So this past Friday I made s'mores cupcakes. They were pretty tasty little guys, but more than anything they were just so darn cute!! I had the idea to make these because of the recipe I had for Boiled Vanilla Frosting (BVF). I made a birthday cake a couple weeks ago for my friend Shaina, which used the BVF and a chocolate cake, and I loved the texture and how deliciously marshmallow-y it was. It's kind of like a smoother thicker version of marshmallow fluff, so obviously the s'mores idea came pretty soon after that. I also had the PHENOMENAL idea to use my handy dandy kitchen torch that I got in my Christmas stocking last year to toast the frosting!
They turned out pretty well for me, the only warning I want to send out is to watch the time while cooking the cupcakes. I put mine in for the minimum 15 minutes that the recipe suggested, and I thought they were a bit overcooked, so know your oven! Ours is circa 1975 and apparently slightly turbo charged, so if I were to make them again, I'd probably put them in for about 13 minutes.
S'mores Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 3/4 C all purpose flour
- 1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 12 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 C packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
- 1 C buttermilk (if you don't have this on hand, use just under 1C milk w. 1 Tbsp lemon juice OR white vinegar)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
Boiled Vanilla Frosting
- 1 C sugar
- 1/3 C water
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla
Garnish-Graham Crackers, Kitchen torch if you have it.
For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350F, prep muffin pan with liners, or use spray (especially if you're going to torch them! I like Baker's Joy).
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
Beat butter & sugar on high speed until light and fluffy (seriously, give it a minute or two!). Add the eggs one at a time beating completely after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate, vanilla, and almond extracts.
To the butter mixture, alternate buttermilk in three parts, and dry ingredients in two parts (starting and ending with the buttermilk). Mix on low speed until just blended.
Fill cups about 2/3 full (I like to use a zip lock freezer bag for this, it's less messy! Just fill it with the batter and cut off a corner to pour out of).
Bake 15-20 minutes until dry and risen (or less if your oven is turbo charged like mine!). Let cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
You'll need a candy thermometer. If you don't have one, google "soft ball stage" and figure out how to CAREFULLY test for it (this terrifies me...I'd just invest in a thermometer).
Mix the sugar, water, cream of tartar, and salt in a heavy bottomed pan. Boil without stirring until the mixture reaches 240F on a candy thermometer (soft ball stage). Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form (don't overbeat! they'll break down). With the mixer running at high speed, pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a slow, thin stream. Continue at high speed until thick enough to spread. Stir in the vanilla, and frost the cooled cupcakes.
To finish, take your kitchen torch and lightly pass over the frosting to brown. Garnish with a piece of graham cracker. Enjoy!
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