I’ve been wanting to make a s’mores cake FOREVER! I keep seeing them on Pinterest and some of my favorite blogs but I wasn’t sure how I’d go about it… A few weeks ago I made my pumpkin pie cake and had a surge of inspiration. The baked graham cracker crumble I made for that cake would be PERFECT for a s’mores cake! From there, I added chocolate buttercream, a graham cracker cake, and a gooey delicious marshmallow fluff (which I will definitely be making more of soon) and drizzled it with dark chocolate (which cools and solidifies for an extra crunch).
If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
about the Graham cracker crumble
I love the crunch from the Graham cracker crumble and the solidified chocolate in this cake, it contrasts well with the gooey marshmallow fluff! When you make the crumble make sure to press it into a nice compact layer but leave some bigger pieces for extra crunch. Bake until golden brown and make sure to rotate the baking sheet halfway through so you get a nice even brown. Add the crumble all over the cake and inside too. It’s so delicious and adds wonderful texture.
Toasting the marshmallow fluff is optional but so worth it! I have a little kitchen torch at the ready in my drawer and I can’t tell you how handy it’s been. As to can see, the marshmallowy fluff is REALLY gooey! Next time, I might try adding some more of the graham cracker crumble just underneath that top layer of toasted marshmallow to add some extra crunch.
How to Make S’more’s Cake
- Pipe a ring of chocolate buttercream onto the first layer
- Fill with marshmallow. I find piping is the easiest and least messy way.
- Sprinkle with the crumble.
- Add a drizzle of the melted chocolate, stack the next cake layer on and repeat steps 1-4 until you have all four layers.
- Cover the cake in buttercream.
- Smooth the side using a bench scraper and the top with an offset spatula. I recommend chilling the cake for a bit to make sure it’s nice and stable before proceeding.
- Add the graham cracker crumble to the base by pressing with your hand. You can dust away the excess afterward.
- Use a large star tip to pipe the marshmallow on top. I also swirled it a bit with a spatula but that’s totally optional.
- Use a torch to toast the marshmallow. This is best done just before serving so it’s nice and gooey!
pro tips for this recipe
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- If you don’t have access to Graham crackers you can substitute digestive biscuits for them.
- I recommend adding the graham cracker crumble in between each layer. It has so much crunch that I guarantee you’ll want more!
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
If you’ve tried this cake out then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
S'mores Cake
Video
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 150g
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 63g
- 1 tsp baking powder 4g
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda 3g
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1g
- 1/4 tsp allspice 250mg
- 1 cup unsalted butter 230g, room temp
- 1/2 cup sugar 100g
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar 100g
- 3 large eggs
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 cup buttermilk 118mL
- 1/2 cup sour cream 115g
- 1 tbsp vanilla 15mL
For the crumble
- 4 graham crackers roughly crumbled
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter 42g, melted
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1g
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp all spice 250mg
For the Buttercream
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 340g, room temp
- 1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar 680g
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate 175g, melted and cooled
For the Fluff
- 1 cup sugar 200g
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup 118mL
- 4 large egg whites room temp
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Chocolate Drizzle
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate melted and cooled
Instructions
For the Cake
- Set oven to 350F. Butter and flour 3 6" cake pans (I recommend using cake stripes as well.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, vanilla and sour cream.
- Cream the butter in a stand mixer and add sugars. Mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and white in one at a time mixing until incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture in alternating batches. Starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, give the bowl a final scrape with a spatula to get any unmixed parts on the sides and bottom.
- Pour batter into your pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the center.
For the Buttercream
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy, add in confectioner's sugar in several batches and beat until incorporated. Drizzle in melted chocolate and mix until well combined. If buttercream is too thick at this point you can add some cream or milk, a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
For the Fluff
- Add 2/3 cup sugar and corn syrup to a small sauce pot and heat on medium high. Track the temperature with a candy thermometer you will want to pour into the egg whites when it is 240F.
- In a stand mixer start beating the egg whites starting on low but gradually gradually increasing to medium-high speed. Add in 1/3 cup of sugar while the egg whites are stiffening. Once you are at the soft peak stage slowly drizzle in the 240F sugar syrup into the mixer.
- Allow the mixer to run for about 10 minutes to allow the fluff to cool.
- You can use immediately, if the fluff looses it's texture give it a good wisk or run the mixer for a few seconds to bring it back.
For the Crumble
- Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs together well.
- Flatten out to about 1/4" onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 10 minutes at 350F or until you see a slight browning.
- Allow to cool and then crumble the mixture roughly allowing some larger pieces to remain.
Assembling
- Pipe a ring of the chocolate buttercream on each layer and fill with marshmallow fluff. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumble and drizzle with melted chocolate.
- Apply a thin crumb coat and allow to set in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
- Coat with chocolate buttercream, smooth edges with an offset spatula.
- press cracker crumbs onto the bottom third of the cake and then pipe the fluff onto the top.
- Flame the fluff with a torch and cake is ready to serve.
Notes
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- I recommend adding the graham cracker crumble in between each layer. It has so much crunch that I guarantee you'll want more!
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set online or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- Torching the marshmallow on top is optional but so worth it!
Nutrition
Justin Woods says
I love the nutrition facts on here, nice touch. How do you define “1 slice,” though?
jkanell says
a tenth of the cake 🙂
Rachael says
Can I assemble all the layers the day before?
jkanell says
Yes! 🙂
Chrysta says
I made this cake and it was a huge success i made it the day before and i ran out of fluff as i didnt have 4 6″ cake pans, so i used tbree 8″ cake tins and did 1.5 times the recipe. I used the ready made fluff for the rest of the cake and the next day it was melted down the side of the cake. Thankfully the other half held up and got some great pics. I doubled the chocolate inside the layers and put lots of graham crackers between as well. Loved this cake my son thought it was the best cake ever. Next time I will add even more chocolate between the layers and less fluff more graham crackers. The homemade fluff was so worth it. Loved this recipe thank you so much.
John K. says
Chrysta,
I would love to see your pics! I’m so happy you liked the recipe!
John
Chrysta says
I have pics where can I post
Brittani says
Hi John, which tip are you using for the fluff on top? Thanks!
John K. says
Brittani,
I used an 869 tip for the fluff!
John
Hillary Q says
Would it be a travesty to use ready-made Fluff?
John says
Hi Hillary Q — I prefer to make mine from scratch. That said, everyone has a different time table to make these recipes. If you use the fluff, be sure to let me know how it goes! Best, John.
Chrysta says
I used the ready made and the next day it was melted down the side of the cake
Riley Theriault says
I just made this for my little sisters birthday and it is absolutely amazing! My only comment is that I made the cake 3 hours in advance, and the fluff seemed to separate and the cake wouldn’t stop leaking corn syrup! Is there anything to do to prevent that?
jkanell says
Oh no! What temp did you bring the corn syrup sugar solution to? Maybe it wasn’t high enough because it shouldn’t separate..
Bakerella says
I love this cake recipe it is so delicious and moist! I want to use it to make a white/vanilla cake. Do I sub the 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs with all purpose flour or just forgo it all together?
John says
Bankerella — I recommend using one of my vanilla cake recipes, instead. Thanks, John.
Kelly R says
I made this cake and adapted it for a 4-layer 8″ round pan. 1.5 times the recipe worked perfect, although the final cake came out about 1″ too tall for any of my cake carriers!! Otherwise, it was a big hit and very delicious. I thought it would be too rich, but it was just light and fluffy enough to not overdo it. Will definitely make again! The only change I’ll make is probably using more of the chocolate drizzle in between the layers… I used it sparingly and then was left with a LOT of leftover melted chocolate, so I drizzled it on top as well, which I think added an extra visual sparkle to the cake. Also, read all the instructions first… I added the sugars to the dry ingredients and then discovered after it was supposed to be creamed with the butter first. The cake still turned out well, though.
John says
Hi Kelly — Wow!!! I am so impressed by you. Thank you for sharing your experience making this cake. Please let me know if you make any more of my cakes. I would love to hear more. Best, John.
Alex says
Hi! This looks great! I’m going to do it for my husbands birthday on friday. Do you think adding chocolate chips to the batter would be a good idea?
John says
Hi Alex — I have never tried putting chocolate chips into the batter for this cake before. My fear is that it will affect the cake’s ability to rise. Let me know how it goes! Best, John.
Alex says
Ok! I’ll let you know. Thank you!!
Alex says
Hi John, just wanted to let you know that I added the chocolate chips and it went well! They rose just fine and the chips didn’t fall to the bottom because the batter was thick enough to hold them. I haven’t tasted the cake yet but the batter was amazing!! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Kathy says
Would the fluff hold up if made the night before taking to work? Would love to make this for my coworkers
John says
Hi Kathy — Yes! Let me know how they like it. Thanks, John.