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Chocolate S'mores Cupcakes

prep 40 minutes
cook 20 minutes
1 hour
total 2 hours
Serves 12 servings
Gorgeous black cocoa chocolate cupcakes stuffed with graham crackers, layered with a graham cracker butter and frosted with marshmallowy toasted vanilla meringue.
Servings 12 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

Cupcakes

  • 120 grams cake flour
  • 40 grams black cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tbsp baking powder
  • 175 grams granulated sugar
  • 80 mL canola oil
  • 1 large eggs
  • 75 grams sour cream or greek yogurt
  • 120 mL hot coffee, I use Americano
  • 12-24 small chunks of graham crackers , to fit on the bottom of the cupcake

Graham Cracker Butter

  • 113 grams salted butter , softened
  • 125 grams graham crackers (1 package/8-9 full sheets) , ground up
  • 42 grams honey

Toasted Meringue

  • 150 grams granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or extract
  • tiny pinch of fine sea salt

Method

Cupcakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 325F (I use convection cuz my oven runs really hot at the bottom - conventional is also fine) and line 12 muffin tins.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until they’re evenly distributed.
    120 grams cake flour, 40 grams black cocoa powder, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, 1/2 tbsp baking powder
  3. In a separate large bowl, whisk the sugar, oil, eggs and sour cream until they’re well combined and smooth.
    175 grams granulated sugar, 80 mL canola oil, 1 large eggs, 75 grams sour cream or greek yogurt
  4. Sift the dry ingredients over the wet and whisk them together, just a little - about halfway or so.
  5. Pour in the hot coffee and whisk until the batter is completely smooth and all the dry ingredients are combined. Scrape the edge of the bowl and give it a good mix.
    120 mL hot coffee I use Americano
  6. Place 1-2 little chunks of graham crackers on the bottom of each cupcake liner and then fill each cupcake tin about 2/3-3/4 - I measure up to 50 grams.
    12-24 small chunks of graham crackers to fit on the bottom of the cupcake
  7. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until the cupcake no longer looks wet and the tallest part, in the center, springs back when you press on it. If you’re hesitant, give it another minute or so.
  8. Let the cupcakes rest for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove them and allow them to cool completely before frosting.

Graham Cracker Butter

  1. Place the graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until they’re completely ground. Move to a bowl.
    125 grams graham crackers (1 package/8-9 full sheets)  ground up
  2. Add the butter and honey and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon mix until it’s completely combined. It should be a thick but spreadable consistency.
    113 grams salted butter  softened, 42 grams honey
  3. Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, you can cut a hole in the center with a cupcake corer to fill it in with the graham cracker butter or just trim off the top dome and spread the graham cracker butter on top of the bottom part of the cupcake and then place the dome back on top (I did it like this so you get some in every bite!). It's quite thick so just be gentle with it so you don't squish/break the cake.

Toasted Meringue

  1. Bring a small pot with a little water to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer (keep it on very low heat).
  2. Wipe down your equipment with a tiny bit of vinegar or lemon juice (any edible acid) and then place the sugar and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisking them together.
    150 grams granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
  3. Add the egg whites to the bowl and whisk the egg whites into the sugar. Place the bowl of egg whites and sugar on top of the simmering water (making sure it doesn’t submerge into the water) – you want the steam to heat the egg whites.
    3 large egg whites
  4. Whisk the egg whites frequently so they don’t coagulate around the edge of the bowl. Generally around 5 minutes, the sugar will feel like it’s dissolved in the egg whites but you want to take the egg whites to 175F (80C) in order to get that stable, marshmallowy texture, which is normally around 10 minutes for me. So make sure to check the temperature with a thermometer between the 5-10 minutes (it may take up to 15 minutes).
  5. Once it’s at 175F (80C), turn the stove off, remove the bowl from the simmering pot and place it on the stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment. Beat at medium speed for a minute and then increase to medium-high for about 10 minutes.
  6. Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix, that just until it’s combined, making sure to scrape the edge of the bowl as well. The texture should be thick and marshmallow – not dry.*
    2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract, tiny pinch of fine sea salt
  7. Pipe the meringue on top of the cupcakes and just a culinary torch to toast the top of it. You can also top it with some graham cracker crumbs if you want.

Notes

  • The meringue should be stable enough to last days in the fridge without defalting. I've even frozen it and thawed it just fine but if you're skeptical you can add gelatin to it to make sure. I would just dissolve a little less than a ¼ tsp of gelatin in 1 tsp of cold water. Let it set for a few minutes and then microwave it for 5 seconds. Add it in with the vanilla and salt, mixing just until it’s well combined. It’ll set once it’s refrigerated.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 343kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 5gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 200mgPotassium: 126mgFiber: 2gSugar: 33gVitamin A: 256IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg
Course: Cupcakes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate cupcake, coffee, espresso, mascarpone cream, tiramisu