Happy Monday friends! Today needs a good pick me up – like these amazing s’mores cupcakes. After a fun weekend spending time with family, my brother and his girlfriend and my baby sister were all home for the holiday and thru the weekend, we are sad to see them heading back to Brooklyn and Santa Barbara. We also had major family reunions happening over the weekend, my mom’s side of the family had a 4 day reunion and we also squeezed in a mini reunion with my dad’s side of the family. It was a whirlwind of events, but so fun! These cupcakes are one of the treats I took to share.
These cupcakes have a baked graham cracker crust, with a vanilla cupcake, filled with rich ganache and topped with a fluffy, toasted marshmallow frosting. Most definitely a s’more in cupcake form! My favorite part is probably the frosting. I could just eat it by the spoonful!
These cupcakes are the perfect dessert for a summer together. If you have a s’more lover in your life, you definitely need to make these for them!
S’MORES CUPCAKES
Makes approximately 30 cupcakes
For the graham cracker crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line 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: The bottom of a small cup works well.) Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and turn the oven down to 325º F.
For the cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter.
For the ganache filling:
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup plus 1 ½ tbsp. heavy cream
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces, at room temperature
To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let stand about 1 minute. With a whisk, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles. When the ganache has become smooth, whisk in the butter 1 piece at a time until incorporated. Transfer the bowl to the freezer or refrigerator to chill and thicken the ganache a bit. Whisk every 5-10 minutes to help it cool evenly. Once the mixture is slightly thickened and no longer runny, you are ready to fill the cupcakes.
Cut a small round piece out of the tops of each cooled cupcake and put in about 1 teaspoon of ganache. Replace the cake piece and set cupcakes aside.
For the frosting:
6 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
To make the frosting, combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a bowl set over a pan of a few inches of simmering water. (Note: Use your clean, dry mixing bowl 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. Top the ganache filled cupcakes with frosting (I used a Wilton 1M tip to pipe the frosting). Brown with a kitchen torch.
Enjoy! Manda
(For more s’mores goodness, check out these s’mores with homemade graham crackers!)
Adapted from my favorite vanilla cupcakes and Annie’s Eats
