Did you read the title of this blog? Be prepared. This is the most amazing thing you will ever eat. I am not kidding, it really is hands down the best cupcake ever! I came across this recipe on a blog, and I knew that even with my dietary alterations, they would still be divine. How can graham cracker, chocolate cake, and toasted meringue frosting be bad? It simply can't be.
Even though I saw this months ago, I needed to make a necessary purchase before attempting them. As you can see from the picture, the marshmallows are perfectly toasted (just like a real s'more!). That fun part is done with a kitchen torch. I didn't have one and was seriously going to purchase one just for these cupcakes (and you should too if you don't have one). Luckily, my sister had one that she didn't use, so I just stole it from her kitchen.
I finally had an occasion to make them and was so excited for the experience. Just making them is fun! The final product doesn't only look impressive, but tastes amazing. Each bite has graham, chocolate, and toasted meringue - better than a s'more! I garnished each cupcake with either a graham cracker (for us health conscious folks) or a Hershey's chocolate. Everyone at the party loved them and they were devoured quickly. I know I will be making this frequently in the future!
Try them! They are a perfect summer dessert.
Ingredients:
For the graham cracker crust: - 20 organic graham crackers (organic is a MUST, the others are full of unhealthy ingredients)
- 6 tbsp maple syrup
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
For the cake: - 2 cups plus 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
For the frosting: - 8 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with liners.
Using a food processor, grind the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Add the oil and syrup and pulse until combined. Place one tablespoon of graham cracker crumbs into each cupcake liner. Press the crackers down in each cup with the help of a bottle, glass, spoon, etc. The flat back of my espresso measuring spoon was perfect for this. Bake the graham crackers for 5 minutes in the oven. Remove the pans and set aside, keep the oven on.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together the eggs, skim milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low for 30 seconds. Scrape the side of the bowl and mix on high for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the water in the microwave or on the stove top. Add the boiling water to the batter and mix to combine. The batter will be thin.
Fill each liner about 3/4 the way full with batter. Place the cupcakes in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Make sure to rotate the pan once while baking. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.
After the cupcakes have completely cooled, make the frosting. Note: make the frosting the day you want to eat the cupcakes, the meringue will not maintain well over a day or two. I made the cupcakes the day before the event and then the frosting the day of the event.
Using a double boiler (I just put a large mixing bowl over a medium pot of simmering water), whisk together the eggs, sugar, and cream of tartar. Whisk constantly until an instant read thermometer inserted into the mixture reads 160 degrees. At that point, put the mixture into the bowl of a standing mixture fitted with the whisk attachment. Start whisking on low and the gradually move up the speed to medium high. Let mix for a few minutes until stiff, glossy peaks are formed. Be patient, this may take a while! Once you have stiff peaks, mix in the vanilla extract.
Using a piping bag or zip lock bag with the corner cut off, pipe some frosting on each cupcake in a swirl pattern. Then, using a kitchen torch, toast the top of each cupcake. Be prepared to quickly blow out some little fires if the torch accidentally makes the cupcake liner catch fire :). Garnish the cupcakes with a piece of graham cracker or a Hershey chocolate.
Serve the same day and enjoy! Be prepared to receive lots of compliments!