I’ve been dreaming of this cake for a while. I tried my first version of it in February when I brought it to share with the team hosting the last Secret Supper (see Eva and Christiann’s amazing recaps here and here) and while it was good, it didn’t quite possess the smoky campfire flavor I was looking for. A month or so later Hot Cakes, a local bakery here in Seattle, was releasing a line of wilderness-inspired caramel sauces along with their smoked chocolate chips and I knew exactly what the cake was missing. I used the alderwood Smoked Chocolate Chips and whiskey to flavor a rich, dense chocolate cake, filled it with a toasted marshmallow buttercream, salted graham cracker toffee for crunch and drizzled it with Campfire Caramel (made with grass-fed cream and hickory smoked organic sugar). The cake tastes like the best nights spent around a campfire: rich and a little intoxicating.
Thank you to Hot Cakes for providing the goodies for this post! Also, 10% of the sales from their Wilderness Collection go to organizations dedicated to preserving wildlife and wild places, an even better reason to eat their caramels by the spoonful.
- ¾ c hot strong coffee or espresso
- 2 oz Hot Cakes Smoked Chocolate Chips
- 2 c superfine sugar (396 g)
- 1½ c all purpose flour (180 g)
- 1 c cocoa powder (85 g)
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ c vegetable oil
- 1 c buttermilk, at room temperature
- ¼ c whiskey
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ c Hot Cakes Campfire Caramel, for serving
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Prepare two 8-9 inch baking pans by buttering them, lining the bottoms with rounds of parchment and dusting with cocoa powder, tapping out the excess.
- Place the smoked chocolate chips in a bowl and pour in the hot coffee, allowing it to sit for a minute or two then stirring until smooth.
- Sift the dry ingredients (including the sugar) together in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the buttermilk, oil, whiskey and vanilla in a bowl or large measuring cup and set aside.
- Beat the eggs until creamy and thickened, 3-5 minutes. Slowly add the chocolate mixture to the eggs, then add the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Add half of the dry ingredients, mix until incorporated, then add the second half and mix until combined.
- Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 40 minutes. Rotate the pans in the oven and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pans on a cooling rack. Once the pans are cool enough to handle, run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cakes and very carefully turn them out onto the cooling rack to come to room temperature.
Assembly // Carefully (the cake is delicate) place one layer of the cake on your serving plate or cake stand. smooth a layer of buttercream on top, sprinkle with graham cracker toffee, and drizzle with slightly warmed (you want it to be pourable) campfire caramel. Place the second layer on top, cover with buttercream and decorate with toffee and drizzled caramel. - Will keep 3 days in the fridge, best served at room temperature.
- 9-12 graham crackers
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 6 tbsp brown sugar
- flaked salt
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 (or something close) baking pan with foil. Heat the butter on the stove over low heat until melted, then whisk in the brown sugar until it has mostly dissolved. Pour over the graham crackers and bake for about 10 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to cool to room temperature, then chop roughly. Store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready for use or up to 3 days.
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113 grams) butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (227 grams) confectioner's sugar, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ jar (6 ounces) marshmallow creme
- pinch of salt
- In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and beat until combined. Add almond extract, marshmallow cream and salt, and beat until smooth.
That’s so original ! I love thing smokey and I can’t imagine what this cake must taste like ! I live in France right now but maybe in Canada I’ll be able to get the ingredients you mention. I have a huge crush on this cake !
Yes! Definitely check in Canada. Thank you so much for saying hi! xx
Wow this is soooo beautiful and inspiring xxx
Thank you so very much, Aimee! If only you were closer I could bring you a slice!
Loving literally every flavor in this cake – the graham toffee sounds amazing. And per usual, your cakes are absolutely stunning in the looks department. I can’t wait to try this out in the summertime – s’mores just make me feel like such a kid 🙂
Thank you so much, Erica!! It really is a perfect summer cake! I think it will be joining me on a camping trip sometime soon!
Such a beautiful post!!! I want to try the new version of this cake, the first one was so tasty!! xx
I’ll totally make it for you sometime, I’m sure I can come up with a GF version that would be soooo good 🙂
When I first saw this cake, I knew I had to come on here, and leave a comment, this cake speaks to me, it looks amazing, decadent and fun to bake. I’m drooling right now!
Thank you so much, Nakida! it’s one of my favorites I’ve ever made! So delish!
LOVE the new logo and redesign! It’s very minimal and beautiful! <3 <3
Thank you!! She did such a great job 🙂
so awesome! such a brilliant idea! I stumbled upon hot cakes on my last visit to Ballard and was so excited trying each of those caramels. Nice work!
Thank you so much, Demetria! Aren’t they great?
Such a beautiful cake. And the flavors. . . so unique. With summer just about ready to peek around the corner. . .this cake is pure perfection.
Thank you so much, Lynn xx
This cake was amazing! I made it for my family, they are all vanilla lovers but they have now converted to chocolate. One of my family members hates cake and he could not get enough of it. You are definitely the Walter White of baking! I’m very intrigued by your recipes and your photos are beautiful! I can’t wait to make another one of your delicious recipes! Thank you!
Hi Michelle! I’m so, so glad you liked it! This recipe is definitely an investment time-wise but it’s one of my favorites I’ve ever made. I’m so glad it worked well for you. Thank you so much for your comment, made my night!
I made this for my wedding and everyone loved it!! It was much less beautiful than yours and it took several tries to get the frosting and crumble right, but it was so worth it. Thanks for sharing such an amazing recipe! 🙂
Oh my goodness! That’s so amazing! Isn’t it a good one? This is one of my favorite cakes ever! Thank you for reaching out, this made my day!
Congratulations! Xx