Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting.

Yes. The best cupcake in the world does exist. And it’s in my kitchen.

This cupcake’s got four layers; buttery graham cracker crust bottom, followed by a layer of chopped bittersweet chocolate, rich chocolate cake batter, topped with even more graham cracker crumbs and chocolate, and finally covered in a light and fluffy marshmallow frosting.

I know its a mouthful, but don’t be intimidated!  This is one of the best ever cupcake recipes.. EVER. Everyone in my family fell in love with them and magically went up a pant size within 24 hours. I made these on Saturday and they were gone by Sunday.

When you bite into them you get the most fantastic flavor and texture combos. There’s the rich chocolate cake with the light marshmallow frosting – and then the chunky chopped chocolate and crumbly graham cracker against the delicate cake and creamy frosting.

SO GOOD. so good. ugh. I want another.

I found this recipe on marthastewart.com. As I mentioned earlier in my blog (click here for a refresher), Martha’s cookbooks and I have been in kind of  a rocky relationship for a while. She usually tempts me with these gorgeous baking pictures but then leaves me with these recipes that are horribly long, terribly complicated, and usually take way more time then I’d like to spend baking a cookie. Is it really necessary to use a thermometer when you’re making a chocolate chip cookie??

BUT…. this cupcake just won me over. She tends to do that to me. Just to warn you though, yes.. this recipe will take you a bit longer to make and there’s definitely a couple more steps than your typical chocolate cupcake. But if you’re in the mood for a challenge or if you’re looking for an amazing recipe for a special occasion- these are your cupcakes.

Listen close….

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting (Jennifer Shea, owner of Trophy Cupcakes, found on marthastewart.com)

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup 2% milk (I substituted for whole)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Marshmallow Frosting (recipe to follow)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.

3. In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.

4. Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.

5. Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping

6. Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter.

Note- Don’t be worried if your cake batter is super thin. This is how it is supposed to be.

Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.

7. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (such as Ateco #867 or Ateco #809). Pipe frosting in a spiral motion on each cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the frosting, taking care not to burn the cupcake liners. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

* I didn’t have a kitchen torch so I used a lighter. Not the most efficient way to do it, but still worked out just fine.

And…. viola!

Nutrition:

24 cupcakes: 327 calories, 11.5 grams fat