My hope is to inspire you to be fearless in the kitchen, to try new things, to take the time to make things the homemade way and most importantly, to have fun doing it!

S’mores Cupcakes

136 comments
posted in: Chocolate, Cupcakes, Dessert
11.16
2009

After making the ooey gooey, super yummy s’mores cake a few months ago, I’ve been very excited to try s’mores cupcakes.  Lucky for me, the month of October brought eight coworkers’ birthdays, and therefore eight cupcake flavors.  These were the last flavor of the month, but certainly not the least.  Many people deemed these their favorite cupcake so far this year!  While I’m not sure I could pick a favorite cupcake if I tried (my head would explode), these truly are fantastic.

These are incredibly fun to make.  They start out with a graham cracker crust and chopped chocolate in the bottom of the cupcake liner, then a chocolate cake batter, topped with a marshmallow frosting and toasted using a kitchen torch!  This was my first time every using a kitchen torch, being that I’m not a crème brûlée fan (gasp!)  The torch is really fun to use and produces such cool results that I’m now searching for other treats that need to be burned :)    As for the chocolate cake, once I started making it, I realized was just the Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake though this recipe supposedly came from a bakery – a bit strange, but whatever.  Though I usually find the Hershey’s recipe just mediocre, it becomes something far better when sandwiched between the graham cracker crust and marshmallow frosting.  Bring that campfire feel indoors and make these today!

And, if you like marshmallow frosting, stay tuned for another treat that uses it later this week!

S'mores Cupcakes
Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
  • 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
  • 1½ tsp. baking powder
  • 1½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 8 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • ½ tsp. cream of tartar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well with a fork. Drop about 1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture in the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down to line the bottom. (Note: I found the bottom of my squeeze bottle to be the perfect size to do this job neatly and quickly.) Sprinkle a small amount of the chopped chocolate on top of the graham cracker crusts. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and maintain the oven temperature.

  • To make the cake batter, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on low speed just to combine. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract; whisk together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the boiling water and stir just to combine (batter will be thin).

  • Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ of the way full. Return the pans to the oven and bake about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

  • To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the top of a double boiler. (Note: I just set my clean, dry mixer bowl over simmering water, to avoid dirtying two bowls.) Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160° F with an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Mix in the vanilla until combined. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. Brown with a kitchen torch and garnish with chocolate and graham cracker segments (optional).

 
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