The Best Crowd Pleasing Ultimate S’mores Cake
Ultimate S’mores Cake – Layers of graham cracker crust, chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, toasted marshmallow filling, chocolate frosting and marshmallow fluff truly make this the Ultimate S’mores Cake!
S’mores Cake
One of the first cakes I wanted to create on my own was a S’mores Cake. Early on in my cake-making days, I tried several s’mores cake recipes, some with chocolate cake layers, some with vanilla cake layers, and some with graham cracker cake layers. I also tried some with a marshmallow element, some without; some with chocolate buttercream, some with vanilla buttercream; some with graham cracker crumbs, some without. So many delicious cakes, but none of them were the ultimate s’mores cake.
Ultimate S’mores Cake
Since I hadn’t found a single s’mores cake that rocked my world, I decided to create my own, inspired by some of my favorite elements from the cakes I had tried. What you’ll get in my Ultimate S’mores Cake:
- Graham cracker crust
- Dark chocolate cake
- Chocolate ganache
- Toasted marshmallow filling
- Chocolate buttercream
- Chocolate drip
- Toasted marshmallow fluff
How to Schedule Baking the Ultimate S’mores Cake
Don’t let all the elements of this cake scare you away! Every minute in the kitchen is worth every bite you take. Promise!
Here’s how I schedule baking the Ultimate S’mores Cake:
- Day 1: make the crust and cake layers (once cooled to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and freeze)
- Day 2: make the marshmallow filling and chocolate buttercream (store each in airtight containers in the refrigerator and bring back to room temperature before assembly)
- Day 3: make ganache and fluff and then assemble
How to Apply the Drip
The drip should be a consistency that slowly and easily falls over and down the edge of your cake. To make the drip, I use ½ cup dark chocolate chips and 1/3-½ cup heavy whipping cream. To test the consistency, use the the bottom of a tumbler and apply the drip, just like you would with a cake (see below.) If the drip is too thick, add a little more warm cream.
It’s okay to apply the drip while it’s slightly warm. Just make sure your cake is chilled before you start.
Using a Kitchen Torch
When you’re ready to add the marshmallow fluff, make sure you have a kitchen torch handy. Torching the fluff not only ensures a fabulous flavor, it also helps hold the fluff in place.
How to Assemble the Ultimate S’mores Cake
Other Cakes You May Like
- Banana Nutella S’mores Cake
- Peanut Butter S’mores Cake
- Peanut Butter Graham Cake
- Nanaimo Bar Cake
- Harry Potter Butterbeer Cake
Ultimate S’mores Cake
Layers of graham cracker crust, chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, toasted marshmallow filling, chocolate frosting and marshmallow fluff.
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
- 2 cups (240 g) graham cracker crumbs, about 18 rectangular crackers (this is best done in a food processor or blender, but can be done by placing the graham crackers in a zip-lock bag and rolling over the crackers with a rolling pin)
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1/3 cup (70 g) granulated sugar
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups (88.5 g) dark cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5.6 g) salt
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (109 g) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (236.6 g) hot water
FOR THE MARSHMALLOW FILLING
- 24 large white marshmallows
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.1 g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 jar (200 g) marshmallow fluff
FOR THE GANACHE
- 1 cup (150 g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (115.5 g) whipping cream
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- 1/3 cup ( 77 g) heavy whipping cream
- 10 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
- 5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar measured then sifted
- 1 tablespoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping you’ll want to make an extra ½ batch.
FOR THE MARSHMALLOW FLUFF
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.4 g) salt
- 1/3 cup (66.6 g) sugar
- 1 cup (300 g) light karo syrup
- 2 tablespoons (29.6 g) water
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) vanilla bean paste or clear vanilla extract
Instructions
FOR THE CRUST
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch or four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and then line with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir until all the graham cracker crumbs are damped by the melted butter.
- Divide evenly between the three pans and press down firmly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Let cool while you make the chocolate cake batter.
FOR THE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.
- In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pans (about 12 ounces in each 6-inch pan or 15 ounces in each 8-inch pan), over the cooked graham cracker crusts and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumsb on it.
- Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.
FOR THE MARSHMALLOW FILLING
- Place the marshmallows on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place on the middle rack of the oven, and broil the marshmallows until golden brown on top, about 30-60 seconds. Keep your eye on them!
- Remove the pan from the oven and gently turn the marshmallows over and broil them again until they are golden brown on the other side.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and powdered sugar and beat on low until blended. Add the vanilla and mix on medium speed for about three minutes
- With the mixer on low speed, add the marshmallow cream and (cooled) toasted marshmallows, and mix for about one minute.
FOR THE GANACHE
- In a microwave safe bowl, pour the cream over the chocolate chips and heat for about 45-60 seconds. Stir, and if needed, heat for another 30 seconds to melt the chocolate chips completely. Let cool to room temperature before using.
FOR THE FLUFF
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk the eggs and salt until fluffy and frothy.
- Meanwhile, heat the sugar, corn syrup, water and vanilla paste. Heat over medium flame until the sugar is dissolved and just simmering, about 5 minutes.
- With the mixer on medium speed, add a tiny bit of the hot sugar mixture to the egg whites at a time. (Temper the eggs – don’t scramble the them)
- Eventually, all of the sugar will be added and then turn the mixer up to high. Beat the mixture on high for about 5 minutes or until very stiff and shiny.
- Best used right away.
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM
- Heat the cream until nearly boiling in a microwave safe bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and stir until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for about 2 minutes on medium-high speed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the ganache. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and then mix on medium-high speed for about a minute, until the mixture is smooth.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, followed by the vanilla and salt.
- Buttercream can be store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week.
- When you’re ready to frost the cake, bring the frosting back to room temperature and mix by hand with a wooden spoon to push out all of the air pockets.
ASSEMBLY
- Level each chocolate cake layer, if needed, and then place the first cake layer, graham cracker side down, on a cake board.
- Spread half of the chocolate ganache on the cake layer and then freeze for 5 to 10 minutes to set the ganache a little.
- Carefully spread half of the toasted marshmallow filling over the chocolate ganache and repeat step 2 and 3 for the second cake layer.
- Place the final cake layer, graham cracker side down, on top and cover with a crumb coat layer of the chocolate frosting. Freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Finish frosting the cake with the chocolate frosting and then decorate the top of the cake with the marshmallow fluff, toasting with a kitchen torch, if desired.
If I made these into cup cakes would you suggest scooping some of the cupcake out and using the marshmallow filling? Maybe skipping the fluff topping part and just icing with the buttercream.
That sounds great.
I haven’t made this cake altogether but the chocolate cake recipe is absolutely delicious and my go-to whenever I need chocolate cake!
I can’t find regular whipping cream, only heavy. Are they interchangeable? Hoping to make this for my 1 year olds “one happy camper” birthday this weekend!
Totally great to use.
Amazing cake!! The marshmallow filling is out of this world!! Thank you for sharing.
This recipe is FANTASTIC! The results were amazing – I made the entire thing in one day (yesterday) and it was a lot of parts… but it was well worth it!! I had some issue with the marshmallow filling (it was thicker and not easily pipeable/spreadable, but I think that was user error. (Courtney – do you have any tips on what could have went wrong?)
Other than that it was MARVELOUS. I was hesitant about graham crackers in a cake, but every piece of this thing was delicious. The cake itself was wonderfully moist too!- I look forward to trying other recipes!!
I had this same issue with the marshmallow filling when I made this. I tried to make the whole cake in one day and figured I had missed something. I did not see that we were supposed to pipe buttercream around the layer to keep the ganache in place either! It wasn’t until I was having issues that I watched the video and realized. I plan on trying again so if I have better success I will let you know!
I made this for Thanksgiving and was surprised how easy each step was. It took a while because there are a lot of steps but everything came together well and the instructions were great. I only used two cups of sugar in my buttercream because I know my family tends to think buttercream is too sweet but I will definitely use this recipe again!
I’m halfway through this recipe, and it looks and smells SO good! Is the marshmallow fluff easy to pipe?
It’s a little sticky but not hard.
Hi! I’m making this one for Christmas Day and was wondering if it’s absolutely necessary for clear vanilla extract or can I just use the regular brown one? Thanks!
Does this cake freeze well with all the ingredients on it? It’s my husbands birthday and I made one big cake that i will just take to a couple of events over 3 days. Wondering how best to pull this off!
I made this for a friends 40th and oh my gosh it was incredible!
I was a bit worried as the filling and fluff were so sweet, but all the layers combined were perfect!
Just wondering if I did anything wrong, the marshmallow filling is that meant to go extremely firm? Almost chewy like a soft candy?
So glad you loved it. The filling should be soft but slightly chewy with those toasted marshmallows.
I made this for my son’s birthday. It was the only thing he wanted. It was delicious and beautiful! There are a lot of steps but it was not difficult.
I changed one thing though: instead of the runny marshmallow cream topping (which would be perfect for a crowd to eat all in one sitting), I made Italian meringue and torched it. That way we could save it longer, and ate it over several days, stored in fridge.
This cake was incredible! The layers and textures were perfect. Looking forward to making more cakes from Courtney.
So so happy you love it!
Cake related: I need to make this!
Totally not cake related: where on earth did you get the black jumper/overalls in your pictures on this page! It is so cute!
they’re very old! I’m sorry!
Thank you for this recipe! I did this for my husband’s 40th birthday and it was one of the best cakes I have ever made in my life. It took 3 days (hats off to anyone who can do this cake in a day!) but it was worth it. The taste was AMAZING, like something from a specialty bake shop. I received so many compliments on this cake.
Made this for my daughter’s birthday as she requested a chocolate s’more cake & recipe got great reviews. Was a bit of work, was good idea to make cake the day before has a lot of steps!
I didn’t have a third 8” pan so used a 8” casserole dish for 3rd layer. I felt there was too much work to make the buttercream icing too so I bought 2 readymade milk chocolate icings that worked perfectly. I also always use a ziplock bag with corner snipped off for piping so no cleanup especially for the marshmallow layer. I saved some of the ganache & used for outside drip. My daughter had no whisk for her mixer so I didn’t get the height in my top, added a few drops of leftover ganache & swirled with toothpick. Tried to leave pictures but unfortunately site not taking my pastes.