Graham Cracker Cake
My three-year-old has gotten in the habit of asking for dessert after dinner. I’ve tried to explain to him that we don’t always have dessert, but he just doesn’t accept that answer. I can’t blame him! Our compromise is a graham cracker, not a full-fledged cookie. I opened one of the many boxes stashed in my pantry to make this graham cracker cake. There’s no mistaking that this is 100% dessert.
I crushed a big stack of graham crackers in the food processor and used that dust like flour in the batter. At first when I baked the cake, I ended up with 2 layers, but I wanted to go taller, so I made another set. The recipe below is written for a 4-layer cake with rich chocolate frosting. If I had marshmallow fluff at home, I would have used that along with the frosting to create a s’more cake.
Graham Cracker Cake
Adapted from Food 52
Makes one 4-layer 8-inch round cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 40 squares)
1-1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups milk
Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
4-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract. On low speed, add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk until just combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 28-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the edges of the cake pull away from the pan.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Then remove them and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed for 4 minutes until smooth. Sift together the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder and salt. On low speed, slowly add the sugar-cocoa mixture followed by the milk, corn syrup and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
To assemble the cake, use a serrated knife to trim the tops of the cakes as needed to make them even. Slice the cakes in half crosswise to create 4 layers. Using an offset spatula, frost the top of one of the layers and stack another one on top. Repeat with the remaining layers. Frost the top of the cake followed by the sides.
