Smores Ice Cream Cake
This Smores Ice Cream Cake is loaded with graham cracker crust and chocolate fudge and topped with toasted marshmallow creme.
This Smore Ice Cream Cake may not be the prettiest dessert I’ve ever made, but it is certainly one of the tastiest. I made it for Peanut’s 2nd Birthday, and judging from the smiles on her face while she was eating it, she liked it too. In fact, a couple of days after her Birthday, she asked for “more ice cream pie”.Â
I asked her for weeks before her birthday if she wanted me to make a birthday cake. The response I got was “no, ice cream”. So I decided to make an ice cream cake.
The idea to make a Smores cake came to me in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. I absolutely love smores. Like LOVE them. In fact, when I get a hankering for something sweet, I will often make myself a microwave/toaster oven smore at home.
Side note: I never tried s’mores until I graduated from high school. Even though my family went camping every summer when I was growing up, and we roasted marshmallows on a regular basis, smores were never on the campfire menu. I think it was because they are one of the things that “just don’t look appealing” to my Mom. Or maybe because of how messy they are. Anyhow, I’m making up for my lack of childhood smores now.
How to make S’mores Ice Cream Cake
I made all the components of this cake, except the ice cream, from scratch. Of course, if you want to save time, you can buy the fudge and marshmallow creme. I found homemade marshmallow creme to be worlds better than store-bought. The homemade one I made tasted great, with a strong vanilla flavor.
I also recommend making the graham crust from scratch, because you can make it in the pan of your choice, and you’re not stuck with a flimsy foil pie pan.
The fudge is quick and easy to make, with a short ingredient list. The result is a thick, super chocolatey fudge that can be warmed up to use as an ice cream topping.
Assembly of the cake takes some time because you have to freeze each layer before you add the next. Make sure you use enough ice cream (at least 2 pints or 1L for each layer) or you’ll end up with a very short cake. Use whatever flavor of ice cream you want, either vanilla or chocolate based. I used a couple of different Culver’s flavor of the days – one layer vanilla-based and one layer chocolate-based.
The hardest part about making the cake was getting the marshmallow creme to look good. It ended up sliding off a bit to form a small pool of marshmallow creme around the bottom of the cake.
You will want to make sure the cake is frozen solid before you add the marshmallow creme to prevent this from happening. I toasted the marshmallow creme with a blowtorch (yes, you can use a regular blowtorch that you might have in your garage or basement) to give it even more of a smores feel.
If you don’t have a blowtorch, it will be fine without toasting. If you don’t want to use marshmallow creme, 7-minute frosting would work great too, and it’s a bit easier to work with.
This cake is the perfect summer special occasion cake, especially if you’re having an outdoor party or barbecue. Every one of your guests, no matter their age, will love it.
Want more S’mores recipes?
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Move oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325°F. Add 16 pieces graham crackers, 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, and 6 Tablespoons sugar to food processor and process until mixture resembles wet sand.
- Transfer half of the graham crumb mixture to a 9″ springform pan. Press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan. Pour the rest of the crumbs onto a small baking sheet and press flat. Bake until crust is fragrant and beginning to brown, 13-18 minutes. Allow crusts to cool. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to use.
- Heat 12 ounces can evaporated milk, 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, and ½ cup sugar to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Off of heat, stir in 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Cool until sauce begins to thicken. Transfer to a container and cover. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Stir ¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light corn syrup, ¼ cup water, and ⅛ teaspoon salt together in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until mixture reaches 240°F.
- In the meantime, put 2 large egg whites and ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar in a large bowl. Start whipping to a soft peak on medium-high speed.
- Drizzle sugar mixture slowly into whipped egg whites, starting with only 2 Tablespoons of the sugar mixture. Increase mixer to high and whip until mixture is smooth and glossy, 5-7 minutes. Add 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and whip for 2 more minutes. Use immediately or store covered in the fridge until ready to use.
- Spread half of the ice cream evenly over graham cracker crust in springform pan. Move to freezer to freeze solid.
- Spread fudge evenly over ice cream, as thick as you prefer (you want it thick enough to know it’s there, but not so thick it overpowers the other ingredients). Break the remaining graham cracker crust into small pieces and sprinkle evenly over fudge. Move to freezer to freeze solid.
- Spread the remaining ice cream over fudge/graham cracker. Freeze solid.
- Warm edges of springform pan slightly with a warm, wet cloth. Remove side of springform pan. Spread marshmallow creme evenly over the whole cake. Store in freezer until ready to use.
- If desired, toast marshmallow creme with a blowtorch or kitchen torch. Cut and serve.
Notes
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it looks delicious!
It it very good – best ice cream cake I’ve had so far!