Homemade S’mores Cake Recipe

This homemade s’mores cake is delicious and looks much harder to make than it actually it. Every time I make this, people are wowed. Chocolatey and fresh marshmallow that’s creamy and… yum!

Little Miss’s birthday was a little over a week ago, and as is our usual tradition, I let her choose what she wanted for her birthday dinner and her birthday cake. Interestingly, she chose pancakes for dinner, which was awesome. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of pancakes, and the wee ones think I don’t know how to make them, so that meant my husband got to cook dinner instead of me. For her cake, she wanted chocolate. After a bit of digging to get an understanding of what kind of chocolate (because nothing is simple and clear cut around here), she decided on a homemade s’mores cake.

Rock on, little girl, rock on. Of course, something like these s’mores cupcakes would have worked, too, but cupcakes are for half birthdays. “Real” birthdays get cakes. What, you don’t roll that way in your house?

Apparently her memory of the amazingly easy and yummy homemade marshmallow fluff I made earlier this year stuck with her. She’s big into s’mores because it’s one of the few desserts at camp that they make that she can eat – because we send in our own dairy free chocolate for her. I made this recipe dairy free for her, but I’m including the standard ingredients, as most people don’t have the same dairy restriction she does. It’s easy to swap out the cream for full fat coconut milk (from the can) and the milk for rice or soy or almond milk. They’re all one to one swaps, and this tastes amazing either way.

This is one of those cakes that looks impressive and sounds impressive, but it’s actually really easy to make. I do a homemade chocolate cake, but it would work just fine with your favorite box mix made according to directions. I make my own marshmallow fluff, but the kind from a can would work, as well. The ganache? Now that part’s easy. It’s truly two ingredients and a little stirring. That one you can make and no one has to know how easy it was.

Because the look on her face when she saw her homemade s’mores cake fully assembled and lit with candles, she was thrilled. The look on her face says it all.

Once we bit into it, we all agreed that this was an excellent choice. Super moist chocolate cake. Light and creamy marshmallow fluff. Decadent chocolate ganache. Crunchy graham cracker topping. Done and done.

Homemade S’mores Cake

Ingredients:
For the cake
2 c flour
1 t salt
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
3/4 c cocoa
2 c sugar
1 c oil
1/2 c milk
1/2 c mayonnaise
2 eggs
1 t vanilla bean paste
1 c brewed coffee, hot
For the rest
2 c marshmallow fluff
12 oz dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 c heavy whipping cream
1 T brewed coffee
3 graham crackers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Prepare two nine inch round pans by greasing them. Cut out parchment circles to place inside your pans, then grease the tops of those, as well. If you’re making the marshmallow fluff, make it ahead of time or while your cakes are cooling.

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa, and sugar to a bowl. Stir gently until it is all evenly distributed. Add oil, mayonnaise and milk. Mix at medium speed 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, beat together th eggs and vanilla for two minutes until the eggs are light and frothy, then pour into the batter and mix on low until just combined. Add the coffee while stirring on low and mix just until incorporated fully. The batter will be very thin.

Pour into your two pans, doing your best to ensure that they are evenly distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325 until your cake tester comes out clean and the tops have lightly cracked.

While the cakes are baking, prepare your ganache, as it needs to cool for awhile before using. In a small pot, heat your cream just until it is steaming. Do not let it boil. In a small bowl, place your chocolate, and pour the scalded cream over your chocolate. Add the coffee, then stir gently with a spatula until thoroughly incorporated. Once smooth, let it sit at room temperature until you’re ready to use it.

Cool your cakes for ten minutes in the pans, then lightly run a thin knife around the edge of the pans to loosen your cakes then turn out onto wire racks to cool further.

Peel off the parchment paper, as well, as you don’t want to eat it!

Place strips of parchment paper on the plate you’ll use to serve your cake so that they overlap and make a wreath over which the cake will sit. Place your first layer face down onto the plate. Scoop your marshmallow fluff onto the center of your cake and use an offset spatula to smooth it out over your cake almost but not quite to the edges.

Place your second cake face up on top of the first cake. Turn the second cake gently if necessary to ensure it is level, then press down gently. Pour about half your ganache over the cake from the center. Let it spill over the edges and carefully use another offset spatula to ensure the ganache adheres evenly across the sides of the cake. Pour more ganache atop the cake as needed to ensure you have adequate coverage. It’s easier to do it in batches than all at once or it will simply pool at the base of your cake.

Once your ganache is all on the cake, carefully pull out the parchment paper one by one to help make your cake plate neater. There will still be some dribbles, as the ganache is fairly thin, but that’s fine.

Crush two graham crackers and dust the top and sides of your cake with them, as desired. Break up your third graham cracker into small pieces and decorate your cake with them as desired. Serve immediately or let the ganache cure a little to make cutting easier and less sloppy.

This homemade s’mores cake is best eaten the same day it is made, but it will last two to three days, if needed.

Homemade S’mores Cake

An easy and gorgeous cake that tastes as good as it looks. Wow your guests with a cake that is much easier to make than they'll ever guess! Moist chocolate cake, creamy marshmallow fluff, decadent ganache, and crunchy graham crackers are a perfect combination.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 16 servings

Calories: 558kcal

Author: Michelle

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Ingredients

For the cake

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 1 cup brewed coffee hot

For the rest

• 2 cups marshmallow fluff
• 12 ounces dark chocolate chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon brewed coffee
• 3 graham crackers

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325. Prepare two nine inch round pans by greasing them. Cut out parchment circles to place inside your pans, then grease the tops of those, as well. If you're making the marshmallow fluff, make it ahead of time or while your cakes are cooling.
• Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa, and sugar to a bowl. Stir gently until it is all evenly distributed. Add oil, mayonnaise and milk. Mix at medium speed 1 minute.
  2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 3/4 cup cocoa, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup oil, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup milk
• In a separate bowl, beat together th eggs and vanilla for two minutes until the eggs are light and frothy, then pour into the batter and mix on low until just combined. Add the coffee while stirring on low and mix just until incorporated fully. The batter will be very thin.
  2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1 cup brewed coffee
• Pour into your two pans, doing your best to ensure that they are evenly distributed. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325 until your cake tester comes out clean and the tops have lightly cracked.
• While the cakes are baking, prepare your ganache, as it needs to cool for awhile before using. In a small pot, heat your cream just until it is steaming. Do not let it boil. In a small bowl, place your chocolate, and pour the scalded cream over your chocolate. Add the coffee, then stir gently with a spatula until thoroughly incorporated. Once smooth, let it sit at room temperature until you're ready to use it.
  12 ounces dark chocolate, 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon brewed coffee
• Cool for ten minutes, then lightly run a thin knife around the edge of the pans to loosen your cakes then turn out onto wire racks to cool further. Peel off the parchment paper, as well, as you don't want to eat it!
• Place strips of parchment paper on the plate you'll use to serve your cake so that they overlap and make a wreath over which the cake will sit. Place your first layer face down onto the plate. Scoop your marshmallow fluff onto the center of your cake and use an offset spatula to smooth it out over your cake almost but not quite to the edges.
  2 cups marshmallow fluff
• Place your second cake face up on top of the first cake. Turn the second cake gently if necessary to ensure it is level, then press down gently. Pour about half your ganache over the cake from the center. Let it spill over the edges and carefully use another offset spatula to ensure the ganache adheres evenly across the sides of the cake. Pour more ganache atop the cake as needed to ensure you have adequate coverage. It's easier to do it in batches than all at once or it will simply pool at the base of your cake.
• Once your ganache is all on the cake, carefully pull out the parchment paper one by one to help make your cake plate neater. There will still be some dribbles, as the ganache is fairly thin, but that's fine.
• Crush two graham crackers and dust the top and sides of your cake with them, as desired. Break up your third graham cracker into small pieces and decorate your cake with them as desired. Serve immediately or let the ganache cure a little to make cutting easier and less sloppy.
  3 graham crackers

Equipment

Cake Pans

Round Parchment Paper

Cake Stand

Notes

• This cake is best eaten the same day it is made, but it will last two to three days if needed. You can also make this dairy-free by substituting full-fat coconut milk for the cream and your favorite non-dairy milk for the milk.
• Make your own marshmallow fluff for the filling with this fab recipe - homemade marshmallow fluff.
• For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 558kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 421mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 43g

This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.

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