After having that s’mores cupcake from Cupkates Truck last weekend, I became sort of obsessed. I kept having cravings for more of them the whole week for more. It’s like once my taste buds were awakened to the divine concept of s’mores in the form of a cupcake, they desperately needed to have more. I kept talking about them with Dan, and we then decided that instead of hunting that darned cupcake truck down again, we’d try making those delicious morsels ourselves.

We were a little apprehensive about the mission ending in disaster, but it turned into a fun collaborative project for the two of us. 🙂 And the results were not too shabby, if I do say so myself:

できあがり！

As I usually try to do here, I’m going to post the recipe, but I’m also going to try something new. My friend Luice recently introduced me to The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s site. If you’re not familiar with her, she’s a woman who used to live an urban lifestyle (growing up in Chicago and then attending college in Los Angeles) who then fell in love with a cowboy (yes, a cowboy) and lives out in the countryside now. She calls her cowboy husband “The Marlboro Man” and her four adorable kids her “punks,” and despite the fact that her life is 180 degrees different from her previous city life, she actually fell in love with the country life. She has a huge online presence, with her site featuring extensive topics — everything from recipes to a personal blog and sections dedicated to photography, home & gardening and homeschooling. (I especially loved reading “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels,” her love story about how she met The Marlboro Man and how their whirlwind romance took off… although I confess I haven’t read all of it yet — it’s a series of blog posts.)  Aside from being a funny personality and a really good writer, her recipes are awesome in that she uses step-by-step photos in them. I really love how she does this, because I’m a very visual learner and it really helps for me to see each of the steps as photographs (really pretty ones, too!) — when I buy cookbooks, I go out of my way to find ones that have lots of pictures in them. So I decided to try out this clever idea and do this post “The Pioneer Woman”-style. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ll be trying again anytime soon, though — taking step-by-step photos is actually pretty tiring and it’s difficult to get the shots to look good. Nevertheless, here goes my pathetic attempt.

The actual recipe is at the bottom of the post, for those who just want to skip the photos or want the detailed ingredients and directions.

ingredients for the cupcake
The ingredients for the chocolate cupcakes: sugar, flour, cocoa powder, vegetable oil, whole milk (I only had 2% but the recipe calls for whole), baking powder, baking soda, eggs, and vanilla extract.

pour in the dry ingredients
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

stir to combine
Stir the dry ingredients until well combined.

pour in the oil
Pour in the other ingredients: egg, oil, milk, vanilla extract.

beat with a mixer
Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed.

the batter will be very watery
Add 1 cup of boiling water. Batter will be watery but no worries! That is how it should be. (I know this photo doesn't look very appetizing, but trust me on this one.)

fill the cupcake liners
Fill the cupcake lines with the batter.

fill to 1/2 - 3/4 full
Fill 1/2 to 3/4 full with batter.

cupcakes out of the oven!
Bake for 22-24 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

ingredients for the frosting
What you will need for the frosting: sugar, light corn syrup, mini marshmallows, vanilla extract, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt.

combine the ingredients
Combine the sugar, corn syrup, egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt.

stir over the simmering pot
Place the bowl with the mixture over a pot of simmering water (not touching the water).

heat over simmering water
Continue stirring over heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture becomes warm to the touch.

remove from heat and beat with mixer
Remove the bowl from heat and beat on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form and the mixture is still warm.

add in the marshmallows
Add in 1 cup of marshmallows and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Reduce mixing speed to low.

continue beating until marshmallows are melted in
Beat until marshmallows have melted and blended completely into the mixture. The frosting should be used right away.

frost the cupcakes!
Frost the chocolate cupcakes with the marshmallow frosting.

pile on the frosting
Pile on that frosting!

the magic touch
S'mores cupcakes are not complete without these key players: graham crackers and chocolate. Most recipes recommend Hersheys chocolate bars but I prefer Cadbury.

milk chocolate and dark chocolate
Chop the chocolates into bitesize pieces. S'mores traditionally use milk chocolate, but if you're a dark chocolate lover like me, feel free to use dark!

stick the chocolate and graham cracker pieces in
Stick pieces of graham crackers and chocolates into the tops of the frosted cupcakes.

use in sweeping motions against the frosting
Use a culinary butane torch to slightly toast the frosting. Carefully not to get too close as to scorch the frosting!

Dan torching frosting
Dan is a closet pyro, so I think he enjoyed helping with this part the most. He mastered the "gentle sweeping motion" in toasting the frosting.

smores cupcakes!
S'mores Cupcakes!

They came out quite nice.
We were pretty impressed with ourselves. They actually came out looking pretty nice!

closeup on smores cupcake
This one is my favorite. Dan did the frosting on this one!

me with a cupcake
Me with our masterpiece! They tasted as good as they look!

wearing the cupcake apron that Akiho gave me
Posing with our cupcakes, in the lovely cupcake apron that Akiho gave me as a birthday present! I love Anthro's aprons; they're all so adorable.

finished cupcakes
Rows upon rows of s'more cupcakes. Some didn't come out as pretty-looking but they're still yummy!

smores cupcakes - yummy!
A new household favorite! Will definitely be making them again.

Here’s the recipe without all the photos for anyone who’d like to print it out and try it themselves!

S’mores Cupcakes

(Note: I based my cupcakes on a recipe from Glory Albin of Glorious Treats, featured on Food Magazine. There are some slight variations and tweaks I made on mine, so feel free to follow either.)

The Chocolate Cupcakes:

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Line the cupcake cups with paper or aluminum liners. Heat oven to 350° F.

2. Stir together the dry ingredients – mix sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.

3. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be watery but that is how it should be).

4. Fill liners approximately  2/3 – 3/4 full with batter.

5. Bake regular cupcakes for approximately. 22-24 minutes. Mini cupcakes for 13-16 minutes.

6. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting. (Makes approximately 24 standard size cupcakes.)

Marshmallow Frosting:

Ingredients:
2 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch of salt
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a large heat-proof bowl, combine the egg whites, sugar, water, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt.

2. Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat mixture, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160° F), about 3 minutes.

3. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the mixture until soft peaks form, and it is still very warm, about 2 minutes.

4. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the marshmallows and vanilla. Continue beating until the marshmallows are melted and the frosting is completely smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Use frosting right away.

The Final Touches:

Ingredients:
2-3 large graham crackers
1 large chocolate candy bar (the ones that come in squares are easier to use): milk chocolate or dark chocolate, depending on your preference.

Directions:

1. Frost chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow frosting.

2. Top frosted cupcakes with a piece of graham cracker and a piece of chocolate.

3. Use a culinary butane torch (the kind typically used on crème brûlée) and lightly sweep the flame across the frosting, approximately one inch away, to slightly toast the marshmallow frosting.

4. Devour immediately.