S'mores Cupcakes

We're back to school! Great to have the boys back with their friends but our house has felt awfully empty these last few days. So plenty of time to reminisce about our wonderful holidays and favourite moments. The boys absolutely loved our time in Canada back in July and if you ask them their favourite part, it would be when daddy insisted we make an impromptu camping expedition into the Algonquin National Park.

Cue an overnight stay in the wild (with bears, loons, chipmunks and rutting moose!) It took us around three hours to paddle to our lake and we pitched our tent on a little deserted island, a little different to camping in the UK where you're in a field surrounded by tons of other people - you definitely feel out in the wilds. We'd been warned that a wild bear had been into one of the camps the previous night and stolen all the food and guess which was the only campsite left on the lake? You guessed right! I spent the whole night listening for the padding of bears' paws outside our tent and hubby and I had a rather comical time balancing me on his shoulders whilst I tried to suspend all of our food and cooking equipment in a giant plastic barrel six feet in between two trees out of the bears' reach. We collected our own firewood, started a fire for warmth and cooked dinner over the open flame. I rustled up a mean chicken and rice stew and then had my first attempt at making S'mores. I don't think I got it quite right, but I swear they were the best dessert - although I think that was a lot to do with being in the wild and cooking them over an open fire! Yum :)

I wanted to recreate a taste of the summer to reward the boys for their return to school. I returned from Canada with Graham's crackers and found some Hershey's chocolate to go with them. When I was looking for a S'mores creation, I found this lovely recipe for S'mores Cupcakes from Pastry Affair. I decided to make just 8 cupcakes rather than the 24 in the original recipe so the quantities below are for just 8 and can be factored up to make as many as you like. What I love about these cupcakes is the Graham's cracker crust at the base of the chocolate cake which added not only a really delicious flavour, but also a little crunch. These are baked for 5 mins in the oven before adding the cupcake batter and they really crisp up in this time. Kristen suggests using whichever chocolate cupcake recipe we like at this point so I used my regular recipe here.

Then she adds a chocolate glaze which is where my Hershey bars came in handy and I like to think added an authentic S'mores touch to the little cupcakes! Finally a topping of marshmallow which is then browned under a blowtorch. The marshmallow didn't whip up quite as much as I'd like so I'd probably play around with the quantities next time but although it might look a little flatter than I'd like, it definitely tasted delicious astride these little cupcakes.

These cupcakes aren't difficult to make, they just have a couple of added stages to regular buttercream cupcakes with the crumb base and chocolate glaze. And they are delicious! The boys both loved them and scoffed them within minutes. The added chocolate glaze and marshmallow topping make a slightly more decadent treat but one well worth indulging :)

The only thing that would have make these better would have been eating them back on our little island. I mean, who could resist a view like this and something so delicious to eat?

S'mores Cupcakes Makes 8 cupcakes (recipe idea from Pastry Affair) 

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients

• 3 GRAHAM CRACKER (makes around 1 cup and the crumbs are crushed in a plastic bag with a rolling pin)
• 2 TBSP CASTER SUGAR
• 30G BUTTER, MELTED

Chocolate Cupcakes Ingredients

• 75G DARK CHOCOLATE - MIN 70% COCOA SOLIDS (broken down into pieces) 
• 45G BUTTER, SOFTENED
• 90G SOFT BROWN SUGAR
• 1 LARGE EGG, SEPARATED
• 95G SIFTED PLAIN FLOUR
• 1/3 TSP BAKING POWDER
• 1/3 TSP BICARBONATE OF SODA
• PINCH OF SALT
• 125ML SEMI-SKIMMED MILK AT ROOM TEMP
• 1/2 TSP VANILLA EXTRACT

Chocolate Glaze Ingredients

• 55G DARK CHOCOLATE (I used Hershey's here for an authentic S'mores taste!)
• 30G BUTTER
• 1/2 TSP GLUCOSE

Marshmallow Topping

• 80G LIQUID EGG WHITES
• 115G CASTER SUGAR

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan) and line a cupcake tin with 8 cupcake cases
2. Mix together the Graham Cracker Crust ingredients and then put a tablespoon into the bottom of each cupcake case
3. Using a glass, squash the crumbs gently until they form a solid base
4. Bake for 5 mins
5. Allow to cool for 10 mins before adding the cupcake batter
6. Turn down the oven to 170 degrees (fan)
7. To make the Chocolate Cupcake batter, firstly melt the chocolate in the microwave taking care not to burn your chocolate - I remove mine from the microwave when there are still a few smaller lumps and then stir it until it's all fully melted
8. Put the chocolate to one side to cool a little
9. Cream together the butter and sugar for around 5 minutes until light and smooth
10. Beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl and then add them slowly to the butter mixture with the mixer on a medium speed
11. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and ensure the mixture is fully mixed
12. Add the melted chocolate and ensure this is fully mixed in, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl
13. Combine the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a separate bowl
14. Add the milk to a jug (must be at room temperature else if it's really cold, when it's added to the melted chocolate it tends to solidify some of the chocolate) and mix in the vanilla extract
15. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the mixer and ensure it's fully incorporated and then add 1/3 milk mixture and ensure that is fully incorporated
16. Do this twice more until all the flour and milk are mixed in
17. Again, scrape down the sides to ensure that the mixture is all fully incorporated
18. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they're whipped to soft peak
19. Fold in the egg whites to the cake batter with a metal spoon ensuring that you don't knock the air out of the mixture
20. Spoon the batter into the cupcakes cases until they're 2/3 full
21. Bake for around 20 mins and ensure that a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
22. Leave the cupcakes in the tin for 10 mins before removing them and cooling them on a rack
23. To make the Chocolate Glaze, mix all the ingredients for this in a saucepan over a medium heat until they're combined
24. Leave to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes stirring from time to time
25. When this is a spreadable consistency, coat the top of each cupcake with the glaze
26. To make the Marshmallow Topping, mix the egg whites and sugar and warm in the microwave until they're at body temperature (around 37 degrees celcius)
27. Transfer to a mixer and mix for around 5 to 10 minutes until they're glossy and whisked to stiff peaks
28. Using a piping bag, add a swirl of meringue topping to each cupcake
29. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the marshmallow topping (or you can put this under the grill - in either case, watch them very carefully as they brown VERY quickly!)
30. Enjoy :)