S'Mores Cupcakes

I think it must have something to do with it being Summer but ever since I made S'Mores pudding pie I can't stop thinking about all the possibilities when it comes to S'Mores creations. I was lucky enough to review Southern Living's Big Book of Cupcakes and I about died at all the delicious recipes, it's arranged by seasons so with it being summer and all I flipped to that section, saw the most delicious looking S'Mores cupcake I have ever seen and knew I had to give them a whirl.


These cupcakes are all handmade from the cake mix to the frosting to the ganache. So the first thing I did was make the cake mix/cupcakes. The first thing you want to do is boil 2 cups of water and combine it with 1 cup of cocoa, it's going to be hot and steamy at first! 

When that's all mixed up to speed along the cooling process you can throw it in the fridge or even freezer if you're really short on time {Like I always am}! While the chocolate mixture is cooling mix the butter until it's creamy:

And gradually add the sugar and then one egg at a time until the consistency looks like this:

Finally you want to combine the dry ingredients {flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt}. Then alternate mixing the flour mixture and the cocoa mixture into your Butter/Egg/Sugar mixture until it's all mixed and yummy and creamy!

The recipe called for Chocolate Extract but I couldn't find any in the store so as a substitute I mixed about an 1oz of chocolate semi sweet morsels and 1 tsp of whipping cream and added that to the mix!  

Next you want to lay out your cupcake liners in your pan and fill the muffin pans until they're 2/3 full.

Bake on 325 for 10-12 minutes, when they come out let them sit for a couple of minutes and then place them on a cooling rack. If you only have one muffin pan like me make your next 12 muffins!

While the cupcakes are cooling it's time to make the ganache and the Vanilla frosting. Let's start with the frosting!


The frosting is super easy to make! Beat 1/2 cup of butter, 3-4 tbsp of whipping cream, 1 tsp clear vanilla extract and 1/8 tsp of salt:

Then gradually add 16oz of powder sugar until you get this:

Okay that's it for the frosting! Pretty easy right?


Next up is the Chocolate Ganche


You'll need to cook 1 cup of whipping cream in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, just until it begins to steam BUT NOT BOIL. Remove from heat.

Place 8 oz of semisweet chocolate in a glass boil and slowly add the hot cream to the chocolate. Beat with a whisk until all the chocolate melts and everything is mixed together with no lumps. The mixture will get thicker as it cools!

By now your cupcakes should be cool! Take a wooden spoon and use the handles to make holes in the middle of your cupcakes like so:

Fill the holes with the chocolate ganache:

Now frost the cupcakes. I used a knife, the cookbook said to use a straight edge spatula but I didn't have one so I improvised! 

Next up is placing a piece of graham cracker on every cupcake! 

Then drizzle ganache over the top, it's okay if it's more than just a drizzle it's still going to taste amazing. Trust me I know. 

And now for the finishing touch! Place the marshmallows on aluminum foil that has been buttered or sprayed with cookie spray. It's really important that you use butter or cooking spray! Broil them to your desired color.

They will deflate a little and then it's time to put the marshmallows on top of the graham crackers: 

Don't they look delicious? Here's the view from the top: 

I took about a million pictures, they came out so great I was afraid to eat it ;) 

And let's not forget the inside!

S'Mores Cupcake 
Makes 24 Cupcakes 
From Southern Living's Big Book of Cupcakes


Ingredients: 


Chocolate Cake: 
1 cup Dutch process cocoa
2 Cups Boiling Water
1 cup butter, softened
2 Cups superfine sugar
4 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour 
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp chocolate extract
Vegetable cooking spray


Vanilla Frosting


1/2 Cup butter, softened
3-4 Tbsp. whipping cream 
1 tsp. clear {or not} extract 
1/8 tsp. salt 
1 {160z} package powdered sugar 


Chocolate Ganache


1 cup whipping cream 
8 oz semisweet chocolate chopped 


Directions: 


1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees if you're using a dark coated or non-stick pan. If you're using a glass pan preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring two cups of water to boil. 
2. Combine 2 cups boiling water and 1 cup dutch process cocoa and stir. Let cool. 
3. While the cocoa mixture is cooling beat 1 cup of butter until creamy, gradually add 2 cups of sugar and then 4 eggs one at a time beating in between each addition. 
4. Combine 2 3/4 flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. of salt. 
5. Add the flour mixture and the cocoa mixture gradually to the butter mixture alternating and beating between every addition. 
6. Add the chocolate extract or as a subsititue 1 oz of melted semisweet chocolate and one tsp of heavy cream. 
7. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners and bake for approximately 15 minutes. 
8. While the cupcakes are cooking you want to make the icing and the ganache. For the icing combine 1/2 cup butter, 3-4 Tbsp. of heavy cream, 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/8 of a tsp of salt. Once combined slowly beat in 16oz of powdered sugar. 
9. For the ganache, heat 1 cup of whipping cream on the stovetop on medium heat until the cream is steaming but NOT boiling. Combine with the 8oz of semi sweet chocolate {chopped} and stir until all the chocolate has melted. 
10. Take your cupcakes out of the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.  
11. Once the cupcakes have cooled take the bottom of a wooden spoon and push it into the center of your cupcake to create a hole. Hold the spoon on the bottom and move the spoon in a circle to make the whole a little bigger!
12. Fill all the holes with the chocolate ganache using a spoon or a piping bag and tip.
13.  Frost all the cupcakes. 
14. Place a piece of graham cracker on each cupcake and spoon/drizzle chocolate ganache on top. 
15. Set up a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray it with cooking spray or coat it with butter, place the your marshmallows onto the sheet and broil for approximately two minutes or until the desired color has been reached. 
16. Place the toasted marshmallows on top of the graham cracker and chocolate ganache. 


ENJOY

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