Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a half sheet pan with parchment.
- Fill a medium bowl with hot tap water.
- Place 2 eggs in the hot water for 5 minutes to bring them to room temperature.
- Fill a container with 8 oz milk and add 1 T white wine vinegar. Let curdle until needed for recipe.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Combine with the paddle attachment on low speed.
- Add the eggs, milk/vinegar mixture, oil and vanilla to the stand mixer.
- Mix until completely combined.
- Add 1 T espresso powder to the hot water, and dissolve.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and pour in the hot espresso.
- Mix on low speed until combined.
- Let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
- Pour the batter (it will be very thin and pretty liquidy) evenly over the half sheet pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 27-30 minutes.
- Cool the cake on a wire rack until completely cool.
- Carefully flip the cake from the pan and remove the parchment. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the buttercream.
Buttercream
- Mix together butter, marshmallow creme and vanilla.
- When completely mixed, add the powdered sugar to the bowl.
- Mix until the frosting is smooth.
- Make the graham cracker crumbs
Graham Cracker Crumbs
- In a small bowl, melt 2 T of butter.
- Add the graham cracker crumbs and fluff with a fork.
- Make chocolate ganache
Chocolate Ganache
- In a medium microwave safe bowl, add cream and chocolate.
- Microwave in 1 minute increments until chocolate melts.
Assembly
- Using a 6 inch cake ring, cut three rounds from the sheet cake.
- Reserve the scraps in a ziplock bag for S'mores Cake Truffles.
- Prepare the cake ring by lining the interior with 9 inch high parchment or acetate.
- Begin layering inside the cake ring by placing a cardboard cake round.
- Insert the first cake layer.
- Cover the cake layer in 1/3 of the ganache, all the way to the sides.
- Cover the ganache with 1/3 of the graham cracker crumbs making sure to get all the way to the edges.
- Cover the graham cracker crumbs with 3/4 inch of buttercream, once again making sure to get all the way to the edges.
- Chill for 15 minutes.
- Repeat the layering process once more. Pressing the cake layer down into the previous layers.
- Chill another 15 minutes.
- Top with third cake layer, and press down into the previous layers.
- Chill for 15 minutes.
- Carefully slide off the cake ring, and unwrap the cake from the parchment or acetate.
- Fill the squeeze bottle with remaining ganache.
- Create a drip effect using the squeeze bottle.
- Top the ganache with the remaining graham cracker crumbs.
- Fit a pastry bag with a decorating tip.
- Fill the pastry bag with buttercream, you may have some left over.
- Pipe mounds all over the outer upper edge of the top of the cake, you should still seem graham cracker crumbs showing through in the middle.
- Unwrap and press Ghiradelli Squares on an angle into each individual mound of frosting.
- Refrigerate until set throughout, about 2-3 hours.
