Dark Chocolate S'mores Cake



Birthdays call for specialty cakes. A dark chocolate s'mores cake is a special cake alright. My sister turned 25 on Saturday and I wanted to make her a special treat for her special day. She has a love for anything chocolate, especially dark chocolate so this cake was perfect. A little combination of dark chocolate with the sweetness of graham cracker and marshmallow, how can you go wrong?

The card and gift I gave to my sister.

I cannot believe my sister is 25 already. Time truly flies. We had so many good times playing together with our Barbies, American Girl dolls, computer games, and outdoor activities. As a 90's child, I can honestly say we had the best toys and cartoons, not all of these technological addictions and computerized shows on TV that today's children consume, which has such an attribution to the imagination and creativity we possess. This creativity and imagination has helped my sister and I in the career choices we have chosen and for that I am truly blessed.  Despite our very busy and opposite schedules with work and my sister in Grad school, we were able to go out to dinner as a family and I was able to find time to make this luxurious cake between work shifts.



Like whoopee pies, s'mores are just another childhood favorite. Who doesn't love a good s'more? Here I took a dark chocolate cake and paired it with marshmallow filling, dark chocolate ganache, dark chocolate frosting and lots of graham cracker crumbs (high fructose corn syrup free crackers please). The sugary sweet marshmallow filling is offset by the dark chocolate everything, so it is all very well balanced. It is not too rich, not too sweet, but just right and absolutely yummy-in-my-tummy. Though not calorie friendly, this cake is perfect for special occasions, such as a 25-year-old's birthday. I topped off this cake with extra marshmallow filling, stackermallows, graham crackers, and ganache. Absolutely divine and absolutely addictive!

Dark Chocolate Cake

1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup water

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add to the creamed butter mixture alternately with water, beating well after each addition.
2. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in round baking pans. Bake at 350 for 24-28 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove cakes from the pans and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
5 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1. Combine the sugar and cream in a heavy 3-qt saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Heat to a boil over medium-high heat; cook for 6 min. from the time it comes to a boil. Remove from heat; add the chocolate and the butter, stirring until melted. Add the vanilla.
2. Refrigerate until well chilled, but not solid. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it is a soft, spreadable consistency.

Recipe adapted from Chicago Tribune.

Marshmallow filling

2 cups butter, softened
2 7-oz jars of marshmallow fluff
1 cup confectioners sugar

1. In a mixer-bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until fluffy. Add marshmallow fluff and confectioners sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-5 min.

Dark chocolate ganache

4oz heavy whipping cream
4oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

1. Heat cream in a saucepan on medium heat until boiling.
2. Pour hot cream over chocolate, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let sit for 2 min.
3. Whisk mixture until combined and smooth.

Assembly

1. Trim cakes as needed. Set first cake on cake round. Put a portion of dark chocolate frosting into pastry bag. Pipe a circle of frosting around the edge of the top of the cake. With a pastry bag full of marshmallow filling, pipe filling in a spiral motion inside the piped chocolate frosting circle, until the top of the cake is completely covered inside the frosting outline.
2. Place second layer of cake on to of the first, and repeat above with frosting and marshmallow filling.
3. Using pastry bag and offset spatula, cover cake in dark chocolate frosting; make sure everything is perfectly smoothed out on sides and top of cake.
4. Immediately cover sides of cake with graham cracker crumbs, before frosting sets.
5. Pile remaining marshmallow filling on the top of the cake. Sporadically cover with stackermallows, graham cracker halves, and generously drizzle with dark chocolate ganache (making sure to let it drip down the sides).

Enjoy!