S'more Cupcakes

If you are on a diet, watching your weight or a chocolate hater, please leave this entry. If you are still reading, then you must promise to make these at some point. These cupcakes are heavenly, or in the words of my mother-in-law, "to die for." Seriously though, these cupcakes are amazing. The combination of graham cracker batter with the chocolate batter, and the gooey marshallow melted inside is so good. These are very rich, and actually almost forced me to drink a glass of milk (which I would never actually do, but it means something for me to even think about drinking milk!) Sadly, the hubby and I only got one each as I gave the rest to my coworkers and in-laws. So far, this was one of the best received treats I have brought to work, with exception of the Tiramisu Bundt Cake, which I never blogged about so I should probably make it again!

These cupcakes are actually pretty simple to put together, although they may take a little extra time than normal because there are a couple steps involved. These would also be really fun to make with kids, as they could take care of the marshmallow and crumb topping parts. So Abby, if you are reading and have all these ingredients in Dubai, I would love to make these with my little man when we come visit:)

S'more Cupcakes

Source: Bakerella

Makes 14-16 cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup oil
6 jumbo marshmallows cut in half, plus more for decorating

Graham Cracker Crumb topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Ganache
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together with a wire whisk.
Separate the mixture in half into two bowls.

Stir cocoa into one bowl and the graham cracker crumbs into the other.

Add 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup oil to the cocoa mixture and beat on medium until combined.

Repeat adding the same ingredients to the graham cracker crumb flour mixture.

Prepare the graham cracker crumb topping.
Add the brown sugar and crumbs in a small bowl and pour on the melted butter. Stir until combined.

Pour a little graham cracker cake batter into the bottom of your baking cups and then sprinkle the topping mixture lightly on the surface. Place a marshmallow half on top and then cover the marshmallow with the chocolate cake batter until it is about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with more topping mixture.

Bake cupcakes for about 15 minutes. Place a cookie sheet underneath when you bake just in case. I had a little bit ooze over into the oven. Oops.

This recipe will make at least 12 cupcakes. I had a some batter from each left over so you can probably get more like 14-16.

Let cool and top with ganache.
Heat the butter and cream on the stove. Heat until just before it boils. Remove and pour over chocolate. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Pour over cupcakes and add more marshmallows if you desire.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Wow. I don't even know what else to say about these 'cupcakes.' They are like bite-size cinnamon rolls and I can't stop eating them (I've already had two tonight:/) These are a bit time consuming but are so worth the work.


This was actually my very first experience baking with yeast, and it turns out that yeast isn't really that scary. I have pushed aside all recipes that use yeast because I was scared of it. So today, I went out and bought a candy thermometer (to make sure the milk was the right temperature) and decided I have nothing holding me back and I needed to get over my fear of the yeast.

Thank god I did, or I would have missed out on the amazingness of these cupcakes.

One thing I did change about this recipe was the frosting. I'm not really a fan of cream cheese, or frosting made with cream cheese, so I made a glaze instead.


Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes


Source: Beantown Baker, taken from La Fuji Mama

Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp. or 1 packet (1/4 oz./7 g) dry active yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened


1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbls. milk


Dissolve the yeast and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in the warm milk in a large bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy.

Mix in the eggs, butter, salt, and other 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Add flour and mix until well blended and the dough forms a ball. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour).

After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (I like to double them up because these cinnamon rolls are so moist), and lightly spray over the top of them with cooking spray.

Roll dough into a 12x22 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 24 rolls.

Place each roll in a cupcake liner. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Let rolls cool completely before frosting.


Glaze:

Source: Cooks.com

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk until drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm cupcakes.