Beth’s S’Mores Cupcakes
First, make the chocolate cake recipe. Let chocolate cake batter sit, while making graham cracker crust (it works better on the bottom of your pan when it is warm out of the microwave). Make frosting while baking, and let cake cool as completely as possible completely before frosting.
Chocolate Cake
Makes 2 dozen small or 18 big
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 large eggs
* 3/4 cup warm water
* 3/4 cup buttermilk
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* liberal chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners or have non-stick cupcake pan ready.
This is a one-bowl cake recipe. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and chocolate chips; mix batter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
Set batter aside until the crusts are ready in the pan, then divide batter evenly throughout pan, full according to final size of cupcakes desired. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 22-24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool a bit. Tip pan onto towel or clean surface if no liners used.
Graham Cracker Crust
For 18 – 24 cupcakes
2 cups graham cracker crumbs, from 12 whole graham crackers of whichever flavor you prefer (I do half regular and half cinnamon)
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs in a microwave friendly bowl. Toss butter on top. Nuke til half of butter is melted and other half is soft (what, like 30 sec? a little more?). Smoosh enough crumbs into the bottom of each cup to make a nice, thick, little layer. Pour chocolate batter right on top and toss immediately in oven.
Marshmallow Frosting
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter, room temperature, whip-able
1 lb. (2 cups) confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. tub (or two 7 oz. tubs) of marshmallow cream
Cream the butter on high until it’s light and fluffy. Add the confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until fluffy each time. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated. Then dump in the Fluff and mix it up ’til it’s all creamy. Transfer to pastry bag or other frosting dispenser and pipe onto cupcakes! (You can also cut the corner off a Ziploc bag and use that.)
Other Toppings
I highly recommend using some extra graham cracker crumbs, some squares of Hershey’s chocolate and tiny marshmallows to top them off.
Keep sealed at room temperature to store for a couple days.
