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S'mores Layer Cake

5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 40 minutes
Decorating Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 8 slices

Ingredients
 

For the Graham Cracker Cookie Butter

  • 10 graham crackers full sheet
  • ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoon melted and slightly cooled butter
  • ¼ cup cream or whole milk

For the Dark Chocolate Cake

  • ¾ cup softened, unsalted butter
  • 2 cups granulated white sugar
  • 3 eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ¼ cups buttermilk room temperature
  • 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup hot coffee

For the Dark Chocolate Buttercream

  • 1 cup softened, unsalted butter
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ¼ cup powdered sugar
  • ½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 4-5 tablespoon heavy cream

For the Chocolate Ganache

  • ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Fluff

  • 3 egg whites room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ¾ cup granulated white sugar
  • ¼ cup +2 tablespoon water
  • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Instructions
 

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.
  • 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.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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.
  • 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).

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.

For the Vanilla Bean Marshmallow Fluff

  • **Start the meringue when ready to decorate the top of the cake with it to ensure it stays 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.
  • 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 Cake

  • **Please see the above blog post for a detailed outline of how to assemble this cake**
Keyword chocolate, chocolate cake, layer cake, s'mores
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