The School Carnival

Friday night was the school carnival. It was really pretty amazing. Quite the production. Rides and blow-up things. A dunk tank, and cake walk. We had a good time. I made these S'mores cupcakes and a S'mores cake for the cakewalk and volunteered at the Bake sale. There were Fireworks at the end of the night and they were pretty impressive. A good 20 minutes. We saw much of our ward there and it was really fun.

Here's the recipe for the S'mores cupcakes. For the cake I just made 12 cupcakes then made up another batch of the graham mixture and pressed it into the bottom of an 8" springform pan and then lined that with the chopped chocolate and poured the remaining cake batter in. It baked for about an hour. Instead of the suggested Mashmallow frosting I just dribbled mashmallow creme over the cupcakes and cake. I tried to toast it, but it didn't work. They're great anyhow! I love the graham and chocolate on the bottom.

Ingredients

Makes 2 dozen

* 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 whole milk
* 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

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. 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.