Chocolate Graham Cracker Cake

Fudgey Chocolate Cake Layers with a perfect graham cracker crust baked right into the cake, filled with chocolate ganache, frosted in the most heavenly graham cracker buttercream, and covered (yes, COMPLETELY covered) in chocolate ganache. This cake was an instant hit, and as much as we tried, we couldn’t stay away from sneaking bites of it from the fridge.

I often receive the question “where do you come up with your cake flavors?” and the answer is really simple. My cake flavors come from what inspires me. That could be a memory, a different type of dessert that would be really tasty as a cake flavor (ice cream flavors make great cake flavors, for example), classic flavor combos, cereal flavors, and just about anywhere else. You may have noticed in my cookbook, Cake Confidence, there’s a story for every cake, and each story for each cake is different.

Inspiration comes in so many different ways, but it all comes down to how that cake flavor makes you feel. There’s nothing stronger and more beautiful than a cake flavor rooted in a memory or feeling you have when you think about that flavor. It’s really why creating new cake flavors is so special to me. It’s not just a checklist of flavors I want to try, and I plow through them just to “get that flavor out there” before anyone else. I bake what I’m feeling, and each cake has been carefully created with heart; each and every one.

This cake was inspired by a childhood memory. My grandma June, who I talk about in my cookbook briefly, would sometimes slather leftover frosting on graham crackers for the grand kids (and I’m sure for her, too) to snack on. I loved it when she used chocolate frosting the most. The crunchy graham cracker would be such a sweet and fun contrast to the soft velvety chocolate. I can’t be sure, but I think my Mom did this, too, for us. But let’s be honest, it’s basically a s’more without that classic toasted marshmallow in the middle, right? And I DO have an Ultimate Chocolate Cake in my cookbook that’s pretty similar to this recipe. However, the chocolate graham cracker combo is just so delicious, I knew it had to be it’s own cake flavor. And boy did this cake become an INSTANT favorite! I used chocolate and graham cracker as much as possible in this cake, and it really makes each component shine through in a couple different beautiful textures.

How? Well, the graham cracker is made into my classic crust that is baked right onto the cake layers. I make my cake crust the same way I make my pie crusts – with melted butter, and graham crackers. Easy peasy. Next, I used the graham crackers in my graham cracker buttercream – YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT! It is truly something else. Once you try it, you’ll wonder why you’ve never tried it before, and create reasons to make this cake just to have another taste of this buttercream. It’s that good. I also added a little crumble on top of graham cracker. So needless to say, you really need to make sure to have a food processor for this recipe to really pulse up those graham crackers into a fine powder.

For the chocolate component, I went straight to my classic chocolate cake recipe that I use all the time for many different cakes. For those who are new, I used a doctored cake mix recipes for my cakes. It’s not because I can’t bake from scratch, but it’s because I’m providing an easy alternative to baking from scratch that tastes amazing, and much better in my opinion. You don’t follow the directions on the box mix (which you can use any, I just prefer the taste of Ghirardelli or Duncan Hines for chocolate cakes), you add in several other ingredients that help make this cake bake up perfectly, as well as taste like you’ve slaved away all day baking it from scratch. Trust me, with almost 10K copies sold of my cookbook based on this method, you can be sure it’s something that’s working big time!

Okay, sorry, back to chocolate. I’ve been switching around which box mix I use- Duncan Hines dark chocolate fudge is usually my go-to, mainly because it rises so tall when doctored up. Recently I’ve been trying their Signature Triple Chocolate cake and also Ghirardelli Chocolate Cake and although they’ve been a bit shorter, the taste is richer. So give them a try and let me know what you think! I also used chocolate ganache as a filling, and then covered the entire cake in it.

I tried to say that as casually as possible, but really, it’s a big deal and makes this cake what it is. It’s almost like a rich chocolate shell around the whole cake, in every bite, and really gives it a wow factor in both taste and texture. And it sure looks pretty, too, eh? I used a Cake Safe Acrylic Cake Decorating Comb called “Little Mandy” after yours truly (use the code BLONDIE for a discount!).

The trick for the chocolate ganache is that you don’t want the consistency of chocolate drips, you want it to be much more thick, and for it to cool enough for you to spread it with your cake spatulas.

Just look at that gorgeous slice! Makes me want to dive right into the screen and have another taste!!! All the textures in this cake are a tad understated, but really make a huge impact.

That chocolate ganache layer on the inside is one of my favorite things to hide inside of a cake – it’s a fun hidden treat and adds just a little something extra to each slice. Just make sure your ganache has cooled enough before adding it to your cake, and also pipe a dam around the outside of your cake round so the filling stays put while you frost your cake. A little filling goes a long way, and you have more ganache on the outside of the cake on it’s way.

Here’s a quick video on how I assembled the cake:

And that’s it! Hope you’re all having a fun summer so far! As for me, we’ve been taking cakeland nice and easy so I can really soak in time with my little boys. It’s been heavenly. Can’t wait to see what you bake and create, though! Make sure to tag @bakingwithblondie and #bakingwithblondie on Instagram so I can see what you’re up to! I feature your BwB creation on my stories every Sunday morning – LOVE to see what you’re creating!!!

xo, Mandy