S’MORES BROWNIE CAKEfeatured

I didn’t grow up camping. My mom was not down with sleeping in a tent. Not her thing. Hiking yes. Sleeping on the ground no. So even though my Dad liked it, we just never camped.

Not surprisingly, I’m not the best camper. I like it; I’m usually game for going, I’m just not “good” at it. Granted, I’m judging myself against my friends who live and die for camping so maybe I’m actually just fine. I don’t know.

However, I am pretty awesome at one essential camping skill. Making s’mores. Seriously, I’m a champ at this. Laugh all you want, but making a good s’more is no joke. It takes legit skills and patience to get the marshmallow perfectly golden and then to get the chocolate a little soft so it’s more melty than just a block of solid chocolate. Like I said, skills.

I’ve always thought s’more ingredients would be perfect for a cake. I’ve had s’more pie, which is also awesome and will find it’s way onto the blog for sure, but I’ve been itching to figure out how to make it work as a cake. As soon as I figured out that I could use brownies instead of traditional cake, game changer. One thing to note: resist the urge to class up the cake and do a dark chocolate ganache. Keep it milk chocolate if you want that true s’mores taste.

This cake appears to have a lot of steps, and it does, but most of them can be done ahead of time. Plus each step is relatively quick. You can make the marshmallow creme up to a week before and just store in the fridge. The brownies can be made a day ahead and so can the graham cracker layer. Each part of the cake is fairly quick and easy so if you break it up and do some of it the day before, it’s an easy cake to do.

You will need a candy thermometer and a cooking torch for the recipe. I highly recommend getting a cooking torch because once you do, you will find a million reasons to use it. Because let’s be honest. Playing with fire is fun.

Recipe: S’mores Cake  |  Soundtrack: Shakey Graves

• BROWNIES
• 9 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
• 4 cups sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• MARSHMALLOW CREME
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 5 large egg whites
• 1/4 cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• GRAHAM CRACKER FILLING
• 26 graham cracker squares (most graham crackers come as two squares attached to make a rectangle, you would need 13 of these)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE
• 8 oz good quality milk chocolate
• 3/4 cup cream
• TOPPING
• Half of a bag of small marshmallows

Directions:
To make the brownies:
Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease 3 8-inch round pans. Line them with parchment paper, grease them again. Set aside.

Fill a large saute pan with water and bring to a simmer on the stove. In medium metal bowl, place the chopped chocolate and butter. Place the metal bowl onto the simmering water. It will float on top. Hold the bowl with one hand and stir the chocolate and butter together until it’s almost completely melted. Remove from heat and stir for 30 seconds longer.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, pour in the chocolate and add in the sugar. Mix. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well between each one. Add the vanilla and salt. Add the flour and mix until just blended.

Scoop out the batter evenly between the 3 pans. The batter is thick and will need to be evenly spread in the pans. Lift and gently bang the pans on the counter to level and even out the batter so it cooks evenly.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack. Let cool for 30 minutes. Flip the pan over, gently tap the bottom of the pan and the brownie should release. Remove the parchment paper. Leave it alone and let it continue to completely cool. Do this with all three pans.

To make the marshmallow creme:
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a small sauce pan on the stove. Gently stir to combine. Heat mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture comes to 240º on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, while the sugar mixture is cooking, in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip the egg whites and cream of tarter until soft peaks form.

On low speed, add 3-4 tbsp of the cooked sugar mixture to the egg whites. Gradually and gently pour the remainder of the sugar mixture into the egg whites. Whip until stiff glossy peaks form. 7-10 minutes. Add the vanilla the in the last few minutes. Store in a container in the fridge until you are ready to use.

To make the graham filling:
Using a food processor, grind the graham crackers into crumbs. Add the sugar and mix together. Add the melted butter and pulse till the mixture resembles wet sand.

To assemble the cake:
Place one brownie layer onto a platter or cake stand. Spread half of the marshmallow creme onto the brownie layer. Add 1/2 cup of the graham cracker crumbs and spread over the marshmallow creme. Place the next brownie layer on top and repeat the steps. Place the final brownie layer on top and make the milk chocolate ganache.

To make the milk chocolate ganache & finish the cake:
Chop the milk chocolate and place into a bowl. Place the cream into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture until smooth.

Pour the chocolate ganache over the top of the cake while warm. Make sure it covers the top and allow it to drip over the sides. Add the marshmallows right away while the ganache is still soft. Use enough marshmallows to generously cover the top of the cake. With a cooking torch, toast the marshmallows until they are golden and a little burnt. Just like a s’more.

Serve immediately or keep in the fridge and bring to room temperature when ready to serve.

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