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Deconstructed S'mores Cake
Equipment
- Squeeze bottle (or piping bag or spoon; to add cake drip)
Ingredients
Deconstructed S'mores Cake layers
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
- 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
- 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks/250g, softened)
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (or 1 package, softened)
- 1 cup butter (or 2 sticks, softened)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tablespoons milk
- 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter
Drip & Decorations
- 6 oz semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
- 6 oz heavy whipping cream (¾ cup - my favorite brand is incredibly thick; you may need a bit less depending on the thickness of your whipping cream)
- 8-10 graham crackers broken/chopped (save some whole & in halves/quarters for the top of the cake)
- 8-10 marshmallows (toast in the oven if you'd like)
- 1/4 cup mini marshmallows (optional; I used a handful to decorate around the cake base)
- 6 chocolate bars (I used Hersheys because that's what I ate in s'mores growing up - use your favorite!)
- 1 jar Marshmallow cream (unless you'd rather fill the cake with frosting)
Instructions
Deconstructed S'mores Cake layers
- Preheat an oven to 350℉ (180C) or 325℉(160C) for a convection oven. Grease 3 8-inch cake pans with baker's floured spray, or grease and line pans with parchment rounds.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in bits of softened butter, mixing until no longer visible in the dry ingredients and the mixture looks crumbly.
- Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
- Fill the three pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g.
- Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
Assembly
- Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed/desired, these layers bake fairly flat). Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Pipe a ring around the outer rim of the cake and fill with marshmallow cream (or spread the layer with frosting). Sprinkle chopped graham crackers and chocolate bars over the filling. Center the next cake layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layer.
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with my large offset spatula.
- Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.
Chocolate ganache drip
- Place chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Add whipping cream and microwave on half power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted and smooth.
Decorating
- With a piping bag or squeeze bottle - or spoon if you'd like - slowly drizzle the ganache around the upper edge of the cake, pausing every inch or so to let more ganache fall in a drip down the side of the cake. Return cake to the fridge to set the drips.
- Now to finish decorating - you can use pictures for inspiration or do whatever you want! I decorated with longer/taller crackers and pieces of chocolate bar at the back, and used shorter ones working my way forward. I found toasting marshmallows in the oven on 'low broil' worked the best to toast them without burning them - I tried a brûlée torch but I had trouble browning them without turning them black or setting them on fire. :/
- Add more chopped chocolate/graham cracker pieces and large or mini marshmallows at the base of the cake (or leave them off for a more simple look).
- Sprinkle on some more chopped chocolate/graham cracker crumbs for good measure - and step back and admire your cake!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Deconstructed S'mores Cake Layers:
2 ¼ cups (350g) all purpose flour
2 ¼ cups (450g) granulated sugar
1 ¼ cup (100g) cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 c /250g /16 T unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups (350mL) buttermilk (buttermilk powder with water is an option if you can’t find liquid buttermilk at your grocery store!)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Of note...you'll need a kitchen scale if you want to measure ingredients in grams.
Instructions:
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180C) or 325 F (160C) for a convection oven. Grease 3 8-inch cake pans with baker's floured spray and/or line pans with parchment rounds.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in bits of softened butter until it’s no longer visible in the dry ingredients and the mixture looks crumbly.
Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
Fill the three pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g.
Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:
8 oz (one package) cream cheese, softened
16 Tablespoons (two sticks) butter, softened
6-7 c powdered sugar
2-4 Tablespoons milk
1 T clear vanilla extract
1/4 t. salt (if using unsalted butter)
Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
Additional Supplies/Equipment:
- 1 8- or 10 -inch cardboard cake circle (I prefer Wilton’s center-punched circles)
- 8-10 graham crackers, broken/chopped (save some whole & in halves/quarters for the top of the cake)
- 8-10 marshmallows (toast in the oven if you'd like )
- about 1/4 c mini marshmallows if you want to use them around the base of the cake
- 6 chocolate bars - I used Hersheys because that's what I ate in s'mores growing up - use your favorite!
- Marshmallow cream (unless you'd rather fill the cake with frosting)
- squeeze bottle or piping bag for ganache drip
- Cake leveler, cake turntable, large offset spatula, and pastry cutter/bench scraper - not all 100% necessary but incredibly helpful! (Here’s a link to the cake turntable I use)
Assembly:
Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed/desired, these layers bake fairly flat). Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Pipe a ring around the outer rim of the cake and fill with marshmallow cream (or spread the layer with frosting). Sprinkle chopped graham crackers and chocolate bars over the filling. Center the next cake layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layer.
Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with my large offset spatula.
Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.
Chocolate ganache drip:
12 oz (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
12 oz (1 ½ cups) heavy whipping cream
Meanwhile, make your ganache. Place chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Add whipping cream and microwave on half power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted and smooth.
With a piping bag or squeeze bottle - or spoon if you'd like - slowly drizzle the ganache around the upper edge of the cake, pausing every inch or so to let more ganache fall in a drip down the side of the cake. Return cake to the fridge to set the drips.
Decorating!
This is the part where you can use pictures for inspiration and do whatever you want! I started with longer/taller crackers and pieces of chocolate bar at the back, and used shorter ones working my way forward. I found toasting marshmallows in the oven on 'low broil' worked the best to toast them without burning them - I tried a brûlée torch but I had trouble browning them without turning them black or setting them on fire. :/
If you like, you can add more chopped chocolate/graham cracker pieces and large or mini marshmallows at the base of the cake - or leave them off for a more simple look. I almost mixed just a bit of chocolate ganache with some extra frosting to hold my decorations in place!
Sprinkle on some more chopped chocolate/graham cracker crumbs for good measure - and step back and admire your cake!
Make this Deconstructed S'mores Cake? Let me know how it went – or make my day and find me on Pinterest or on Instagram and tag @IntensiveCakeUnit in your photo!
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