We're in the midst of my favorite time of year, particularly in NY. The weather is 60's and 70's. The flowering trees have blossomed. It's warm and sunny and happy. *sigh* Beautiful. But, spring is fleeting. Over before it even really begins. And then we have summer.
But that's totally OK, because I love summer too.
It also meant s'mores.
Suffice it to say: I love em.
So, in preparation for all the summer fun to come, I've got a fun (and portable) s'mores treat for ya. These are ideal for picnics, barbecues, parties, and such. Or, if you're me, just sitting in your apartment with a spoon. S'mores cakes in jars! Yes yes yes. Fabulously buttery graham cracker crust layered under moist chocolate cake, then topped with sweet, toasty marshmallows. Then ya dig in with a spoon and get messy. They're pretty darn easy to throw together-and they're really yummy leftover too (seriously, pop em in the microwave for 1 minute and you're good, or you could even just eat em room temp. Your call.)
These are about to be one of your new favorite things.
And...you may end up with some extra batter.
I made a cute little loaf cake with crumbled graham crackers on top.
You could make cupcakes.
Or just eat it.
You know me, I don't judge.
S'mores Cakes in Jars
Slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is
Makes four 16 oz. mason jar cakes
Notes:
-You may have leftover batter (like I did)-just use it for whatever you please (like cupcakes).
-You can use different sizes of jars, just use your judgment to figure out how much batter to use for each jar (never go over halfway) and you may need to adjust baking times.
Ingredients:
Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of salt
Cake
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tbsp. sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 and 1/8 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dark (or unsweetened) cocoa powder
- 1 and 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Topping
- 1 bag of large marshmallows (I used regular sized marshmallows and didn't end up using the whole bag)
Preparation:
Crust
- Spray 4 jars with non-stick spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix melted butter with graham cracker crumbs and salt until moistened.
- Press graham crust into jars (one tablespoon at a time in each jar, repeating until the crumbs are gone). Press crumbs down into the bottom (I used the bottom of an ice cream scoop.)
- In a bowl whisk the egg and sugar until there are no lumps. Then, stir in the vanilla, milk, cream, and melted butter. Mix in the sour cream/yogurt.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt then add to the wet ingredients, mixing until smooth.
- Using 1/4 cup measure, add batter to the jars, one scoop in each at a time, and fill them up about half way. Place the jars in a baking dish and add about 1 and 1/2 cups water to the bottom. Bake 30 minutes, until cake is set.
- Remove from oven. Press marshmallows onto the top-as many as you can (about 4-5 for each jar)-don't burn yourself!
- Turn oven to broil and place the jars under the broiler, WATCHING CAREFULLY, let marshmallows toast and brown (this should only take a couple minutes). If the tops of the marshmallows are toasted but the rest aren't cooked enough, turn off the broiler and let the jars sit in a 350 degree oven until they are gooey.
- Serve immediately. Store at room temperature. To reheat just place in a microwave on high for 1 minute.
Dontcha just wanna dig in??