Campfire S'Mores Cake Pops Recipe

Who doesn't love s'mores? This traditional campfire combo of fire-scorched marshmallows, melty chocolate, and graham crackers is guaranteed to evoke images of summer camp and childhood feelings of adventure, excitement, and endless possibility. (Not to mention that they are absolutely delicious!) A number of restaurants and home bakers have paid homage to the American delight with countless scrumptious spinoffs of the mighty s'more, from pies to milkshakes and even homemade grilled s'mores donuts.

Now, let us introduce you to yet another way to enjoy the unmistakeable taste of s'mores: as cake pops. Recipe developer Jennine Rye has created this fun and delicious recipe and views these bite-sized cake pops as memories on a stick, which we believe is a fitting tribute to the classic method of toasting marshmallows over an open campfire. If you love the taste of rich chocolate with deliciously melty marshmallows, you'll adore these campfire s'mores cake pops.

This campfire s'mores cake pops recipe starts with homemade chocolate cake. For that you'll need flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and milk. A chocolate ganache made with semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream helps the crumbs stick together, while a torched marshmallow frosting with egg whites and cream of tartar is the exterior layer. 

And of course, no s'mores-inspired recipe would be complete without graham crackers, which we'll use in their crumbled form for one of the cake ball layers. You can either buy the crushed crackers straight from the store or make the crumbs yourself by putting the crackers in a food processor for 15 seconds. And if you can't get ahold of graham crackers, Rye says you can easily replace this ingredient with your favorite cookie crumbs instead. Finally, grab a few sticks or skewers to insert into each cake ball.

First up, you'll want to make a chocolate sponge cake, which will form the crumb base of the cake pops. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a bowl, then separately beat together the butter, ½ cup of sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer along with the milk to create a smooth chocolate batter and, finally, pour it into a prepared cake tin to bake for about half an hour. You'll know it's done when it has risen and springs back to the touch. 

You'll then need to allow the sponge cake to cool completely so you can use your hands to break it up into crumbs. Incidentally, Rye says this recipe is a great way to use leftover cake or salvage a cake recipe that went wrong.

Next, it's time to make chocolate ganache. Finely chop the chocolate, which will help it melt more easily. Meanwhile, gently heat the cream in a bowl suspended over a pan of hot water; the key is to heat it without letting it boil, Rye explains. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, and stir. After a couple of minutes, the cream will melt the chocolate to form a smooth, glossy ganache. Add all but 2 tablespoons of this mixture to the sponge crumbs — we'll use the ganache as a glue later on — and then mix everything together to create a delicious, fudge-like cake pop base.

Create the cake pops by scooping up equal portions of the sponge mixture and rolling them around in your hands to make balls. About a tablespoon of the mixture per ball will make for 24 perfect bites, but don't worry about being too precise. Place your cake balls onto a nonstick surface and, once all the sponge mixture is used up, coat them with the graham cracker crumbs. 

Next, you'll dip the sticks you're using for the cake pops into the remaining ganache. This will act like a glue, helping your cake balls adhere to the sticks once you insert them into the balls. Presto! You've got cake pops. Let them firm up in the fridge for at least an hour before our final steps.

To make the delicious marshmallow frosting that envelops each of the cake balls, use a stand mixer to beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they are foamy. From there, Rye says to incrementally add ½ cup sugar, beating continuously, until the meringue mixture is stiff and no longer feels grainy between your fingertips. 

To give the frosting an extra shiny, sweet, marshmallow-like texture, you'll need to add a simple sugar syrup. Just heat the remaining sugar and water in a saucepan until the mixture reaches 235 F. At this point, it should be slowly added to the stand mixer. Be sure to run the mixer slowly and carefully at this stage, Rye warns, as the sugar syrup is very hot and could splatter if the mixer runs too fast. Once incorporated, keep beating the mixture until it is stiff and glossy. After that, your marshmallow frosting is ready to use.

There are a couple of ways to apply the marshmallow coating to the cake pops, Rye says. You can either spread it on with a knife or dip the cake pops into the frosting bowl and gently twist them around. Using your preferred method, frost all of the cake pops, arranging them upright so you don't blemish the coating. Rye uses a specially made cake pop stand for this, but you can get creative by putting some putty in a glass, placing the sticks into styrofoam, or anything that will secure them in a standing position.

Now for the fun part: toasting the marshmallow frosting. Fire up a kitchen blowtorch and carefully point the flame at one cake pop, rotating the ball gradually until it is evenly browned. Repeat for each pop; you could even save this step until it's time to serve your cake pops for a theatrical presentation. 

Any leftovers? Store any uneaten cake pops in an airtight container in the fridge, and enjoy within 2 days.