Monday, September 10, 2012

S'mores Cupcakes

Crumbly graham cracker cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with gooey marshmallow creme. 


I know its been a while but i'm back! Summer was so nice. There were lots of trips to the beach, my family came to visit and I started a new job that I'm really enjoying. There wasn't much baking, and most cooking project involved simple grilling so you didn't miss much.

I had told the people at my new job that I liked to bake. During my second week there was a bake sale to raise money for charity so it was the perfect opportunity to show off my skills. I decided I wanted to make something summery- so I had the idea of s'mores. I dare you to try to find someone who dislikes s'mores. They don't exist. Everyone loves them and eating them brings back memories of childhood summers. Luckily Bon Appetit had test driven this recipe for me so I only had to make a few adaptions.

S'mores Cupcakes
adapted from Bon Appetit
makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 15 whole crackers)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
one 8oz jar marshmallow creme



Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.

Whisk graham crumbs, flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla with last egg. Add graham-cracker mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with graham-cracker mixture.

Divide batter among muffin cups Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center come out clean, about 22 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack; cool completely.

While cupcakes are baking place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream just to boil in small saucepan; pour over chocolate. Let stand 1 minute; stir until smooth. Cool ganache until lukewarm.

Use knife to cut holes in cupcakes. Fill with ganache and replace top. Ice with marshmallow creme, and garnish as desired.

A few notes:

I actually piped my marshmallow cream on top of the cupcakes- which turned out to be a total waste of time because it ended up oozing down the sides- but I still though it looked fine. Just know that it won't act like normal frosting would.

The ganache was so simple to make. i had no idea how easy it was. I'm going to have to experiment more with ganache fillings.

The cake, while yummy, isn't your typical cake. It was very delicate and crumbly. I still enjoyed it but thought i'd give fair warning. My cupcake corer didn't work because of the consistency- so I used a small knife.

I used a mini torch to toast the marshmallows. It was my first time using it. Any recipe where you get to use a torch earns you extra awesome points.