I’m Baaaaaack!! It’s been such a hot summer that I haven’t had the urge to bake at all. I thought about making ice cream or some No-Bake desserts, but after days of working outside in the hot Florida sun, my couch definitely claimed me more often than I’d like to admit!
Then, a few weeks ago, my husband asked if we could host his Fantasy Football draft at our home, and I could barely contain my excitement as I asked “Do you want me to make the food?” He said, “You don’t have to,” and I responded, “No, I asked if you want me to make ALL the FOOD????” For the next two weeks, I was completely consumed with menu planning and prep lists. I was totally back in my element!
The hardest thing for me to settle on was desserts. What kind of desserts do you make for twelve dudes that are bro-ing out on some football stats, but are still dainty and pretty enough for my blog photos? The answer really is: anything. Guys are going to eat anything you put in from of them! I found these s’mores cupcakes on Sally’s Baking Addiction. She’s one of my go-tos for solid recipes! Don’t let the word “cupcake” fool you! These are more like a brownie in cupcake form, but with a graham cracker crust surprise and THE BEST marshmallow-y meringue frosting that toasts up into a truly instagram-worthy finish! It’s also a great excuse to buy a kitchen torch if you don’t already have one! Expect more flame-meets-food experiments in my future!
In addition to not being fooled by the “cupcake” label, don’t be fooled by this photo of ingredients. I was baking a double batch, so it was a LOT of stuff! The recipe below is for one batch that is supposed to make around 18 cupcakes. (More on that later!)
Every good S’more starts with graham crackers. I took the lazy way out and used pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs. The drawback is that the grind is extremely fine and they had a tendency to brown more than I’d have liked. This also might have happened if I’d done it myself, so I guess I’ll have to try it again and compare! Darn!
The brownie batter is very thick and oh, so chocolaty! With both chopped up baking chocolate and cocoa powder, the chocolate flavor is rich and deep! It also has no baking soda or baking powder. I had serious doubts as to whether I would get any rise out of them at all, but they did!
The single-batch recipe says to fill them almost to the top and that it should make 18 brownie cupcakes. I must have overfilled, because I ran out of batter way before I should have! Part of that is because the batter held its shape instead of spreading out over the crust. Have faith that it will spread out and bake evenly (and rise). Fill too much and it will take too long to bake and the graham crackers will get rather toasty. That happened to me. Now, most of the time a slight “burnt” flavor would be unpleasant, but in this particular recipe, it gave the cupcake that campfire-toasted quality that I really enjoyed! Finding that balance between the brownie being done and the crust over-toasting is about portioning. I don’t have any tips for this. I’m a notorious over-filler. I’m working on my faults!
They were so beautiful coming out of the oven! A crusty, crackled top and a soft, chewy center made them hard to resist as they cooled! I “accidentally” cracked one open when I was transferring them to the cooling rack. Couldn’t serve that to guests, so I pretty much HAD to eat it! I think I expected this to be a cross between a chocolate cupcake and a brownie, but these are straight-up fudgy brownie. They are rich and chocolaty. Honestly, the only frosting that you could put on this cupcake without making it way too much is the light, fluffy meringue that finished the s’mores flavor profile. Traditional butter cream would make this sickly sweet.
Don’t be afraid of meringue. It sounds daunting and complicated, but it is worth EVERY second of (not much more, honestly) effort for the taste, texture, and, of course, the toasted marshmallow look when they are finished. I frosted pretty conservatively, so I had a good deal of meringue left over. I ate it by the spatula-full. It was SOOOO good!! Also, the mixer does most of the work, so when you come back from the 5-6 minutes of whipping to a beautiful, glossy white marshmallow fluff, you feel like such a pro!
I couldn’t find my piping tips in the gigantic mess I’d made from two days of cooking, and at this point, the guys were almost to their break in the draft, so I just clipped the tip off of the piping bag and they still looked amazing. Hitting each cupcake with the torch was incredibly satisfying!!
Look how pretty!
These cupcakes may have a lot of steps, but they are delicious and really beautiful. Also, can we talk about the adorable little football cupcake papers I used? That sure does “butch up” my baking, right? 😀 So manly!
S'mores Brownie Cupcakes
A decadent brownie with a graham cracker crust topped with a fluffy meringue! All those campfire memories in cupcake form!
Ingredients
- For the Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- For the Brownie:
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
- 2 4-ounce quality Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bars coarsely chopped
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 Large Eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa (natural or dutch process)
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Marshmallow Meringue Frosting
- 3 Large Eggs Whites, room temperature
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar (no substitution!)
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two muffin tins with a total of 18 cupcake liners
- Step 2 Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a medium bowl. Spoon 1.5 Tbsp of mixture into each cupcake liner. Press mixture tightly into the bottom to form a firm crust. Set aside
- Step 3 Melt butter and chocolate together in a large heat-proof bowl in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring thoroughly each time until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Whisk in sugar. Allow mixture to cool slightly (about 5 minutes) before adding eggs. Whisk in vanilla, flour, cocoa powder and salt. Spoon batter evenly over graham cracker crusts
- Step 4 Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (I overfilled mine, so they took longer!) Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan
- Step 5 To make the meringue, make sure a heatproof bowl and anything else that you intend to use for the meringue is free of any moisture. Fill a deep saucepan with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer (small stream of bubbles rising to the surface in a few places). Test the heatproof bowl over the top to make sure the bottom of the bowl does not come into contact with the simmering water. Combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl. Whisk constantly over the simmering water until the sugar is completely dissolved. (Took me 8 minutes at my version of a simmer. Mixture will also start to look more opaque.) Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add vanilla and beat on high for 5-6 minutes until mixture is glossy and stiff peaks have formed. Pipe onto cooled brownie cupcakes. Use a kitchen torch to toast (Will still taste great if you don’t have a torch! Don’t attempt to do this under the broiler!)
*Store at room temperature or in the fridge for 1-2 days. I made the cupcakes the night before and frosted/torched them right before serving!
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