S'mores Cupcakes with M&M

Mia and Melissa (M&M), my two buddies and grad school classmates, started making cupcakes together at the start of this Spring 2011 quarter. We started off strong with this four-part s'mores cupcake. Yes. There was a graham cracker crust, a chocolate layer, a chocolate cupcake base, and a toasted marshmallow meringue frosting--all homemade! :D If you want pictures of the entire process, I might add those later, or I might save them for our cupcake blog, which we haven't started yet. I will keep you posted on that though.

Honestly, I loved everything about this except for the frosting. We got the recipe here. Kim (I got the recipe from her site) said that the frosting was "AMAZING," so we all had high hopes for it. It did not make a high enough frosting top (lol), and the flavor was just so-so in my opinion, although M&M thought it was delicious.


Here is the recipe link. Here it is written out:

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
• 1/4 cup sugar
  
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Marshmallow Frosting (recipe below)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, & salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.
3. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, & vanilla. Add to flour mixture & beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl & continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water & stir to combine; set cake batter aside.
4. Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, & melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.
5. Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.
6. Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.
7. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (or you can use a gallon Ziploc bag and just cut a small hole in one corner). Pipe frosting in a spiral motion on each cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet. Using a kitchen torch (or just put them on the top shelf of the oven and turn on the broiling setting for just a few seconds, watching carefully), lightly brown the frosting. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to two days.

Marshmallow Frosting

• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. Place egg whites, sugar, & cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch (3 to 4 minutes).
2. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment & beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes (Ours took longer and never actually made good peaks). Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.