S'mores Layer Cake

Recipe for s’mores layer cake: dark chocolate cake filled with graham cracker cookie butter, frosted with dark chocolate buttercream and topped with torched vanilla bean marshmallow fluff.

About S'mores Layer Cake

It doesn't get much better than s'mores cake! This is a dark chocolate cake filled with homemade graham cracker cookie butter. It's frosted with dark chocolate buttercream topped with a chocolate ganache drip and finished off with toasted vanilla bean marshmallow fluff. Please be sure to read all the instructions in the blog post to ensure your s'mores cake comes out great!

Ingredients for S'mores Layer Cake

• Flour– all purpose flour will be used to give the best cake crumb
• Cocoa powder– I recommend Dutch process cocoa powder for the best flavor
• Butter-make sure it’s unsalted and softened to room temperature
• Baking powder and soda– to help the cake rise
• Salt– brings out all the flavors
• Eggs– for the cake, and lots of egg whites for the meringue
• Cream of tartar– stabilizes the meringue
• Sugar– granulated sugar and powdered sugar will all be used in this cake
• Buttermilk– makes the cake extra moist, make sure it's room temperature
• Vanilla bean paste– gives the meringue an incredible flavor
• Coffee– hot coffee is used in the cake batter to bring out the chocolate flavor
• Graham crackers– will be turned into cookie butter
• Heavy cream- used in the cookie butter to make it extra creamy
• 3 6" cake pans
• Non stick spray
• 6 inch circle parchment paper inserts- I always use these, they help the cakes not to stick to the bottom of the pans
• Stand mixer (makes making meringue so much easier)
• Candy thermometer– essential for making meringue to know when the sugar is the right temperature
• Torch– used to toast the meringue

How to Make S'mores Layer Cake

For the Graham Cracker Cookie Butter

Add 10 graham crackers to a food processor and pulse until they are very finely ground.

Then add in ¼ cup of powdered sugar and combine.

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Then pour in 3 tablespoon melted, slightly cooled butter and mix until incorporated.

Lastly add in ¼ cup of cream.

Pulse until it is smooth and everything is fully incorporated together.

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For the Dark Chocolate Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start by creaming ¾ cup softened unsalted butter together with 2 cups of granulated sugar.

Then add in 3 whole eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and combine.

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Next add in 1 ¼ cups of buttermilk and mix until combined.

Sift together 1 ¾ cups of all purpose flour, ¾ cup of Dutch process cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon of salt,1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time until it is all thoroughly combined.

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Lastly mix in ½ cup of hot coffee. Divide the batter evenly between three 6" cake pans. It helps to use a food scale to ensure the same amount of batter is in each pan.

Bake the cakes for 38-41 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centers. After they are done baking, let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes and then out of the pans on a cooling rack until completely cooled.

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For the Dark Chocolate Buttercream

In a large bowl add 1 cup of softened, unsalted butter and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer until the butter is smooth and pale in color. It should about double in size.

Next mix in ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ cup of Dutch process cocoa powder.

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Then add 2 ¼ cups of powdered sugar a little at a time until it is all combined. The frosting will be very thick at this point.

Add 4-5 tablespoon of heavy cream a few spoonfuls at a time until the frosting is smooth and can easily be spread. If it is too stiff add more cream. If the frosting is smooth after only a few spoonfuls of cream, do not add the full amount. (Add cream as necessary).

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For the Chocolate Ganache

Heat ¼ cup of heavy cream until it is about boiling. Add ¼ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to a bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for five minutes, then stir to combine everything. Let the ganache cool slightly before using it on the cake.

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For the Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Fluff

**Make the meringue when you are ready to decorate the top of the cake with it to keep it as fluffy as possible**

Start by adding 3 room temperature egg whites and ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Make sure the bowl is completely free of grease. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Meanwhile heat ¾ cups of sugar and ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon of water on the stove until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Once it reaches 240 degrees, slowly pour it into the egg whites with the mixer on medium low speed.

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Once it is all added turn the mixer up to the highest speed (one interval at a time) and whip the mixture until very firm peaks form. This can take up to 10 minutes.

Once firm peaks form add in 1 ½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and mix again on high speed to ensure the consistency is still firm. If the meringue is still warm continue to whip until it is room temperature.

Assembling the S'mores Layer Cake

Once the cakes are completely cooled you can assemble the cake.

For these Steps You'll Need:

• a cake scraper
• a rotating cake turntable
• a cake frosting spatula
• a sharp knife
• a piping bag fitted with a large circular tip
• a piping bag fitted with a small circular tip
• a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip (I use Wilton's 1M tip).

Getting Perfectly Sized Cake Layers:

Once the cakes are completely cooled, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for an hour. Once they are frozen, or nearly frozen, remove them from the freezer and begin to make each layer as similar in size as possible. Usually you will only have to cut the tops off of each cake layer. With a sharp knife, remove the tops from each cake layer until each are flat and can be stacked to where the cake is even. So, each layer should sit flat on each other without the cake leaning. (Freezing the layers is optional, but I think it helps with this step a lot). I usually make the buttercream and ganache while the cake layers are in the freezer.

Filling the Cake & Creating the Crumb Layer:

Add some of the chocolate buttercream frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large circular tip. Then place a dollop of chocolate buttercream frosting in the center of your cake turntable. Place the first cake layer over it. With the piping bag of chocolate buttercream, pipe a “boarder” layer of frosting just on the edges of the cake layer. Make sure the boarder of frosting is about ½ inch thick. Then add half of the graham cracker cookie butter onto the cake layer. Then pipe a small amount of chocolate buttercream frosting on top of the cookie butter and spread it to completely cover the layer. Place the next cake layer over top and repeat the step. Then place the final layer over the top and place small dollops of frosting on the outsides and top of the cake. Even out the frosting as much as possible with your frosting spatula.

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Then with your cake scraper, scrape the icing across the cake, turning the cake table as you go to make this as easy as possible. This layer of frosting should be thin, and you should be able to see the cake through it. This is called the ‘crumb layer’ and will ensure that the cake’s final coating of frosting is smooth and free of crumbs. Freezing the cake layers before frosting them also helps tremendously with this step.

For the Final Frosting Layer:

Once the crumb layer of frosting has been applied, place the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to allow the frosting to harden. Once the cake has chilled in the fridge, remove it and apply the final coating of frosting. Apply generous dollops of frosting on the sides and top of the cake and smooth them out with your cake frosting spatula. Then with your cake scraper even out the frosting, turning the cake table as you go, to give you an even coating of dark chocolate buttercream frosting. Make sure it is not too thin so you do not see the layers underneath.

For the Chocolate Ganache Drip:

Once the final layer of frosting is applied, place the cake back in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes. While the cake chills prepare the chocolate ganache by pouring it into an icing piping bag fitted with a small circular tip. The ganache should be slightly warm but not hot and come easily out of the icing bag. Once chilled, remove the cake from the fridge.

Go around the top edges of the cake and squeeze the chocolate ganache so it starts to drip down the sides of the cake. A good tip is to space out your drips about every inch. If at first it doesn’t look like it will be a long enough drip, wait a few minutes. The ganache will continue to drip down the sides of the cake. Also squeeze ganache around the top of the cake and smooth it out slightly with a clean frosting spatula. As it sits the ganache will smooth out and come together to form a beautiful finish on top of the cake.

Decorating the S'mores Layer Cake:

Place the cake back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the ganache harden up a bit. While it is chilling make the vanilla bean marshmallow fluff. Then transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a large decorative tip. Once the cake is chilled, remove it from the fridge and pipe decorative swirls of marshmallow fluff on top. Once your fluff is on toast it with a kitchen torch. You can then decorate the top of the cake with whole dark chocolate pieces and graham cracker pieces, or whatever else you think would look beautiful!

Serve this cake right away, or keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Store left overs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days for the freshest, best flavor. (Unfortunately the marshmallow fluff will start to deflate after a day).

If you make this cake please tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!

Other Recipes to Try

S'mores Cookies

S'mores Cupcakes

Brownie Cookies

📖 Recipe