S'mores Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I had a wicked craving for a cupcake. Sadly the best cupcake bakery (cupcakery?) in my neighborhood is closed for renovation. So I bought one at another place, not really known for them but, hey, you never know. Yes, yes you do. It did not hit the spot.

Clearly I was going to have to make them myself. So I searched through my years of blog archives for my tried and true cupcake recipe and...um...I didn't have one. Not a single cupcake recipe on my blog. I guess that local place was really good, huh? OK, I'm sure I can handle developing a cupcake recipe but what kind? Since I sort of had my heart set on a chocolate base, I decided to go with s'mores.

Should I add a graham cracker crust or just stick the graham cracker on top as a decoration? A crust seemed the right thing to do and I'm so glad I did. The unexpected little crunch at the bottom is amazing! Trust me and don't skip this part. The cupcakes themselves are fluffy and have tons of good chocolate flavor because I added coffee to the batter. Coffee makes chocolate taste chocolatier.

Regular vanilla buttercream or marshmallow buttercream? We've already established I was going to be extra about this, right? But I did not make my own fluff, just used the fluff in a jar. Don't judge me. I did briefly debate filling the cupcakes too but it was already extra enough and I think unfilled was the correct chocolate to sugary marshmallow ratio. I decorated with the proper s'mores accessories and finally got my cupcake fix. Oh, and since this recipe makes 16 cupcakes, I shared with my neighbors from our local Buy Nothing group. And now my blog has a cupcake recipe. Shall I make more? Enjoy!

Yield: 16 Servings

Author: Anita Schecter

S'mores Cupcakes

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

Recipe for a chocolate cupcake with a graham cracker crust base, topped with marshmallow butter frosting.

Ingredients

For the Graham Cracker Crust:

• 1 1/2 Cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 Stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 Cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt

For the Cupcakes:

• 2 Sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 Cups granulated sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup sour cream
• 1 Cup hot water
• 2 Teaspoons instant coffee
• 2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Teaspoons baking soda
• 1 Teaspoon salt

For the Marshmallow Frosting:

• 1 Stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 Cups powdered sugar
• 1 Cup marshmallow fluff
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter, sugar and salt. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners and place a generous tablespoon of the mixture at the bottom of each. Bake for 5 minutes and remove to cool but leave the oven on.
3. To make the cupcakes, use a stand or hand mixer to cream together the 2 sticks of unsalted butter and 2 cups of granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and sour cream.
5. Combine the hot water with the instant coffee and beat into the batter.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet.
7. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
8. To make the frosting, add the unsalted butter, powdered sugar, marshmallow fluff, salt and a tablespoon of milk to a bowl. Cream together using a hand or stand mixer. If the consistency is a little too thick add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.
9. Fit a piping bag with a large tip (I used the Wilton 1M) and fill with the frosting. Swirl the frosting onto each cupcake and decorate with a piece of chocolate, graham cracker and toasted marshmallow.

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