S'mores Cupcakes

I have been wanting to make these cupcakes for a while and oh boy they were worth the wait. I made them last night and took them to my family's house and everyone loved them. The process of making them is a bit long especially if you have only one muffin pan, but the end result is just fabulous.

My daughters are huge cupcake fans and my little one just could not wait till I frosted them and insisted she had one immediately.

She finished her first cupcake than I made a mistake of asking her if she wants another one.. And this was the aftermath.

I found the recipe for these s'more cupcakes from Annie's Eats. I tried getting them to look almost identical to her's yet they were not quite as pretty, but they still were delicious. The recipe states that the cupcakes make 24 cupcakes but I actually got 33 cupcakes out of it. The last 9 I left plain with no crust just the marshmallow topping. 

Directions

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

1/4 Cup Sugar

5 1/3 tbs Unsalted Butter

8oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped

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.


Chocolate Cake
2 Cups plus 2 Tbs. Sugar
1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup plus 1 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 ts. Baking Powder
1 1/2 ts. Baking Soda
1 tsp. salt
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 ts. Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Boiling Water

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

Marshmallow Frosting
8 Large Egg Whites (At Room Temperature)
2 Cups of Sugar
1/2 ts Cream of Tartar
2 ts. Vanilla Extract

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).