S’mores cupcakes are perfect for birthdays and casual gatherings. Graham flavored cakes are filled with chocolate ganache and a marshmallow topping. 

Who doesn't love a good s’more? Gooey chocolate and toasted marshmallow sandwiched between sweet graham crackers... What could be wrong about that? Those flavors were made to be together. That’s why I put them into this cupcake. 

My s’mores cupcake is made with graham cracker flavored cake that’s stuffed with chocolate ganache in the middle and topped with a homemade marshmallowy meringue (Gelatin free and no marshmallow fluff from a tub).

It sounds complicated, but the ganache and marshmallow topping are actually easy to make. The cupcakes are very similar to my six inch smores cake recipe.

Ingredients and Tools for S’mores Cupcakes

BATTER: Here’s what you will need in addition to the baking basics (flour, baking powder, baking soda, unsalted butter, eggs, milk):

• Graham Flour: The cupcake batter contains finely ground graham crackers. You can buy graham cracker crumbs but I used whole honey graham crackers and crushed them into fine crumbs in my food processor.
• Dark Brown Sugar: This gives the cupcake a deeper toasty s’more-like flavor than regular sugar. 
• Cinnamon and Vanilla Extract: A little dash of cinnamon and vanilla give off nice subtle flavors.
• Yogurt: I used Greek yogurt to help hold in the moisture of the cupcakes. Sour cream works too!
• Cupcake Pan and Liners, Mixing Bowls, Spatula, Hand or Stand Electric Mixer

GANACHE FILLING

• Semi-sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate: This can be a chopped up chocolate bar or in the form of small chocolate chips. 
• Heavy Cream

MARSHMALLOW MERINGUE

• Egg whites: I used pasteurized egg whites from a carton but you can also use separated eggs. 
• Cream of Tartar: This will help stabilize the topping and keep its shape.
• Sugar and Vanilla
• Pot of Simmering Water, Mixing Bowl, Candy Thermometer (helpful but not necessary), Spatula, Electric Mixer

How to Make S’mores Cupcakes:

This cupcake batter is made using the same reverse creaming method I use in my Oreo Cupcakes. Reverse creaming combines the flour and other dry ingredients with the butter first and then the wet ingredients, leading to a smoother tighter crumb and a flatter top. Once they are baked, let them cool completely while you prepare the filling and topping.

All you need to do to make ganache filling is to mix chopped chocolate or chocolate chips with hot heavy cream. I find it easiest to microwave the cream until I start to see it bubble. Then, pour it over the chocolate and stir slowly until it becomes smooth and silky. Let the ganache stiffen while you prepare the topping. 

Make a Swiss meringue by stirring egg whites and sugar in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. The goal is to melt the sugar and raise the temperature of the egg whites to about 130F.

You will need to stir continuously to avoid cooking the eggs. Then, whip the egg mixture until you get stiff white peaks. This can take quite some time so I highly recommend a stand mixer for this step.

To put it all together, core out the center of each cupcake, fill with ganache and swirl on the meringue topping! 

Some More Tips

• Don't overmix the batter once the wet ingredients are added since overmixing can lead to dense chewy cupcakes.
• Don’t use big chocolate chips for the ganache. Chop them up so they melt faster. 
• You can chill the ganache in the refrigerator so it stiffens faster. 
• Transfer the ganache and meringue to a piping bag to make it easy to fill and frost the cupcakes.
• If you decide to toast the meringue with a kitchen torch, remove the cupcake from the liner. It’s very easy to burn the liners if you are not careful.
• You can also decorate the cupcakes with graham cracker crumbs or pieces of Hershey bar chocolate. 
• These cupcakes are best served the day you make the meringue topping. The cupcake itself can be baked ahead, wrapped tightly in plastic and stored in the freezer.