S'mores Cupcakes (Redux)

With my cookie recipes in the bag, it’s time to move on to testing cupcake recipes. I know 1 for sure. The other two (chocolate and “other flavor”) are still up in the air. I’ve got ideas, but nothing seems to be working out the way I envision it. With only days left, it’s getting down to the wire, and I’m starting to worry a bit. My biggest challenge? Trying to find a whole new chocolate cake recipe that I like as much as my Go-To—which I can’t use.

The cupcake competition is sponsored by the Poultry Association. One of the requirements for the recipes is to use 3 to 4 eggs in a batch of at least 18 to 24 cupcakes. My Go-To chocolate recipe uses zero. So my deliciously moist, flavorful, perfect every time chocolate cupcake? Not eligible. I’m back to square one, and it’s been a real struggle.

After searching through 55 pages of cupcakes on Tastespotting, looking for ideas a couple weeks ago, I saw quite a few versions of S’mores Cupcakes. I’d made some about a year ago, with a graham cracker cupcake base, but most that I saw while browsing used a chocolate cupcake base, topped with graham cracker crumbs. Totally cute, and fairly easy, especially since I’d had some luck with homemade marshmallow before. I’d try it out with the Devil’s Food recipe from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book.

Well, they were a good idea in theory. In practice? Not quite. Although it looks pretty, the graham cracker crumbs on top keep the marshmallow from sticking to the cupcake, so one false move, and the “frosting” topples off. Plus the crumbs fall off EVERYWHERE. They’re rather messy to eat, and I had a coworker joke that he almost died from graham cracker inhalation. Not a good thing. More importantly, the chocolate cupcake base isn’t quite up to par. It’s kind of dense, a little dry, and nowhere near as flavorful as I’d like. I won’t be using it again. I like the concept as a whole, and may try to perfect it eventually, but it probably won’t be making an appearance at the fair. At least not in this form. And now it’s back to the kitchen for Round 3 to test some more combinations. Hopefully one of them turns out great…

Wait—Round 3? The S’mores Cupcakes were Round 2? What happened to Round 1? Well… This was Round 1:


Those were supposed to be Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes. They ended up more as Black Hole Cupcakes. They were atrocious. They sunk in the middle, stuck to the pan, stuck to the paper liners, and tasted absolutely disgusting. They went from the pan to the trash, and that recipe was ripped to shreds. So… Round 1 = EPIC FAIL.

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Smores Cupcakes
Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book
Makes 36 cupcakes



Cupcakes:
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups buttermilk
¾ cup graham cracker crumbs

Marshmallow Frosting:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup plus ¼ cup cold water
1 cup sugar
36 chocolate squares (for decoration)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 3 standard muffin tins with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium speed beat butter until smooth. Add brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beating until just combined.
5. Divide batter between pans. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs over the tops of each cup. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. While cupcakes are cooling, make marshmallow. In a mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup of water. Allow gelatin to soften for 5 minutes.
7. Heat remaining ¼ cup water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Stop stirring; clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Boil syrup until it reaches the soft ball stage (238F), brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Remove from heat; add syrup to softened gelatin. Whisk mixture by hand until cooled, about 1 minute, then use an electric mixer to whisk on medium-high speed until soft, glossy (but not dry) peaks have formed, 8 to 10 minutes. Use immediately (frosting will harden).