I recently traveled, in the time of covid, to Canada. Nobody undertakes global travel at the moment for pleasure, so you've probably guessed there were serious reasons for my foray into masked air travel. That being said, it was lovely to spend an extended period in my hometown, even if its first serious spike of covid cases coincided with my release from quarantine (I wasn't the typhoid Mary, I swear!). It's during times like these that you can be nostalgic, enjoying the whiff of skunk on the morning air before the heat of the day bakes all smells to a crisp and listening to the orchestra of grasshoppers as they pelt against your legs during walks through the pasture. Ah, Manitoba in August.
I'm often asked what I miss most of Canada. I answer that I miss close proximity to my Canadian friends and family, but I'm often pushed as to what do I miss in terms of food. What can said visitor bring with them in their bag to the other side of the world. And I have always struggled to answer. Those maple leaf shaped sandwich cookies are nice, but I don't miss them. Saskatoons really don't travel well (suitcase full of purple, anyone?). But on this last visit, I discovered the answer. Graham wafers. Yep, Canadian folks, these delightful bits of baking wonder are not readily available on other continents! It is a tragedy. The humble GW is such a versatile, subtly flavoured bisquit-y masterpiece, it is unbelievable that it has not conquered all four corners of the earth.
For those who are unfamiliar, graham wafers are the basis of every cookie crumb crust under every cheesecake, delicious simply on their own, and, in the role they play in this cake, one of the three key ingredients of the campfire favourite, the s'more. (And a quick tip to the Canadian peeps, grab a tub of that mixed berry whipped cream cheese and pack of wafers for your next lockdown Saturday night movie night. Dip said wafers into the cream cheese... instant cheesecake!!!)
Enough rambling. On to the cake. S'mores. The ooey gooey campfire specialty consisting of graham wafers, chocolate and toasted marshmallows. They are delicious and a wee bit sickeningly sweet... one is great, two and you'll soon regret it. For my version of the s'mores inspired cake, I used a rich, fudgy cake recipe layered with crunchy graham wafer crumbs topped with toasted marshmallow and finally covered with sticky 7-minute frosting. In all honesty, I think I hit that s'mores sugar level where a small piece is great, a big piece makes you regret your greediness!
I used whole graham wafers, crushed by hand to make the crumbs. This gives a range of sizes from chunky bits of mini-wafer to fine sprinkles. You can also use the pre-crushed graham wafer crumbs, but you'll lose some of the lovely crunch. The recipe I adapted mixed wafers with melted butter and sugar. I cut the sugar down substantially, but feel free to eliminate it entirely, as the cake is definitely already sweet enough.
I filled the cake by covering the base with a layer of graham crumbs followed by mini marshmallows. This was placed under a hot grill to toast the marshmallows. Watch carefully... they toast in seconds. I hardly had time to grab my camera and snap a quick pic before I needed to pull them back out.
I let the marshmallows cool while I made the frosting so they weren't so squishy and then placed the next cake layer on top. The 7-minute frosting is really easy so long as you have a hand-mixer that you can use while the mixture is on the stove top. Different from Swiss meringue frosting, you don't need a candy thermometer, as the frosting is kept over the simmering water long enough to ensure bacteria are eliminated. My only reservation is that the frosting is very thick (like melted marshmallows!) making it difficult to spread in anything other than a thick layer. This would be fine on a full sized cake, but on my mini version, I found the frosting a bit overwhelming. However, if you like sweet, pillowy, vanilla frosting, this is the recipe for you!
Happy baking!
S’MORES CAKE
makes 2 mini-cakes
THE CAKE
½ cup (75g) flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
⅔ teaspoon baking soda
⅓ teaspoon baking powder
⅓ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup buttermilk (1 tsp lemon juice in milk works, too!)
a scant ¼ cup oil
⅓ cup white sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 egg at room temperature
⅔ teaspoon vanilla
⅓ cup hot coffee
Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Grease one 8" round cake pan and line bottom with baking paper.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
Measure out buttermilk and set aside. If using milk and lemon juice, mix together now so it has time to curdle. This also lets the milk warm up a bit if it's straight from the fridge.
Beat oil and sugars on medium for 2-3 minutes. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Mix on low and add dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, starting and finishing with dry ingredients. Scrape sides then drizzle in coffee while mixing at medium for no more than 30 seconds.
Pour into prepared pan (batter will be very runny). Bake for 23-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool fully. Remove baking paper.
GRAHAM WAFER CRUMBS
3 double graham wafers, crumbled to about 0.5-1cm bits
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Mix together and spread on a cookie sheet or baking tray. Bake at 180C (375F) for 8 minutes, giving them a stir or shake half way through.
SEVEN MINUTE FROSTING
1 large egg white
¾ cup white sugar
⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
tiny pinch of salt
3 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
In a heat proof bowl, the bowl of your stand mixer or top of a double boiler, whisk together egg white, sugar, cream of tartar, salt and water. Place over a pot of quietly simmering water. Using a hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed for 7 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla paste.
ASSEMBLY
Place cake on a cutting board and create mini-cake layers by cutting 4 circles. Depending on the size of your cutter, you will need to go quite close to the edge to get the four. If your cake hasn't baked flat, use a bread knife to level the tops of the layers. The delicious smell of chocolate wafting from the kitchen means all other house mates will be at the door begging for the offcuts!
Choose your two bottom layers. Cover with a layer of graham crumbs and then a layer of mini-marshmallows, shoulder to shoulder. Place under a hot grill and watch carefully, removing immediately when the marshmallows are toasted golden brown. Alternatively, use a fancy kitchen torch to toast the marshmallows to perfection.
Allow to cool and then top with a second layer, bottom-side up. Frost with seven minute frosting and decorate with more graham wafer crumbs, if that’s your thing!
Store in fridge, but serve at room temperature.
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