Contemporary s'mores

Recipe by Wes Tyler, Executive Chef and Vanessa Tristan, Executive Pastry Chef at The Club at Carlton Woods, The Woodlands, Texas, USA
​Image by Diana DeLucia

​The first marshmallows trace back to a plant called Marshmallow Root (Althaea Officinalis), used by ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Romans for medicinal purposes. The French transformed marshmallows from a medicine into a treat by combining root juice with eggs and sugar, creating a soft paste known as Pâte de guimauve. However, this delicacy was expensive and labor-intensive.

In the 19th century, New Jersey Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham invented Graham Crackers; then, people ate bleached, processed grains. Graham preferred unbleached wheat flour, which he used to promote his unique baking process using unbleached wheat flour. Thus, the graham cracker was born.

The precursor to today's s'mores appeared in Victorian-era funeral cakes, sometimes including chocolate and marshmallows. In the 1890s, marshmallow roasting became a fad in Northeastern summer resort towns, often serving as an "excellent medium for flirtation." Mallomars (s'mores in cookie form) hit shelves in 1913, followed by moon pies—a close s'more cousin.

But it wasn't until 1927 that the combination of roasted marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers officially arrived. The Girl Scouts featured it in their guidebook, cementing the s'more as a timeless campfire classic. 

In this recipe, Wes Tyler, Executive Chef, and Vanessa Tristan, Executive Pastry Chef at The Club at Carlton Woods, have created their own much more sophisticated version and called it "Contemporary S'mores." ~ Diana DeLucia

Yield: 1 

Ingredients

• 1 Marshmallow 1.5”x 4” 
• 1 Graham Cracker Cake 1.5”x 4” 
• 1-ounce Cinnamon Marshmallow Fluff
• 1 ounce Hard Chocolate Ganache 
• 3 ounces Soft Chocolate Ganache 
• Garnish- Van leer Chocolate Crumb
• Garnish-Graham Cracker Streusel 

Marshmallow

• 240 grams Cold Water
• 30 grams Powdered Gelatin
• 345 grams Granulated Sugar
• 162 grams Light Corn Syrup
• 3 grams Kosher Salt
• 10 grams Pure Vanilla Extract
• 50 grams Corn Starch
• 50 grams Powdered Sugar

Graham Cracker Cake

• 114 grams Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
• 150 grams Granulated Sugar
• 2 grams Kosher Salt
• 2 Large Eggs (room temperature)
• 5 grams Pure Vanilla Extract
• 60 grams All Purpose Flour
• 90 grams Graham Cracker
• 12 grams Baking Powder
• 180 grams Milk (room temp)

Hard Ganache

• 500 grams Van-Leer Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• 250 grams Heavy Cream
• 10 grams Pure Vanilla Extract

Cinnamon Marshmallow Fluff

• 178 grams Water
• 300 grams Sugar
• 492 grams Light Corn Syrup
• 6 large Egg Whites
• 10 grams Ground Cinnamon
• 5 grams Cream of Tartar
• 10 grams Pure Vanilla Extract

Soft Ganache

• 250 grams Van Leer Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• 500 grams Heavy Cream
• 10 grams Pure Vanilla Extract

Van Leer Chocolate Crumb

• 200 grams Sugar
• 75 milliliters Water
• 2 grams Kosher Salt
• 80 grams Vanleer Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Graham Cracker Streusel

• 100 grams Granulated Sugar
• 60 grams Dark Brown Sugar
• 80 grams Graham Cracker Crumb
• 170 grams Unsalted Butter (cold)
• 32 grams Pure Vanilla Extract

Preparation

Marshmallow
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add half of the water, granulated sugar, light corn syrup, and salt and heat medium heat until it reaches 240°F. Mix the corn starch and powdered sugar in a stainless steel bowl. While the sugar mixture is on the stove, in a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment, bloom the powdered gelatin with the remaining cold water. Spray a standard-sized sheet pan with non-stick spray, and cover the pan with the cornstarch and powdered sugar mixture. Chef Note: This will ensure the marshmallows can be easily removed from the pan. 

When the sugar mixture reaches 241°F, turn the mixer to medium-high and slowly pour it into the bowl with the bloomed gelatin. Keep mixing on high, until your bowl is no longer hot, about 15 minutes. The mixture will melt the gelatin, and it will start to get stringy and fluffy like marshmallow fluff. With disposable gloves on, spray both hands with non-stick spray and place the marshmallow mix onto the prepared sheet pan. Gently press marshmallow into the pan to create a flat surface, spraying your hands more if needed so that the mix doesn’t stick to your hands. Once the marshmallow is flat, heavily dust the top with the cornstarch and powdered sugar mix. Let rest at room temperature for 5 hours or overnight. When the marshmallow is set, cut into rectangles 1.5”X 4”, thick. Chef Note: This will be the topper to the graham cracker and hard ganache base of the contemporary s’mores dessert.

Graham Cracker Cake
In a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment on medium-high, cream the sugar, salt, and butter until it is light and fluffy, about 4-6 minutes. Slowly add the eggs one by one, making sure the previous one is incorporated; before adding the next one, scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. When the eggs are thoroughly mixed, add the vanilla extract. Mix the flour and baking powder, and add this to the egg mixture in the bowl in parts of two with the mixer on low speed. After the flour is very well combined, add the graham crumbs. Finally, add the room temperature milk and continue to mix. Scrape the sides of the bowl one final time and mix for one minute on medium speed or until the cake batter looks nice and creamy. Spray with non-stick spray a standard-sized 1/4 sheet pan and place parchment paper in the bottom. Add your cake batter and bake at 325°F for about 20 minutes, or until the cake batter does not stick will be large chunks of the chocolate/sugar mix, but these can easily be crushed into smaller pieces using a food processor.

Graham Cracker Streusel
In a medium stainless steel bowl, mix the granulated sugar and the brown sugar until very well combined. Then add the All-Purpose flour and Graham Cracker Crumb. Using a cheese grater, grate the butter into the dry ingredients, making sure not to let the butter clump together. Lastly, add the vanilla with your hands and gently rub everything together until the vanilla is incorporated into the dry ingredients. Place the streusel in a standard-sized sheet pan and bake at 325°F for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside and let cool.

Assembly 

Place preformed s’mores cake in the center of the dish of choice. Gently pipe ribbons of marshmallow fluff on top of the cake. Garnish with van leer chocolate crumb and graham cracker streusel on either side of the s’mores cake. Chef Note: Serve with warm chocolate ganache, pour-over tableside.

Wine Match

1961 Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port, Porto, Portugal

A recent release from legendary winemaker Taylor Fladgate, this wine has been aging in barrels for 60 years before its release in 2021. Evocative notes of dried fig, toasted cinnamon, and smoked clove are the perfect complement to a dish that’s so evocative of being beside a campfire. ~ Kyle Holmes, CS, CMS

Fazio clubhouse and course. Image courtesy The Club at Carlton Woods.