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–+ servings

The Ultimate S'mores Layer Cake

Craving a slice of ooey, gooey, fresh from the campfire, chocolate cake that captures everything you love in a perfect s’mores cookie?! The Ultimate S’mores Layer Cake is for you! Each layer is covered with chocolate ganache, crispy graham cracker crumbs, and toasted marshmallow fluff! It’s the kind of cake that captures all of your summer campfire favourites without you having to leave your house!
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American, French
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

Moist Chocolate Cake

  • 1 cup All-purpose Flour
  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Cocoa Dutch processed/Superior Red
  • 3/4 tsp Espresso Powder
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/2 cup Milk of your choice!
  • 1/4 cup Canola Oil or other light vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 cup Boiling water

Rich Chocolate Ganache

  • 150 mg Milk Chocolate roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup Heavy Cream heated to a boil

Toasted Graham Cracker Crumbs

  • 6 sheets Graham Crackers
  • 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter melted
  • 1 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

Marshmallow Fluff

  • 1 jar Marshmallow Fluff

Milk Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 6 Egg Whites
  • 2 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 100 mg Milk chocolate Melted and cooled slightly

Instructions
 

Moist Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 350F. Oil and line three 6” cake pans, with parchment paper rounds.
  • In large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, espresso powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Sift cocoa powder into flour mixture.
  • To the flour mixture, directly add egg, vegetable oil, vanilla, and milk. Mix until well incorporated and mixture is a thick, glossy, dark brown paste.
  • Add boiling water to the mixture (slowly).
  • Gently stir until the mixture transitions from a paste consistency to a thin liquid consistency.
  • Pour 1/3 of cake batter into each cake pan.  
  • Bake cakes for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Cake Tip: This cake batter will be very thin after you add the hot water – don’t panic! This is the way it is supposed to be. Just go slow while mixing to ensure that you are able to get an even batter without the huge mess!

Rich Chocolate Ganache

  • Place chopped semisweet chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Add hot cream.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes, without mixing.
  • After 5 minutes, whisk mixture until homogenous (it will initially look as though it is not coming together, keep going! It will become smooth and glossy)
  • Ganache should be pourable consistency while not too liquid (If not quite the right consistency, let bowl refrigerate for 5-10 mins)

Toasted Graham Cracker Crumbs

  • Preheat oven to 350F. In a food processor, pulse gram crackers until a fine crumb forms (this can also in a ziplock bag, crushing gram crackers with a rolling pin).
  • Once crumb forms, add sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix with spoon to incorporate.
  • Place wet graham cracker crumb mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Bake at 350F (325F convection bake) for 10-15 mins, until slightly golden. Let cool completely.

Milk Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • Start by cleaning the bowl of an electric stand mixer thoroughly to ensure all oily debris has been removed! Dry bowl completely.
  • Separate egg whites from egg yolks. Add egg whites one by one to the clean electric mixer bowl. Add sugar. Whisk egg whites with sugar.
  • Place bowl over a saucepan filled with no no more than 2 inches of water, simmering over medium heat (Note: this step creates a double boiler – the bowl should not be touching the water, it is the steam that will heat the egg whites)
  • Whisk sugar and egg whites, until mixture is frothy and sugar has dissolved (approximately 5 minutes). You can either feel the texture between your fingers at this point to ensure you can no longer feel sugar grains or check temperature with a candy thermometer (when ready, the mixture will be at 160F).
  • Return stand mixer bowl with egg white mixture to stand mixer. Reattach whisk and beat on medium-high speed. Beat until glossy, stiff, peaks form and mixture is no longer warm to the touch (~10-15 minutes). I find you can speed up this process by placing ice packs on the sides of the base of the bowl as the mixer is running (this will more quickly cool the base)
  • At this time, you can melt chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave (10-15s increments, stirring after each interval). Once melted, set aside.
  • Once bowl and meringue have cooled, replace whisk attachment with a paddle attachment and begin adding butter (Note: Butter should be ~1 hour outside of fridge and still somewhat cool to the touch). Add 1 tablespoon of butter at a time, waiting until fully incorporated before adding more.
  • Once all butter has been added, add vanilla extract, salt, and melted chocolate. Turn mixer speed down to medium and continue to beat.
  • This Swiss Meringue Buttercream is finished when it is thick, creamy, and silky smooth. It will hold its shape very well. Continue to beat for another 3-5 minutes on low to remove air bubbles.
  • Troubleshooting – Too Thin: If a soupy meringue mixture results, the mixture was likely was too warm as the butter was being added. Return the bowl to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool down. Rewhip. If still soupy, repeat refrigeration step and reassess.
    Troubleshooting – Too Thick: If the mixture is too cold, just continue to beat the mixture on medium-high until correct consistency is formed!

Assembly

  • Remove parchment paper backing from the first 6" cake round.
  • Pipe a ring of the Milk Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream around the rim of the cake round.
  • Add chocolate ganache to the centre and spread even layer. Pipe marshmallow fluff on top of the ganache. Finish layer with a generous sprinkle of toasted graham cracker crumbs. Add 2nd cake layer.
  • Repeat steps 2-3. Add third and final cake layer to the top. Frost with remaining Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
  • Refrigerate cake for 30 minutes
  • Once frosting is cool to the touch, dollop sides of cake with marshmallow fluff. Continue to add marshmallow fluff to the top of the cake. Torch marshmallow fluff with a kitchen torch until desired toasted appearance is created. Return cake to the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
  • Finish cake by adding chopped chocolate, graham cracker crumbs, and mini marshmallows to the top.
  • Enjoy!!

Notes

Sofia’s Tips:
  • There are many steps to this recipe but each can be made so much simpler by planning ahead!
  • Many of these cake components can be made ahead of time to make assembly a piece of cake! (pun intended hehe)
  • The Swiss Meringue Butter cream and chocolate cakes can be frozen in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 months, and the  toasted Graham Cracker crumbs can all be made and sealed in a zippered bag at room temperature!
 
Have you tried this recipe!? I would love to know what you think! Leave a comment below! 🙂
Keyword campfire cookies, chocolate, chocolate cake, layer cake, simple, smores, swiss meringue buttercream, toasted, toasted marshmallow, torched
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