Banana Nutella S’mores Cake
Meet my Banana Nutella S’mores Cake – layers of banana cake baked on top of graham cracker crust, filled with toasted marshmallow filling and Nutella buttercream.
As if my Ultimate S’mores Cake wasn’t enough, I’m mixing things up and throwing banana and Nutella into this classic summer treat. I think I’m about to change your life 😉
Inspiration
Inspiration for this cake came from my friend, Bre, who recently sent me a picture from her camping trip. In the picture, Bre was holding a s’more filled with bananas and Nutella. Her caption: “this feels like a cake.” I immediately wrote back with, “I couldn’t agree more!”
I got to work on it the very next day.
Banana Nutella S’mores Cake
For this cake, I took inspiration from my Ultimate S’mores Cake. My traditional s’mores cake has layers of graham cracker crust, chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, toasted marshmallow filling and chocolate buttercream. The textures and flavors are so reminiscent of an actual s’more. It’s one of my favorite cakes.
I decided to use the same graham cracker crust for this cake that I did on the Ultimate S’mores Cake. It’s one of the best parts of the cake. The additional texture it adds to the cake is always a hit.
After baking the crust a little I then baked banana cake layers right on top. Baking the crust first gives it the crunch. If we baked the banana cake and the crust at the same time, the crust would come out too soft. Having a baked crust does make it a little trickier to cut, but I just suggest using a really sharp knife. It should cut pretty clean if you do.
And can we talk about the banana cake layers! They are so moist and flavorful, you’ll want to eat them all up before finishing the cake.
I’ve filled the cake with a toasted marshmallow filling I love from Sweetapolita and my Nutella buttercream. The whole cake is covered in my favorite chocolate sprinkles from Cacao Barry. (They also make my favorite cocoa powder).
Tell me that slice of cake doesn’t look to-die-for? 😉
Enjoy!
Banana Nutella S'mores Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
- 3 cups (360 g) graham cracker crumbs about 25-27 rectangular crackers (this is best done in a food processor or blender, but can be done by placing the graham crackers in a zip-lock bag and rolling over the crackers with a rolling pin)
- 3/4 cup (169.5 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
FOR THE BANANA CAKE (adapted from Sweetapolita)
- 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons (382.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon (4.2 g) salt
- 3/4 cup (169.5 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (73.3 g) light brown sugar
- 3 large or extra large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup (360 g) buttermilk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (6.3 g) pure vanilla extract
- 3 medium-sized bananas mashed
FOR THE TOASTED MARSHMALLOW FILLING (adapted from Sweetapolita)
- 24 large white marshmallows
- 1 1/2 cup (187.5 g) powdered sugar sifted
- 1 cup 2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.1 g) pure vanilla extract
- 1 jar about 200 g marshmallow fluff
FOR THE NUTELLA FROSTING
- 5 cups (625 g) confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 cups (452 g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
- 1 cup (240 g) Nutella
- 1 teaspoon (4.2 g) pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.1 g) hazelnut extract
- 2 tablespoons (28.87 g) heavy whipping cream
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra 1/2 batch.
Instructions
FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch our four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and then line with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir until all the graham cracker crumbs are damped by the melted butter.
- Divide evenly between the three pans and press down firmly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool while you make the banana cake batter.
FOR THE BANANA CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugars on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is fully incorporated before adding the next (about 30 seconds). Add the vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk mixture into the creamed mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated and remove bowl from stand mixer. Using a large stainless steel whisk, stir/whisk the mashed banana into the mixture--you can use use some strength and blend well, ensuring all of the ingredients are well mixed. (If you don't have a large stainless whisk, you can fold the banana mixture in using a rubber spatula until incorporated.)
- Divide the batter evenly between the three pans that have the graham cracker crust in them, using a kitchen scale for the best accuracy. (For this recipe, you'll have about 1.4 lbs of batter in each pan).
- Carefully smooth the batter with small offset palette knife, and bake until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean, about 28 to 33 minutes.
- Let pans cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto racks, gently, peeling away parchment rounds. Let cool completely.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, level the cake layers if necessary
- The cake layers can be made up to a week in advance. If you plan to make it in advance, cover each cake layer with two layers of plastic wrap. When you're ready to frost your cake, take the cake layers out of the freezer an hour before you decorate.
FOR THE TOASTED MARSHMALLOW FILLING
- Place the marshmallows on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place on the middle rack of the oven, and broil the marshmallows until golden brown on top, about 30-60 seconds. Keep your eye on them!
- Remove the pan from the oven and gently turn the marshmallows over and broil them again until they are golden brown on the other side.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and powdered sugar and beat on low until blended. Add the vanilla and mix on medium speed for about three minutes
- With the mixer on low speed, add the marshmallow cream and (cooled) toasted marshmallows, and mix for about one minute.
FOR THE NUTELLA FROSTING
- Combine the butter and Nutella and beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the sifted confectioners' sugar, a little at a time until incorporated. Beat for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients and beat for another two minutes, until light and fluffy. Best used right away.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a wooden spoon and mix by hand to stir out the air bubbles.
ASSEMBLY
- Spread a small amount of frosting on the cake board. Place the first cake layer, graham cracker side down, on the cake board.
- Spread about 1/2 cup of the Nutella frosting on the cake layer and then pipe a rim of frosting around the edge of the cake.
- Carefully spread about 3/4 to 1 cup of the marshmallow filling on the frosting.
- Place the next cake layer on top of the marshmallow filling and repeat steps 2 and 3.
- Place the final cake layer, graham cracker side down, on top of the marshmallow filling. Apply a thin coat of Nutella frosting over the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. Freeze the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Finish frosting the cake with the chocolate frosting.
The instructions for the banana cake don’t match the ingredient list or seem to match the cake you made. ☹
Omg! Totally forgot to edit that portion. All fixed!
Is it really 2 cups of butter in the nutella frosting?!?! That seems like a lot! Wanted to make sure it was 2 cups and not 2 cubes before I make it! 🙂
Yes, it’s 2 cups 🙂
How ripe should the bananas be for this cake??
Fairly ripe but not black
I think the last step on assembly is from your s’mores cake, not this cake since there isn’t any marshmallow fluff in the cake (just the marshmallow filling). Also I couldn’t find any hazelnut extract. Hoping the frosting will taste okay without it. Where did you get yours? So excited to finish this cake and try it! My dad loves all things banana and Nutella so I’m making this for his birthday!
Thank you for catching that. I will change that right now. You can find Hazelnut extract on Amazon and I’ve seen it in Walmart too!
This looks so wonderful and I can’t wait to tackle it tomorrow! Quick question about the marshmallow filling… I don’t have any marshmallow fluff where I live, is there a substitute you can recommend or another way to tackle the filling without it?
Thank you!
You could make half of the marshmallow fluff from the Ultimate Smores Cake and use it in place of the store bought fluffy. It may be a little runnier so try adding a little more powdered sugar if that’s the case.
hi, i think the amount of vegetable oil is not correct. if it’s 327g it’ll be 1 1/2 cup instead of tablespoons.
Just fixed it. Thank you!
Hi! Recently made the cake layers (only) but I used 2 9” pans because it’s what I had in my kitchen! I didn’t have any 8” pans. I have a feeling I don’t need the full size/recipe of the buttercream or filling…do you recommend I potentially cut in half and see how it turns out, if I have enough? I only ask because when I made your Oreo cake (which was to die for!) I had so much leftover buttercream! Thanks 🙂
If you’re going to decorate the top with any piping then make the whole batch. Otherwise half might be ok.
I’m excited to make this for an upcoming birthday. I’d like to make the cake layers in advance and freeze them. Would that work with the crust on the cake or would that make the graham cracker on the layers soggy?
You can do that!
Hi Julie, did that work alright when you made the cake in advance? Planning to freeze the cake layers tomorrow then assemble in a few days!
Could you tell me what I could use instead of Graham Crackers because I live in Spain and cannot find them here? Would digestive biscuits be suitable?
Yes! Sounds delicious!
I am going to make this for my daughter’s birthday. You say to use the Nutella Buttercream right away. Will there be any issues decorating this cake 24 to 48 hours in advance or will the buttercream hold up in the fridge for that long?
Thanks in advance 🙂
You’ll be ok to do it early like that. Hope you love it!
I made this for backyard bbq and everyone loved it. The cake tasted great, very sweet, and was very moist. I ended up making only a 1/2 batch of the Nutella frosting and it was enough to fill & cover the whole cake. I didn’t do any fancy piping or decorations & was more like those naked style cakes.
Yay!
So delicious. I combined this recipe with your banoffee cake recipe! So it’s pretty much this with a caramel sauce instead of marshmallow filling and it is great. The cake is so delicate and tasty – your flavour/texture combos are so delicious and different! Can’t wait to make more of your recipes 💞
Thank you so much!
This recipe sounds & looks so amazing, I just absolutely have to try it!
Being from South Africa where only Icing (Powdered) Sugar is available – I had to Google the difference between Confectioner’s Sugar & Powdered Sugar.
My question:- why do you opt for Confectioner’s Sugar (containing starch) in the Buttercream and Powdered Sugar in the Marshmallow Filling, and are they interchangeable in this recipe.
You can use either! They’re interchangeable
Hey, I would love to know what you used to decorate the cake in your picture. What the chocolate things on the tops and sides of the cake?
Those are little chocolate sprinkles I got from Orson Gygi.