S'mores & Tiramisu Have a Baby & It's Freakin' Beautiful

This decadent dessert is inspired and created by marrying tiramisu and s'mores. It's a moan-worthy version of that classic English dessert, trifle, that combines the soft, creamy layers of tiramisu with the gooey, sticky goodness of s'mores. You can make it as easy as you wish, with store-bought whipped cream and pound cake, or you can make everything from scratch for a special company-ready dessert.

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How to Make It

Serves three people; double or triple amounts as needed

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup crumbled graham crackers
• 2 cups whipped cream (for homemade, instructions below)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup marshmallows
• 1/4 loaf pound cake, store-bought or homemade, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee
• 2 tablespoons light rum (optional)
• Chocolate shavings, for optional garnish

How to Make Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream

Traditional tiramisu contains layers of ladyfingers with layers of creamy whipped mascarpone cheese, eggs, and sugar. Because this dessert is already rich with pound cake, chocolate, and marshmallow, I've substituted lightly sweetened whipped cream. You can use the store-bought stuff in this and it will taste good, but for best results, it's better to use this whipped cream recipe since it is not so sweet.

Ingredients

• 3/4 tablespoon fine sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar with the cream.
2. Whisk until the cream forms stiff peaks.

How to Create the S'mores-Tiramisu Trifle

1. In three different clear glass dessert bowls or cups, distribute the graham cracker crumbles evenly, reserving 1 tablespoon for later. (You can also make a graham cracker "crust" for the bottom by mixing the crumbled crackers with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
2. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on top of the graham cracker crumbles to make a layer.

3. Place pound cake (I used a chocolate chip pound cake) on top to make the next layer. It doesn't need to be neat—it's a trifle!
4. Drizzle or brush the pound cake with some espresso (or espresso mixed with the rum).

5. Add another layer of whipped cream.
6. Add another layer of pound cake with a drizzle of espresso or espresso-rum mixture.
7. Add another thin layer of whipped cream.
8. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the marshmallows and chocolate in the microwave at 30% power. Heat for one minute and then stir, and then continue in 30 second intervals if needed.
9. Remove from microwave, stir, and let sit for 2–3 minutes to cool.

10. Pour this layer on top of the last whipped cream layer.
11. Top with another thin whipped cream layer.
12. Garnish with reserved graham cracker crumbles and chocolate shavings, if using.

13. You can serve the trifle immediately or chill for an hour before serving if you like it cold.

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Photos by Naomi Imatome-Yun/Food Hacks