This past weekend I baked a very deceptive little cake. The recipe read like a standard layer cake (eggs, flour, sugar, baking powder, etc.) and the final product smelled like a cake and looked like one, too. It was airy, delicately-crumbed, and slightly moist; it sprung back at my touch, just like a cake.
But then I took a bite, eyes closed, and tasted graham cracker. Was it magic?
I uncovered this brilliant bit of baking alchemy in some old Nabisco archives. The recipe promised a delicate graham cracker cake and I was intrigued. Full disclosure: I think graham crackers dipped in milk are the eighth wonder of the world.
Upon further inspection, the recipe is nearly identical to a yellow layer cake. The difference is that almost all the flour is swapped out for finely crushed graham cracker crumbs. I worried that this would make the cake leaden, dense, and overly sweet. When I considered experimenting with graham flour, I thought "Ye of little faith!" and gave the original recipe a shot.
The result is incredible—as in, you literally won't believe how good it is. You get the exact flavor of a graham cracker in a light, tender mouthful of cake.
I paired the cake with sdebrango's Whipped Chocolate Caramel Ganache because one, it makes me want to weep with pleasure, and two, I get to save some and eat it with a spoon.
Next time I make this cake, I'll try a marshmallow frosting with a dark chocolate filling for a very fancy take on s'mores. —Posie (Harwood) Brien
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