easy Peasy Lemon Curd – The Power of Yum
S’mores Cake
S'mores cake is a decadent chocolate cake layered with smooth chocolate ganache and crisp, buttery graham cracker crusts, finished with billowy toasted marshmallow meringue frosting. Savor a slice of toasty campfire nostalgia!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 1¾ cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup cocoa
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil, or canola
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup coffee, hot or warm
Ganache
- 1¼ cups whipping cream
- 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Graham Layers
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 2 sleeves graham crackers, crushed (or roughly 2¼ cups graham cracker crumbs)
Marshmallow Meringue Frosting
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 1½ cups sugar, divided
- 6 egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Make Ganache as early as the day before assembling the cake so it has ample time to thicken.
- Bake Chocolate Cake layers well before assembly (consider baking a day ahead) so they have ample time to cool. Refrigerate cake once cooled and prior to assembling S'more's Cake.
- Assemble S'more's Cake starting with a layer of Chocolate Cake. Then add a thin layer of Ganache, a frozen Graham Cracker Crust (wax paper removed of course), another thin layer of Ganache, another Chocolate Cake layer, etc. until placing the third cake layer on top.
- Make Marshmallow Meringue Frosting immediately before applying to the cake as it will begin to set.
- Cover sides and top of cake with billowy swirls of frosting. Toast, if desired, with a kitchen torch.
Chocolate Cake
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or just a large bowl if you're using a hand mixer), combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low until fully blended.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
- With mixer on, pour liquid into dry ingredients and mix gently until smooth. Slowly pour in hot/warm coffee while mixer continues.
- Pour an even amount of batter into three prepared cake pans (wax/parchment and shortening or other method as preferred). Bake at 300°F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool cakes for about 5 minutes after removing from the oven. Run a plastic knife quickly around the edges of each cake pan to help release the cake.
- Turn the first cake layer onto a parchment paper covered plate. (Trim any dome off of the cake so layers will stack without cracking.) Do this with the second cake layer and stack parchment/cake on top of first layer. Do the same with the third layer and cover cake with cake carrier lid until cool. Then refrigerate until ready to assemble Smore's Cake.
Ganache
- Microwave 1¼ cups of whipping cream until hot, but not boiling (about 1 minute), in a microwave safe bowl.
- Pour chocolate chips into heated cream. Stir until smooth and wait until it thickens, which can take up to a few hours.
Graham Cracker Crust
- Melt butter.
- Pour graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar into a bowl and stir until fully incorporated.
- Divide the graham mixture evenly between two 9-inch cake pans that have been prepared with wax paper rounds. Gently press the mixture into the bottom of each pan (do not press as firmly as making a typical graham cracker crust, but apply pressure).
- Freeze in the pans until completely frozen and ready to use.
Marshmallow Meringue Frosting
- In a small pot, heat light corn syrup and 1 cup sugar until it reaches 240 degrees (at softball stage) on a kitchen thermometer.
- Meanwhile, place egg whites in a stand mixer with cream of tartar. Beat egg and tartar mixture in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment.
- Once frothy, slowly add ½ cup sugar as the mixture continues to beat.
- When the egg mixture forms soft peaks, continue beating while slowly pouring hot syrup mixture over the egg whites.
- Stir in vanilla extract and beat until glossy, soft peaks appear.
