S'mores Cupcakes

Recipe for s'mores cupcakes: dark chocolate cupcakes filled with graham cracker cookie butter and topped with torched vanilla bean meringue.

About S'mores Cupcakes:

S'mores cupcakes are a decadent and fun treat. They are chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade graham cracker cookie butter and topped with torched vanilla bean meringue.

If you've had cookie butter before you know how much of a treat it is. When thinking of how to incorporate the graham cracker aspect of a s'more into these cupcakes I thought the cookie butter route was going to be the best option, and it is! Graham cracker cookie butter is fairly simple to make, and I've included all the step by steps below to make sure it comes out great for you!

We are using Italian meringue to top these cupcakes as it is the more stable of the meringues, and doesn't require baking. Instead we just pipe it on the cupcakes like icing and then torch the tops to give it that classic toasted marshmallow taste. Meringue is not difficult, but will require much time being whipped to achieve the right consistency. I highly recommend a stand mixer for making meringue. If these cupcakes sound intimidating, I'm going to break down all the steps for you!

Ingredients & Equipment for S'mores Cupcakes:

• Flour- all purpose flour will be used to give the best cake crumb
• Cocoa powder- I recommend Dutch process cocoa powder for the best flavor
• Butter-make sure it's unsalted and softened to room temperature
• Baking powder and soda- to help the cupcakes rise
• Salt- brings out all the flavors
• Eggs- for the cake, and lots of egg whites for the meringue
• Cream of tartar- stabilizes the meringue
• Sugar- granulated, powdered and brown sugar will all be used in these cupcakes
• Buttermilk- makes the cupcakes extra moist
• Vanilla bean paste- gives the meringue an incredible flavor
• Coffee- hot coffee is used in the cake batter to bring out the chocolate flavor
• Graham crackers- will be turned into cookie butter
• Heavy cream- used in the cookie butter to make it extra creamy
• Cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners
• Stand mixer (makes making meringue so much easier)
• Candy thermometer- essential for making meringue to know when the sugar is the right temperature
• Torch- used to toast the meringue

How to make s'mores cupcakes:

For the Dark Chocolate Cupcakes:

Start by creaming 1 cup of granulated sugar together with 6 tablespoon of softened butter.

Then add in 1 egg, 1 egg yolk and ½ teaspoon of vanilla and combine.

Next mix in ½ cup of buttermilk.

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In a small bowl sift together ¾ cup + 2 tablespoon of all purpose flour, ¼ cup + 2 tablespoon of Dutch process cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon of baking powder, ⅛ teaspoon of baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine.

Lastly mix in ¼ cup of hot coffee.

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Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill each cup ¾ of the way full. Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick/cake tester comes out clean from the centers.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

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For the graham cracker cookie butter:

Add 10 graham crackers to a food processor and pulse until they are very finely ground.

Then add in ¼ cup of powdered sugar and combine.

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Then pour in 3 tablespoon melted, slightly cooled butter and mix until incorporated.

Lastly add in ¼ cup of cream.

Pulse until it is smooth and everything is fully incorporated together.

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For the vanilla bean meringue:

Start by adding 6 room temperature egg whites and 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Make sure the bowl is completely free of grease. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.

Meanwhile heat 1 ½ cups of sugar and ¾ cup of water on the stove until it reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Once it reaches 240 degrees, slowly pour it into the egg whites with the mixer on medium low speed.

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Once it is all added turn the mixer up to the highest speed (one interval at a time) and whip the mixture until very firm peaks form. This can take up to 10 minutes.

Once firm peaks form add in 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste and mix again on high speed to ensure the consistency is still firm. If the meringue is still warm continue to whip until it is room temperature.

Assembling the cupcakes:

Once the cupcakes are cooled scoop a little bit of the center out of each. Make sure it isn't too big, but big enough to hold some cookie butter filling.

Then add the cookie butter to a piping bag fitted with a large open tip and pipe cookie butter into the center of each cupcake.

Next add the meringue to a piping bag, fitted with a decorative tip, and pipe a generous amount of meringue over the tops of each cupcake.

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Then the fun part! Go back and forth over the tops of the cupcakes with a torch until a beautiful golden brown color appears. Toast the meringue to your liking.

Serve the cupcakes right away. The meringue unfortunately won't last much longer than a day. Store them in an air tight container in the fridge for up to two days. Enjoy!

If you make these cupcakes please tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ I would love to see your creations! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!

📖 Recipe