Monday, April 21, 2008

gimme s'more!

I have to say a great big thank you to the fine folks at cakespy for posting about the unbelievably fabulous creations coming out of Trophy Cupcakes. I know I've always been a visual kid, but it's not very often that I come across an image that leaps out and speaks to me (and my belly, of course) so loudly that I just have to go ahead and make the darn thing for myself.

I'm talking, of course, about the awe inspiring S'more Cupcake. Oh, Trophy, you are madpeople and geniuses all at once!

Here's hoping the feeling is contagious; to all the bakers and cuppy cake lovers out there...let the cupcake madness begin!


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And so, we begin...

One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
(adapted from Martha Stewart)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

2 large whole eggs, plus 1 egg yolk (save the white for frosting!)
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups warm water (you can substitute coffee, or be boozy like me and sub in Baileys for 1/4 cup of the water...mmm!)

*I should mention that the "official" recipe for the original version is on Martha's website here, but based on some of the comments, I thought I'd stick to a recipe that I've used before, and trust. (Martha will always be my hero, even if a few of her recipes are a little wonky.)

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Preheat your oven to 350 while you gather all of your ingredients. Oh, and line two regular cupcake pans (that's 24 cupcakes in total) with those cute paper cups.


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Measure out all the dry ingredients and dump into a large bowl...


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To the dry, add all the wet ingredients; stir to combine into a smooth mix.

That's it for the cupcake batter; onto the part that makes it s'moreish....

Graham Cracker Base
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp melted butter

1 Hershey's bar, chopped in rough chunks

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Combine the graham cracker crumbs and butter.

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Scoop about a rounded teaspoon of the crumbly mix into each paper cup. There will be some left over; save this for the topping!

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Pat the mix down to form a mini "crust". (Shot glass to the rescue!)


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Try very hard not to eat the whole bar...stupid willpower!

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Chop chop!


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Put a little sprinkle of chopped chocolate on top of the graham base; cover with cupcake mix.


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I filled mine about three-quarters full...
(*strange, but this recipe usually makes 24 cupcakes on the nose. This time I had a bit left over, most likely because of the extra bits of graham and chopped chocolate I added. No worries, put the extra in a ramekin to bake for a little bonus treat!)

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Sprinkle the rest of the graham cracker mix on top. (I went a little crazy and put more chocolate chips on top as well; no such thing as too much chocolate, is there?)


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Bake about 15 - 20 minutes.
Do the toothpick test to check if done, but remember there will be gooey melted chocolate in the middle! (I also rotated the pans about halfway through so everything baked evenly.)

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Tah Dah! So cute..but wait, there's more!


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I could pack a few of these back right now, but I will be patient, because now it's time for...


Gilding The Lily (aka Marshmallow Frosting)
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

2 cups white sugar
3 egg whites (make sure these are very clean, no yolk bits!)
2 tbsp light corn syrup (I used honey, and it worked out fine)
3 tbsp cold water
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt

Combine all in a stainless steel bowl and set on top of a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly (electric beaters would've been great here, but old fashioned elbow grease will do just fine!) until mixture is glossy and holds a stiff peak when whisk is lifted.

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This counts as my exercise for the day! Once the whites reach stiff peak, remove from heat and keep on whisking until mix cools down. Let it hang out while you locate your pastry bag (or large Ziploc with the corner cut off).


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Pipe frosting. Admire. Pipe some more.


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Ah, how satisfying to see a little cupcake army forming....

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If you're really gonna do it up, and have been itching to use that torch (and who doesn't, really?), now is the time to bust it out! Just remember, light away from the face...

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The best part about the frosting is that when it sits for a bit (about an hour, say) it will go crispy on the outside, but still be squishy and marshmallowy in the middle...gaah, it's awesome!

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The end result. Chocolatey, crunchy, squishy goodness. Mmm...


Yes, yes, gimme s'more! Enjoy!

17 comments:

  1. oh, don't they look simply divine! thanks for all the foodshots - so much effort into one post, it's great. x

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  2. Those look awesome! I love smores.

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  3. Oh gosh they look lovely. I was just thinking of making cupcakes tonight too... maybe I'll finally get to see what these taste like!

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  4. gimme s'more, indeed--these are sensational! not only are they picture-perfect, but i'll bet they taste like a million dollars. strike that--a million dollars probably doesn't taste so good. :) seriously, i'm very impressed. and now quite hungry.

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  5. Wow, those look so yummy!!! Great post!

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  6. These look amazing! I love 7 minute frosting! I am thinking thse would be amazing for our mother's day bbq. How do these do over night, do you store them in the fridge?

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  7. diva: You're very welcome...I've been told I've got big eyes (when I eat/cook/think about food); it's nice to share just how much I enjoy it all!

    brilynn: Thank you! Can't wait to do the real thing over a campfire... :)

    kristina: It was definitely fun for me to try out a different spin on my regular cupcake making routine...I'd love to hear if you do try these out!

    grace: Thanks so much for the lovely compliment!

    s.a.: Thanks lady! (And see you tomorrow!) :)

    travelgirlz: Thanks! And yes, 7 minute frosting - so underrated (and awesomely retro too), don't you think? My take on the prep would be to make the cupcake bases the day before and store them in an airtight container. I'd probably try to make the frosting the day of - I have a feeling the meringue might start to weep or become a bit soggy if left on the cupcakes in the fridge. (Or, you could make and store the frosting separately, and pipe the day of?) I'd love to hear if you do make these - they were very well received by my friends! :)

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  8. They look fabulous! Great job with the frosting!

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  9. Yours look AMAZING!! You're right--I love frosting, so it means a lot for me to say this--they looked tasty even before adding the marshmallow! But of course, isn't it a magical moment when you do add it!? I am really impressed with how beautifully yours came out, and I bet they taste even better!

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  10. I tried so hard to make these! I did two batches with the recipe you posted as the cupcake and then one batch with Martha's original recipe. Both had a TON of leftover batter and the first two were really crumbly, overflowed my cupcake liners and very airy/tend to fall apart. Do you have any idea where I went wrong? I made the recipe twice, hoping maybe I measured wrong the first time, but the second batch turned out exactly the same... the Martha recipe are in the oven right now, but I am not very optimistic since there was still so much leftover batter! I just bought my muffin pans today, they are the standard size, 12-cup tins... are you using a jumbo cup?

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  11. mskathy: Gosh, I feel bad that they didn't turn out...I've always had a good result with this recipe! I've been lazy before and have really just dumped all the ingredients into a mixer, but if I was being more careful I would go about it like this: combine all the dry ingredients (whisk and/or sift well. Combine all the wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, water) in a separate bowl and pour into dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Perhaps your batter was overmixed? I usually fill my liners about 2/3 to 3/4 full...and I'm pretty sure I've got the standard size pan. Oh dear, I'm sorry things haven't worked out so far...please let me know if the other Martha recipe worked out for you!

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  12. Hi! this recipe rocks cos it nv fails me! i have made it so many times adn tmr, i was planning to make them as farewell gifts for my co-wrkers tmr, but the prob is im running pretty low on supplies, actually its cocoa in particular, but i do haf quite a big block of baking chocolates left. do u thnk its possible to sub it with the baking choco? wad proportions wld u recommend? thank you in advance!

    evelyn, jan_ie87@hotmail.com

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  13. Anon: My guess is that if you substituted baking chocolate (in chunks/cut up) the mix would turn out more like a tasty chocolate chip cupcake - ie golden cake with melty chips bits...which actually sounds pretty good too!
    On the other hand, perhaps if you melted the baking chocolate and mixed it with the wet ingredients first, you'd get that dark chocolate base. I'm guessing use the same amount (1 1/4 cups)?
    Either way, I'm sure it would be a good experiment! (My suggestion, to avoid disappointment, would be to use the cocoa...it really is a good recipe!)
    Good luck..I'd love to hear how everything turns out. :)

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  14. Hello. May i know how many ml makes 1 cup?

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  15. Anon: Hi! 240 ml = 1 cup. Hope this helps!

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  16. I made these last night and they're one of the best things I've ever had! I LOVE them! Thanks for posting this recipe :)

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  17. i would really like to try out this recipe tonight for my boyfriend but i don't have a stainless steel bowl....is it a no go for me?

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