Cupcakes - I want S'more!

S'more Cupcakes!

I love to bake, but sometimes I can't justify making a whole cake or 2 dozen cookies for just AJ and I (I am too tempted to eat them all myself!). Luckily a pool party this past Sunday gave me a reason to whip up a batch of cupcakes. I like to challenge myself and decided to try Blondie's S'more cupcakes (of Blondie and Brownie).

Mixing the cocoa, milk, and sugar.

The recipe definitely requires a little effort, but the combination of marshmallow, chocolate, and graham crackers really had me salivating. A s'more in cupcake form is definitely worth a little sweat, blood, and tears (well, maybe no blood or tears). The cupcake batter was fairly standard. I accidentally put an egg into my whipped butter before I had added the sugar! Luckily the cake still came out moist and fluffy. This recipe calls for alternating dry with wet ingredients. I had always wondered what purpose this served.

Whipping up that batter!

This recipe calls for alternating dry with wet ingredients. I had always wondered what purpose this served. In an effort to learn more about the chemistry of baking I went to that wonderful vessel of knowledge - the internet! The "KitchenSavvy" website iprovided some great insight into this method. In baking you want to avoid the formation of gluten, which is a combination of wheat proteins and water. Gluten is an elastic substance, which inhibits the effectiveness of chemical leavening agents (such as baking soda). If the baking soda can't work, then your cake won't rise, resulting in a rather dense and gummy product. Beginning with the dry ingredients allows the wheat proteins to become coated with the butter and eggs. The fat protects the proteins from water and inhibits gluten formation. You might be asking yourself, "Why not add all of the dry ingredients at once? "  Adding a large quantity of wheat flour to fat would result in a lumpy mixture. By alternating with wet ingredients, with minimal mixing, you can achieve a smoother batter.

 

Ashley likes cupcakes. And I like Ashley. :)

When the batter is made, fill the muffin liners 3/4 of the way full. I did not make a graham cracker crust, but would consider using one the next time. Bake for 18-20 minutes. While the cupcakes are cooling you can begin on the frosting. This was my first time making 7-minute frosting. It didn't come together as well as I would have liked, but I did try to tweak the recipe. I would recommend going ahead with the original one posted on Blondie's blog. The frosting was still delicious, but a little on the runny side. You should frost these cupcakes right before serving, as they are best served fresh. If you have a blow torch, I would definitely use it to create that toasted marshmallow effect. But you don't lose too much without it. I topped mine with bits of graham cracker and semi-sweet chocolate.

A tray of beautiful marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker goodness.

The rich chocolate flavor, and gooey marshmallow frosting was wonderful with the bits of graham cracker and chocolate. Everyone thought these were delicious!