Saturday, April 16, 2011

S'mores Cupcakes



I sit and think all the time of different flavor combinations and desserts that I like. That's how I came to do the Bananas Foster cupcakes. It's getting to be barbecue season, and I thought.. what about s'mores? S'mores are such a delicious treat that everyone loves. It reminds people of being young and having a good time just sitting by a campfire or having an awesome bbq with friends and family.  This afternoon I put this confection into a cupcake. There are three elements, well actually four, to a s'more. Graham cracker, chocolate, marshmallow, and fire. What I did is this:
I made a graham cracker crust like I would if I were making a cheesecake. I crumbled about 10 full graham crackers and mixed it with 1/2 stick of melted butter. I didn't add sugar b/c I felt the crackers were sweet enough. I lined my cupcake pan with little papers and took a tbsp of the cracker mixture and pressed it into the bottom of each cup. I then baked these mini crusts in an oven for 4 minutes at 375 degrees. Took them out and knocked the temp back to 350.
Next came the chocolate- I just did a very basic chocolate cake- 
1 cup AP flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cold strong brewed coffee
2/3 cup of milk
1 egg
Whisk all together in a bowl- it's a very thin batter. I used my ice cream scoop and poured the batter on top of each cup that already had the cooked crust in it. Bake these cupcakes at 350 for 19 minutes.
Next- onto the marshmallow.
I really didn't know what to do with this part. I knew i didn't want to melt down marshmallows and I did not want to use Fluff. I wanted it homemade all the way. So I found a recipe online for no bake marshmallow icing.
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup light karo syrup
Beat the egg whites,salt and cream of tartar on high till they form peaks. Add the sugar in a little at a time till it's stiff and glossy. Then slowly beat in the corn syrup. 
I then decided to add in a dash of vanilla extract for some more flavor. The marshmallow icing is thick but not thick enough to just pipe onto a cake. I spooned about a tbsp of the icing onto each cake and then placed the caked onto a silpat lined baking sheet. I put my broiler on high and moved the rack up close to the heat. I put the frosted cakes in for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it b/c it's sugar and will burn FAST! They come out looking like a toasted marshmallow on top! These were rich and very tasty still slightly warm. The crust stayed intact and the cake was just gooey enough to remind me of melted chocolate!

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