S’mores Cake (Eggless & Gelatin free)

S’mores Cake is a fusion cake made with S’mores and the regular chocolate cake.

S’more, said to be the contraction of ‘some more’, is a campfire dessert. Traditionally, during a campfire, the marshmallows are slightly roasted on fire and served along with a slice of chocolate, sandwiched between two graham crackers.

This recipe makes a very heavy, rich and delicious cake with the goodness of chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers, walnuts and cream. I must admit that it is quite laborious to make but worth the effort.

I have used Dandies marshmallows as they are vegan, made with all natural ingredients, no corn syrup and no gelatin. Check for details here.

Serves: 10 to 12

Ingredients:

For Chocolate Cake:

All Purpose Flour – 3 cups
Baking Soda – 2 teaspoons
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – 1/2 cup (loosely filled)
Cinnamon Powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Fine Granule Sugar – 1 3/4 cups
Vanilla Essence – 2 teaspoons
White Vinegar – 2 tablespoons
Water – 1 3/4 cups
Vegetable/Canola Oil – 1/2 cup

For Chocolate Curls:

Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips – 1/2 cup

For Simple Syrup:

Granulated Sugar – 1 cup
Water – 1 cup

For Chocolate Ganache for Dripping:

Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips – 1 cup
Heavy Cream – 1/2 cup

For Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream Cheese – 8 oz
Powdered Sugar – 1 cup
Vanilla Extract – 1 1/2 teaspoons
Heavy Cream, cold – 2 1/2 cups

Walnuts – 1 cup
Marshmallows – 15 (I use Dandies marshmallows as they have no Gelatin)
Graham Crackers – 15
Sprinkles, optional

Method;

Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. Grease and dust two square cake tins of 8.5″.
3. Sift together all purpose flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon powder and salt. Sift 2-3 times so that the cocoa powder is well combined.
4. In a large mixing bowl, take sugar, vanilla essence, white vinegar and water. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
5. Pour oil.
6. Now fold in the sifted flour. Mix gently using a spatula until well combined.
7. Pour the batter into prepared tins.
8. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until the skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. Place the cake tins on the wire rack to cool down.

Simple Syrup:

1. Take sugar and water in a sauce pan. Heat until the sugar melts. Turn off the heat and allow it cool down.
2. Refrigerate until use.

Chocolate Curls:

1. Decide a flat surface that is not warm. I prefer using the back of a large steel plate as it is convenient to handle and also refrigerate if needed.
2. On a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips.
3. Take a 3-4 tablespoons of the melted chocolate and spread it evenly on the flat surface using a spatula into a thin layer. Spread all the melted chocolate. Use another plate if needed.
4. Allow the melted chocolate to cool down to room temperature. Now the chocolate layer should solidify to form a hard layer. It should not be too stiff and crisp.
5. Using a metal scraper or a spatula, from edge of the layer, push the layer to the other end such that the chocolate layer curls up. If the weather is too warm, the chocolate layer will start melting quickly. If that happens, refrigerate the plate for a couple of minutes. Please note that if the layer gets to cold and stiff, they will not curl up. If the layer is too soft, it wont curl up either, but stick to the spatula.
6. Refrigerate the curls.

Chocolate Ganache:

1. Place the chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.
2. Microwave the heavy cream for about a minute. Instead you can heat it on flame until it is hot and small bubble appear around the edges. Do not bring to boil.
3. Pour the hot cream on chocolate chips. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes.
4. Now thoroughly mix the cream and chocolate chips until it is smooth and creamy.
5. Tip: Prepare this once the cake is frosted and is getting chilled in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Take cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat until smooth.
2. In another bowl, whip heavy cream until soft peaks are formed.
3. Fold in the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and mix gently until well combined. Refrigerate until use or prepare the frosting once you moisten the cake layers with simple syrup as mentioned below.