Ingredients: |
Ingredients: The Dry Ingredients:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (NOT baking powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
The Wet Ingredients:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, softened (either leave it out on the counter for 2 hours or so or zap in microwave for 10-15 seconds), plus more for greasing the pan
1/2 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
The Filling:
2 XL-sized Hershey bars (about 4.4 ounces each. It MUST be a Hershey bar for the best S’more experience!)
7 1/2-ounce jar Marshmallow Fluff
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Directions: |
Directions:Add the Dry Ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk together until fully combined. Set aside.
Now let’s focus on the Wet Ingredients.
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or another large mixing bowl if using an electric hand mixer), add the softened butter, brown and white sugars.
Start on a low speed and work your way to a 4-speed or medium speed until the butter and sugar are creamed, about 30 seconds.
Add the egg, vanilla and syrup. Mix for about 15 seconds until combined.
Add the Dry Ingredients and start on a low speed (flour likes to go all over the place so always start on a low speed) and once the dry and wet ingredients are combined, up to one speed higher and let mix for about 30 seconds until a thick dough-like batter has formed. Set aside.
Assembling The Cakes:
For One Large Stuffed Cake: Take a 7×3 springform pan and generously grease the bottom and sides of the pan with additional butter.
Lay in a 7″ parchment round and butter the top of that too.
Take about 1/3 of the dough and press it into the bottom of the pan, giving it a supple bottom of about 1/2-inch thick so it’s not too thin.
Then, take another 1/3 of the dough and line it along the sides of the pan, attaching it to the dough on the bottom of the pan. It should come up to about about 1/4-inch below the lip of the pan. Like using a pottery wheel, work your way around the pan to make sure the dough is evenly distributed This ensures we’ll have outer edges of the cake and will keep the S’mores filling secure inside.
Layer in one of the Hershey bars (break it up to lay it in
and then use a silicone or rubber spatula to smooth the Marshmallow Fluff on top (you can use up to the whole jar if you desire) and then top off with the remaining Hershey bar.
Use the remaining 1/3 or so of the dough and lay it over the top Hershey bar layer so it’s totally covered and connected to the dough that came up to just below the lip of the pan. The top layer of dough should come up to just slightly under the the lip of the pan.
Cover the top with foil, making sure you don’t press the foil directly onto the top layer of dough, but rather have it somewhat loosely on the pan.
For Four Individual Lava Cakes: Take four 6-ounce glass custard ramekins (yes, it must be this size) and generously grease the bottom and sides of the pan with additional butter. Evenly distribute the dough, leaving some leftover for the top, and press it into the bottom and sides of each ramekin. Then, in each ramekin, add in about 2 pieces of the Hershey bar, followed by about 1/4 cup of Marshmallow Fluff, and top with about about 3-4 pieces of the Hershey bar. Distribute the remaining dough evenly to serve as a final layer on top of the Hershey bar and attaching to the dough on the sides of the ramekin. The top layer of dough should come be flush with the lip of the ramekin. Cover the tops of each ramekin with foil, making sure you don’t press the foil directly onto the top layer of dough, but rather have it somewhat loosely on top.
Pressure Baking The Cakes:
Add the trivet and 2 cups water to the Instant Pot.
If making one large stuffed cake, rest the springform pan on the trivet, secure the lid, move the valve to the sealing position and hit Manual or Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 40 minutes. Quick release when done. Using the trivet’s handles with oven mitts or a dish towel, carefully transport the cake to the counter, remove the foil and let rest for 15 minutes to slightly cool. Take a pairing knife and get in between the perimeter of the edge of the pan and edge of the cake and loosen it up. Unlatch the pan and let the cake rest.
If making four lava cakes, rest three of the ramekins on the trivet with the fourth resting on top of the center of the three. Secure the lid, move the valve to the sealing position and hit Manual or Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 25 minutes. Quick release when done. Using oven mitts or a dish towel, carefully transport the ramekins to the counter.
Serving The Cakes:
If you made the large cake, you can either serve it immediately, where the center will be super ooey and gooey like a giant lava cake OR let it fully cool for 3-4 hours and it will become like a S’mores Cookie/Brownie Bar! Slice into wedges when serving. Store any leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days.
If you made the four lava cakes, serve immediately as they SHOULD be ooey and gooey. To make it extra indulgent, add a scoop of ice cream (I used vanilla) with some chocolate syrup on top! |
This recipe for Smores Cake is from