Gooey Chocolate S’mores Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- 2 Hershey's bars (3 ounces chocolate)
- 8 tbsp. unsalted butter
For the Graham Cracker Layer:
- ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
For the Cupcakes:
- 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup hot coffee or hot water
- 5 cups marshmallow frosting (see notes)
Instructions
To prepare the chocolate buttercream:
- Start the buttercream about an hour before you are ready to make the cupcakes.
- In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt together butter and chocolate until completely melted.
- Stir together and then remove from heat.
- Allow to cool, in the pot on the counter, for 10 minutes before placing in the refrigerator until solid; about 1 hour
To prepare the graham cracker layer:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
- Line cupcake pan with grease-proof liners.
- In a food processor, pulse graham cracker pieces until they are a fine crumb.
- Add in flour and sugar; pulse until combined.
- If a food processor is not available, crush the graham crackers with a rolling pin in a plastic bag and mix everything in a bowl.
- Drizzle in butter; continue to process until completely incorporated.
- Divide graham cracker mixture between cupcakes cups, a little less than one tablespoon per cup, and use a shot glass to press mixture down firmly.
- Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 5 minutes until tops look set.
To prepare the cupcakes:
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter until almost completely melted.
- Add chocolate and oil; microwave for 30 seconds; stir; microwave for an additional 15 seconds, if necessary, until chocolate is completely melted.
- Remove from the microwave, stir until well-combined; set aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in cooled chocolate mixture. (It can be warm, but if it is hot to the touch, set aside for another couple of minutes; if too hot it will scramble the eggs).
- Whisk in half of the flour mixture until just combined.
- Add all of the buttermilk and mix well.
- Whisk in the last of the flour, mixing until just combined.
- Whisk in the coffee or water; the batter will be thin and runny; it's supposed to look like that.
- Fill cupcake tins just under ¾ of the way full (tip: if you transfer the batter to a liquid measuring cup first, it makes filling easier); don't overfill; there may be a tiny bit of batter left over.
- Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes.
- Take chocolate frosting mixture out of the refrigerator and set on the counter to soften while your cupcakes cool.
To finish chocolate filling and assembly:
- Once cupcakes are cool, use a handheld electric mixer, or scoop softened chocolate mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer and use the whisk attachment, to whisk mixture, on medium-high, until light in color; about 2 minutes.
- Using a serrated knife with a sharp tip, cut a cone-shaped piece out of the center of each cupcake; don't worry about being neat about it; discard (or eat) the cone.
- Transfer chocolate frosting to a plastic bag by placing the bag over an empty cup and scooping the mixture inside; seal bag and snip off one of the corners; use the bag to "pipe" chocolate mixture into the cupcakes and fill to the top.
- Make marshmallow frosting (see note below) and top cupcakes with big swirls using a piping bag.
- Turn broiler on high and place cupcakes on a tray in the oven.
- Watch closely and do not walk away from the oven.
- Leave cupcakes in just long enough to toast the marshmallow frosting; 2 to 4 minutes.
Notes
Make sure to use grease-proof liners if grease spots matter to you.
Regular liners hold up just fine for these cupcakes, but the butter in the graham cracker base will turn the liners dark.
Recipe for the marshmallow frosting can be found on our completecomfortfoods.com website at: https://completecomfortfoods.com/easy-marshmallow-frosting/
