My S’mores Cake might be one of the most show stopping cakes ever created. With its grandiose swirls and delicate charring, it truly looks like it should be on a pedestal in a museum. Not only does it look absolutely gorgeous, but decorating it is actually so easy. You can make just as beautiful of a cake as mine as long as you have a spoon and a blowtorch! The cake itself is so fluffy and moist and radiates graham cracker flavor. Not to mention, the chocolate frosting filling between the layers is so dreamy. Making this cake brings me tons of joy, because I know how much joy it brings everyone around me. It’s a cake for any and every season. This S’mores Cake is sure to bring extraordinary happiness to you and all you choose to share it with; get to baking and start spreading that joy!
What is Swiss meringue? How is it different than other meringue?
Oh meringue. Such a wild, incredible, lovely sweet treat. If you are unfamiliar with meringue, it’s essentially just whipped egg whites with sugar, beat until light and fluffy. However, what you might not expect is just how many varieties of meringue this world has.
The types of meringue
Starting with the basics, there are three ways to make meringue: the Italian method, the Swiss method, and the French method. The Italian method is made by creating a hot sugar syrup on the stove and slowly pouring that into the egg whites as you beat them. This is my least favorite method, and I would not recommend it. The syrup creates a safety hazard, and I don’t think the distribution of the sugar into the egg whites is that great.
Moving on, the French method is simplest of the methods. You beat egg whites while gradually adding in your granulated sugar. You should also add cream of tartar to this meringue to increase stability, as it is fairly unstable on it’s own. This is an easy method, and I like it, but many people get uneasy when you tell them that the egg whites are not “cooked”.
This leads us to my favorite method, the Swiss meringue method. In this method, you combine the egg whites and sugar together in a heat proof bowl and place it over boiling water, creating a double boiler. You whisk consistently until the mixture heats, the sugar dissolves, and the mixture feels warm to the touch, I like to get my egg whites up to 150F, but 110-120F is also good. Heating helps eliminate any bacteria in the egg whites, and also helps to stabilize the meringue, so this method does not need cream of tartar. Of course, you can use any method you prefer, but I highly recommend the Swiss method.
Information on meringue peaks and what you want for your s’mores cake
Now that you understand the difference in meringue methods, let’s get into peaks. Often times, a recipe will call for you to whip your meringue to stiff peaks. Essentially, the recipe is asking you to whip the meringue until it firmly holds its shape. Soft peaks is when the meringue is more foamy and will not hold much shape. Whipping to stiff peaks is best for this recipe, allowing you to make beautiful swirls in the frosting.
S’mores Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Unsalted Butter
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1¼ cups Milk
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- ⅓ cup Cocoa Powder
- Pinch Salt
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
For the Marshmallow Frosting:
- 3 Large Eggs
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and line three 6-inch pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), cream the butter, oil, and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix to incorporate.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain. Add half of the milk, and mix until combined. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredient mixture and mix. Then add the second half of the milk and mix. Finally, add the last third of the dry ingredient mixture, and mix until just combined and a few streaks of flour remain. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the batter from the bottom and give the batter a couple folds to make sure the batter on the bottom is mixed with the batter on the top.
- Distribute the batter evenly amongst the three prepared pans and bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before frosting.
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- Add the butter and cocoa powder to a large bowl. Mix together on low speed until completely combined. Make sure no clumps of cocoa remain. Add the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Mix until combined. Frost between the cake layers and crumb coat the outside of the cake.
For the Marshmallow Frosting:
- In the bowl of a double boiler, add the egg whites and sugar. I use my stand mixer bowl for this.
- Whisk the egg whites in the double boiler constantly, until the sugar completely melts into the mixture, and the mixture reaches 160°F, or feel hot to the touch (be careful not to burn yourself though!)
- The egg whites will turn into a very loose consistency that is homogeneous and no sugar grains will be left.
- Remove the bowl and put it on your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Set the speed at 7 and whip until you achieve stiff peaks.Once stiff peaks are achieved, add in the vanilla and whip for 30 more seconds to assure even distribution.
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