Ever since I made the alcohol free version of this cupcake I’ve been thinking about making an “adult” version. I also felt the need to redeem myself for not realizing the mini marshmallows would melt. Duh.
I used cinnamon graham crackers for the crust because they’re nice and sweet. If you noticed in the picture I accidentally bought the reduced fat ones. Oops. Because I got over excited during the crushing, I ended up with 4 cups of crushed graham crackers. I mixed the extra crumbs into my leftover “crust” mixture, and after I put the ganache on the cupcakes I dipped some of them into the leftover graham crackers! Even S’morey-er! Speaking of ganache, I love this recipe. Even though I’m still not sure if it’s really ganache (there are like a million recipes online for “ganache”). I usually spoon it over the cupcakes, but this time I put it into a pastry bag, snipped the end off, and drizzled it over all the cupcakes. It was less messy, and (in my opinion) makes the cupcakes look a little nicer/ neater. Plus it was good practice for making designs! For my favorite S’more component (marshmallow!) I used the Fluff buttercream recipe from the alcohol free version, but took out the vanilla, and added 2 tablespoons of marshmallow vodka. YUUUUUMMY. I will say one thing, It’s a pain in the rump to make. My hand mixer has been on the verge of crapping out on me for, like, a month and the Fluff is super sticky so I stirred it, beat it, scraped it, stirred it, beat it, scraped the beater, stirred it, beat it some more… Getting the picture? This time around it was much easier piping the frosting onto the cupcakes, I used the number 10 tip, and they came out looking pretty nice. I didn’t have nearly as many problems getting it on the cupcakes, as I did the first time I made it. And I have no idea why. But, because I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I’m going to shake my head in wonder and move on. 😉 The Teddy Grahams on top of the cupcakes were purely selfish… I needed an excuse to buy some. Happy Sunday Cupcakery! -Hey Waitress!! Boozy S’mores Cupcake Recipe
One of my favorite things about Summertime is S’mores. I mean, what’s not to love about gooey marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers?! It doesn’t hurt that usually I’m making them over a fire while imbibing on some sort of booze and surrounded by family (or friends). unfortunately, we’re not allowed a grill here, and I don’t think the apartment complex owners would appreciate me building a fire on the lawn. So… here’s my new take on an old favorite.
I used a standard/ common recipe for the graham cracker “crust”, but substituted cinnamon instead of regular graham crackers. I like the sweetness from the cinnamon flavored grahams compared to the regular ones. To each her own, I guess. I also made mine last night, and left it in the fridge overnight… mostly because I didn’t want to make it this morning. I think making it the night before and leaving it in the fridge helps prevent the graham crackers from burning. Maybe? The downside to that was the melted butter hardened, and it was a bitch to break it all apart again. The cake was also a standard yellow cake recipe (i got this one from Betty Crocker’s Big Book of Cupcakes), I just added the chocolate chips and marshmallows! It’s a very thick and fluffy batter that is originally supposed to make 24 cupcakes. With the addition of the CC & MM i ended up with 30. You can probably fill the cupcake tins 3/4 full, as they didn’t rise really well. Oh! some of my cupcakes got stuck to the tin (melted gooey marshmallows), so I used a plastic knife around the edge to push them apart. I’m not sure if this chocolate ganache is really ganache… there are like a million different chocolate ganache recipes online. I forgot to bookmark the website that I got this one from. Sorry!! Make sure you let it cool all the way before you start putting the Fluff Frosting on, or else you’re going to get streaks and spots on the tops. I used Rachael Ray’s Fluff Frosting recipe. I had a few problems… nothing serious, though. First was the massive amount of butter!! 4 STICKS, aka ONE POUND, aka 2 CUPS! Yikes. This was the only recipe I found that didn’t use egg whites ( I despise separating eggs), so I went with it, despite the massive amounts of buttah (that was my hometown accented butter). The next problem was how much trouble I had stirring the Fluff in. I swear I almost pulled a muscle. Maybe I should have used the hand mixer? Thirdly, I used a little under 3/4 of the frosting, and I over-frost my cupcakes like it’s nobody’s business. The frosting was a little hard to get on the cupcakes… I ended up dropping a heaping tablespoon on top, and then flattening it out toward the edges. It got a nice “melted” gooey marshmallow look, which I liked. And If you want to make them a bit easier: Use a box yellow cake mix. Instead of the ganache I imagine you could use that chocolate shell topping (for ice cream), but I’m not sure if it would actually work… Or, you could use chocolate cake mix and skip the ganache. Happy Sunday Cupcakery! -Hey Waitress!! *UPDATE 5/1/12* Ummm… as much as I hate to say it… these cupcakes were SUPER dry. I won’t use that yellow cake recipe again! And I totally didn’t realize that all the mini marshmallows would melt! Sooooo sad. I’ve got plans for another S’mores cupcake, though, so don’t you worry!