When Dad cooked dinner…
When I was a kid, it was always a fun night when Dad was making supper. My Dad only had a couple of recipes in his cooking arsenal. He would either make S.O.S. or breakfast for dinner. If you had a parent in the military, you are probably very familiar with S.O.S. as a meal. It seems to have been a standard-issued military meal back in the day. I won’t say what the first “S” stands for (because this is a family blog) but we’ll just call it “Stuff On Shingles.” It was browned hamburger with milk gravy and it was then served on toast (the shingles.) That was my Dad’s signature dish. And we loved it. For dessert, he would usually make a simple, thick icing of powdered sugar, margarine and milk and he would spread it in between some graham cracker squares. Then pop them in the fridge to get cold. Holy Cow, we loved those little goodies! Dad knew the way to a kid’s heart. And he had a huge sweet tooth like us!
Sweet tooth satisfied
When I first made this cake (found on the back of a Kroger-brand graham cracker box!), I couldn’t believe how much it tasted like my Dad’s graham cracker treats.
Graham Cracker Cake
I had no idea you could make a cake out of graham crackers and it still be moist and tender. But you sure can, thanks to all those egg yolks in there. This cake was a huge hit in my house. It tastes like no other cake I make and I think it would be a super fun cake to make for your next potluck!
Ingredients:
32 squares (2 3/4 cups) cinnamon graham crackers, crushed
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
5 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts
Frosting:
1/3 cup cream cheese (3 oz.) softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. For a little clarification on the number of crackers. You are going to be using two sleeves of cinnamon graham crackers. It will be 32 of these little squares which comes to about 2 3/4 cups of crushed graham crackers.
Place graham cracker squares into a large plastic bag, and using a rolling pin (or in this case, I used a flat and heavy meat tenderizer), crush crackers into crumbs.
Mix graham crackers with flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add egg yolks, vanilla and cinnamon.
Stir until smooth.
Add about 1/3 of graham cracker mixture.
Then add about 1/3 of the milk. Keep alternating graham cracker mixture and milk until it is all incorporated.
Then stir in walnuts.
Spread into baking dish. Batter will be thick.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes (until toothpick inserted comes out clean.) It took a little longer than this in my oven, about 28 minutes.
Allow cake to cool completely. Then begin making frosting. Cream together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Spread evenly over cooled cake.
If you wanted to skip the icing altogether, you could just dust a bit of powdered sugar on the cake but the icing really tops this cake off nicely!
Then sprinkle some crushed graham crackers on top of the icing (optional.)
Slice and serve! If not serving right away, this cake needs to be kept refrigerated (because of the frosting.)
Enjoy!
No-Bake Graham Cracker Goodies
Graham Cracker Cake
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Graham Cracker Cake is a heritage recipe that has been a family-favorite for generations. An amazingly moist homemade cake with a delicious cream frosting.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Graham Cracker Cake
Servings: 12
Calories: 534 kcal
Ingredients
- 32 squares cinnamon graham crackers crushed (2 3/4 cups)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened, 1 stick
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- Icing:
- 1/3 cup cream cheese softened 3 oz.
- 1/4 cup salted butter softened, 1/2 stick
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
- Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place graham cracker squares into a large plastic bag, and using a rolling pin, crush crackers into crumbs.
- Mix graham crackers with flour and baking powder.
- Set aside.
- Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add egg yolks, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Stir until smooth.
- Add in about 1/3 of graham cracker mixture.
- Then add about 1/3 of the milk.
- Keep alternating graham cracker mixture and milk until it is all incorporated.
- Then stir in walnuts.
- Spread batter into baking dish. It will be thick.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes (until toothpick inserted comes out clean).
- Allow cake to cool completely.
Then begin making frosting. Cream together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
- Spread evenly over cooled cake.
- Then sprinkle some crushed graham crackers on top of the icing (optional).
- Slice and serve!
Recipe Notes
If not serving right away, this cake needs to be kept refrigerated (because of the icing).
Nutrition Facts
Graham Cracker Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 534 Calories from Fat 234
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 26g 40%
Saturated Fat 10g 50%
Cholesterol 121mg 40%
Sodium 382mg 16%
Potassium 240mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 69g 23%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 46g
Protein 6g 12%
Vitamin A 11.6%
Vitamin C 0.2%
Calcium 12.1%
Iron 12.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
YUM! Definitely trying this one.
The graham cracker cake sounds yummy! I am going to have to give this one a try. Loved your comment about the graham cracker "cookies" with the confectioners sugar icing between them! Brought back many memories. My paternal grandmother used to make a big batch of them and wrap them in waxed paper and put in the fridge so they would get cold. I really looked forward to them each time we visited. To this day, graham crackers are still one of my favorite "cookies". – Judy W.
I just love reading about your memory with those cookies, Judy! I don't make them very often for myself, but when I do, I am immediately taken back to my younger years and happy memories for sure! Thank you for sharing!
Do you think we can half the amount of biscuits and replace it with flour or oats to make it lighter?
Ghada, I would not describe this as a heavy or dense cake at all. It is surprisingly light so I wouldn't change a thing at all. 🙂
I have s recipe similur ,one of my favite cakes. 2 sticks of butter room temp. , 2 cups sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 5 whole eggs, 1 can coconut, 1cup chopped pecans, 1 13 oz. Box graham cracker crumbs, and 2 tsp. Vanilla. Mix all above , divid into 2 round pans lined and greased with wax paper. Cook 350 degrees for 35 min. FROSTING: 1 stick of butter room temp., 1 box powdered sugar, and 1 small can crushed pineapple ( drained). " sunshine cake". This is my grandmother's recipes.
Thanks so much for sharing Lana! Love those old family recipe. This one sounds devine!
First, I'm already looking forward to making this cake tonight. Second, I thought my family was the only family in the world that knew about S.O.S! My dad was in the military as well and that's where he got the recipe from. But he always made his with chipped beef. Thank you for bringing back a special memory!
Haha – us military kids have so much more in common than we realize – including food! So happy this brought back a happy memory for you!
This looks wonderful! However my kids are allergic to nuts. Do you think it would bake & come out okay w/out them?
Judy W
My mom took a stack of grahams and layered them with apple butter, wrapped them in wax paper and put in fridge overnight. Sliced them the next day and served with whipped cream. They get soft and usually guests can't even come close to guessing what you are serving.
Barb W
What a wonderful memory. And that sounds like a fantastic sweet treat too!
Thanks Brandie, you sure do have a lot of great recipes….and this one sounds and looks good too, hope to try it soon, giving recipe to my daughter so she can make it for pot luck……
This cake sounds delicious right off! I love graham crackers (especially sawdust pie!), but this cake recipe look wonderful! The icing on top would be perfection to me since I love cream cheese. I should archive this one on my Pintrest!!
Also, what a sweet daddy. I enjoyed your memories:)
Blessings,
Leslie
HI Leslie! Thanks so much! Yes, this is like sawdust pie in cake form! 🙂
i was just thinking about SOS the other day, and how i have not had it in about 43 years…..SOS is the first meal that i can distinctly remember my mother making when i was about 3 and how i loved it so much. i need to make it again and this yummy cake, too!
Was your dad in the Army like mine? Cream beef on toast, lol cake looks yummy
Sarah
Hi Sarah! He was in the Navy. 🙂
I just made a graham cracker pie last night so glad to see others on the graham cracker frame of mind. Your cake looks delicious!
How important is it to use Cinnamon wafers? In Canada we only have Honey Maid Graham Wafers. I would like to try this cake……………could I add some cinnamon if I use them or leave it out?
Sure! You can use the regular honey ones and then add some extra cinnamon in. I would probably add in an extra teaspoon. 🙂
That is exactly what I did. We love this cake and it is now a favorite. Reminds me of carrot cake. So delicious! Thanks for sharing.
This sounds so awesome! I always make my pie crusts out of graham crackers, I'm sure a graham cracker cake is just as delicious! I'm so impressed with how simple, also. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I made this last night, it was great, my kids love it. SOS and graham cracker cookies were very common when I was a kid as well. Although, we lovingly referred to the crackers and icing as "poor man cookies".
Yay! Thank you so much. Love hearing that!!
Years ago, we made what we called 'nilla wafer cake…using the same ingredients except subsitituting 'nilla wafers instead of the graham crackers…. and we also added coconut…nummmmmyyy..
That sounds wonderful!
Sounds AMAZING!!! I'm going to be tempting my husband with this recipe for years to come!!!
Just made this and it is good!
I made this and it is quite a unique sweet treat. Neat texture, dense and not fluffy or spongy, great overall taste. Four words: pot luck bucket list
My family as well enjoyed SOS as my dad was in the Air Force and had to pull KP duty every now and then. He changed things up every now and again and made chipped beef as well. I can't vouch for my siblings, but I loved it and if I didn't have to go GF I would make it to this day. Graham cracker cake happens to be one of my sister and nephews favorite cakes. I will pin this one in case it's different from her recipe. Thanks for the memories.
I remember spending the night with my cousins and my aunt would take graham crackers and put chocolate icing between them and chill them in the fridge…yum!
My dad was a Navy guy too. We has S.O.S. quite often, too. I think my mom picked it up in Navy housing. She always said it was a cheap meal to make that would feed a whole family. We had mashed potatoes with ours.
Can you omit the nuts in this recipe?
Can this be made the day before serving?
Hi Lyn! It sure can! 🙂
This was SO good!
This is so delicious and wonderful and pictures are also beautiful. Well decorated and I’m gonna make this now.
Can I turn these into cupcakes? What would be the cook time, if so?