January 20, 2011

The Cake Slice January 2011 - Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake




It is Cake Slice Bakers time againFor those unfamiliar with the Cake Slice Bakers we are a group of baker's from around the world who are baking from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren ChattmanThis month we are baking a Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I looked through the list of ingredients.  There is only a small amount of flour, along with the ground graham crackers, which seemed a little strange.  And then there was the marshmallow fluff, something I have never even thought of using in as an ingredient before.  I don't even really like marshmallows themselves.  However, I am up for a challenge so I pushed ahead with the recipe.


Once everything has been measured out and is ready to go this cake comes together quickly.  I had it in the oven in no time.  Instead of greasing and flouring the pan I used a square of baking paper to prevent sticking.  To make it a little easier I gave the pan a quick spray with Pam just to keep the paper in place whilst I was spreading out the cake batter.  It worked like a charm and definitely made the cake a cinch to get out of the pan after cooling.


This is not a high-rising cake at all.  After spreading the batter out in the pan it is only abut 1 to 2 inches high, and it will not rise much more during baking.  Don't worry about this because it is a snacking cake, not a layer cake, and it comes out just fine.



Be warned that the icing is sweet - very sweet.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  It would seem that since this is a snacking cake, it would mean that you only need a small piece to snack on, therefore the icing is in proportion.  For me the texture of the icing was a little soft.  I wanted to pipe icing on part of the cake so I added an extra cup of powdered sugar to make it a little studier.

Once the cake was ready for the icing I cut it in half.  For one half I used fluted cutters to make some shapes, and piped the marshmallow fluff icing on top. We immediately snacked on the leftover bits.  I gave the other half to my youngest daughter and let her decorate it.  She was so dedicated to the job and started of piping the first initial of my name on the top, and then filled in the rest of the top with little peaks.  That's my girl!



All in all, I liked this cake. It isn't fancy, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but I don't think that it ever pretended it would.  It is quick, easy and very tasty.  I might be tempted to just do a buttercream with maybe a little cinnamon in it, rather than the marshmallow fluff as the frosting next time, but that's just me.   The wonderful thing about the Cake Slice Bakers is that you will get lots of different opinions about this cake.  Visit the Cake Slice Blogroll for clickable links to everyone's blogs and see what they thought about the Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake.


Graham Cracker Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients - Cake
  •  8 whole graham crackers, finely ground (about 1 cup)
  • ¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp (¾ stick) butter, softened
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini choc chips)

Ingredients - Frosting
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup confectioners sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup marshmallow fluff

Preparation – Cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
  2. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan and dust it with flour, knocking out any extra (or use baking paper like I did). 
  3. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
    Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat until smooth.
    With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture, then half of the milk, stirring until combined. 
  4. Repeat with the remaining flour and milk, ending with the flour. 
  5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
    Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. 
  6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. 
  7. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. 
  8. Invert it onto a wire rack, and then turn it right side up to cool completely.
Preparation – Frosting
  1. Place the butter in a medium mixing bowl and beat until creamy. 
  2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Stir in the vanilla and the marshmallow fluff and beat until smooth. 
  3. Use immediately or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
    Cut the cake into squares and serve each one with a dollop of frosting on top. (Bring the frosting back to room temperature first if it has been stored in the fridge). 
  4. Store any uneaten cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
  5. Makes one 8 inch square cake.
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)


 

55 comments:

  1. Am drooling at your yummy cake! Beautiful and perfect...

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  2. Wow, an amazing piece of cake with that swirl.

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  3. Aww, I love your daughter's piping. And your posh circles with the swirls are great too.

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  4. This is the kind of cake my husband would love. He loves simple desserts like this...and he ADORES marshmallows. Thank you for sharing another creative and beautiful recipe. I hope you have a great Thursday...the week is almost done!

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  5. Stunning, and looks really tasty!
    I love the recipe!

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  6. Gorgeous! I love snack cakes, and I'm so glad people don't try to pass them off as brownies! Love the graham crackers, great photos!

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  7. I'm not a marshmallow fan, either, but I love the fluff in my whoopie pie filling....I know I'd be a fan of this snack cake!

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  8. This cake sounds delicious! I love the way that you frosted it, simple and beautiful.

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  9. The chocolate chips in the photos are completely enticing.

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  10. I don't think I have ever had marshmallow fluff in my pantry in my entire life. But this looks worth trying.

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  11. This looks so yummy! The pictures just make this look so amazing

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  12. i like how you cut them into little cakes! =)that frosting looks so fluffy and delectable!

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  13. The title took me back to when I was in Girl Scouts and I remember making a cake that had graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chips. Never heard of the Cake Slice Bakers and the cookbook so it's fun to know about your group.

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  14. These look and sound great. Also, love your pics. Give your daughter a high five for me she did a good job.

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  15. I've made this cake before and I love it. I usually don't add teh frosting. I eat it as a snack with some milk. So good.

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  16. What a great idea, love how professinal these look! Resturant worthy and magazine! wow!

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  17. I love anything graham cracker related and when you add in chocolate and marshmallow like a s'more, I'm sold. I love the fluted cutter you used, very pretty.

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  18. That's so cool what you did with the frosting to make the peeks so nice looking. I agree with others that it looks like it could be served in a restaurant.

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  19. I love that you cut it out into circles! So pretty!

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  20. Wow this looks beautiful and so tasty too. I love the way your frosting looks too!

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  21. Well done to your daughter - she did a great job.

    I like the idea of serving with a cinnamon flavoured icing.

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  22. That looks amazing! What a beautiful picture of what looks like a very delicious cake!

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  23. What a lovely recipe!!! I love the slices and the icing :)!!

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  24. That looks delicious and aww your daughter is a chip off the block with her piping skills! She pipes better than many adults I know! :)

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  25. It looks very tasty. I saved it in my favourite recipe list. I never tried a similar recipe for frosting. I will give it a try soon. Thanks for sharing.

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  26. I just love graham crackers using them in the cake sounds like a nice flavor enhancement! The marshmallow just pushes over the top!!! What a wonderful dessert to share!
    Congrats on your top 9!!!!!
    Dennis

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  27. It looks like heaven..:D
    and different..

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  28. Congratulations on your top 9 today! Your little cakes look so good. Your daughter did a very good job piping:)

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  29. What a great little group of bakers! This cake looks delicious and the icing sounds perfect!

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  30. That cake looks so delicious and I think that marshmallow fluff makes a wonderful ingredient! In fact, I would love to find more uses for the stuff. Thanks for sharing!

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  31. What a cute idea! I love that the frosting is marshmallow :)

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  32. Congrats on Top 9! It looks so yummy and gorgeous!

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  33. Adorable looking tasty treat that has me wanting to reach into my computer to grab that cutie and take a bite.

    The Souper

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  34. Looks yummy. You had me at fluff!

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  35. Too cute! I love the round cake. Reminds me of a classier s'more.

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  36. Yay on Top 9--and #1 too! ;-) It looks like a great little cake.

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  37. Looks delicious! Congrats on making top 9!

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  38. I love this book. I just made a cake from it (the oatmeal snacking cake--it won't go up on my blog for 1-2 weeks though as I am perennially behind lol); I've wanted to try this one as well so I am glad to see a review of it.

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  39. I can already see how this cake will become our new favorite afternoon snack! Congrats on the top 9!

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  40. Oh man, that looks SO GOOD. I think I'd like to try it with the buttercream and cinnamon like you said instead of the marshmallow frosting. Do you have a favorite recipe for that?

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  41. Your cake looks delicious with all those choc chips. I love the idea of using the cutter, makes it look so sylish

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  42. @Jeff Patterson Hi Jeff. If you leave out the marshmallow fluff you have a basic buttercream. I would suggest adding a bit more powdered sugar if you want it firmer, and maybe a teaspoon of cinnamon. Enjoy!

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  43. Anything with graham crack is amazing. Thanks for posting this. It's simple enough for me (non-baker) to attempt!

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  44. Love your idea of fluted cutters!

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  45. I saw that you made the Foodbuzz top 9- congrats!

    I think the little cutouts you did were cute- definitely makes it more presentable. I didn't think the frosting was very sweet at all. It tasted like a buttercream to me, maybe it was the extra cup of sugar you added that put it over the top?

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  46. @Monica H Thanks Monica! After adding the marshmallow I tasted it and it was just too sweet - I am just not a big fan of marshmallow. I really just added the additional powdered sugar to give it body, and didn't taste it again at this stage.

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