I discovered something about Eileen back when I made the homemade marshmallows–she may love smores even more than I do. I know it’s hard to believe, since I’m famous for eating marshmallows until I’m nearly sick, and adding grahams and chocolate just makes it that much better, but it’s true.

Something else you may not know about Eileen–she’s another March baby, with her day of birth just about a week and a half before mine. We’re both in the habit of making cakes for other people’s birthdays, so it’s only natural that we would want to make a cake for each other.

We both wanted to keep the exact type of cake we were making for the other a secret–surprises are fun and all–but of course we couldn’t help dropping hints. When Eileen casually mentioned that she had borrowed a friend’s kitchen torch to make my birthday treat, it hit me–we were planning the same treat!

I asked her, and sure enough, we both had smores cupcakes on the brain for each other’s birthday surprise! It was a great minds moment–and it only took us about 30 seconds to decide that it would be way more fun to make the cupcakes together than apart!

Sadly (only in that it delayed the cupcakes), we’re both busy people, and both of our birthdays passed without any cupcakes. But last friday night we decided it’s always better to be late than never do something–so we had a date! A cupcakes and chick flick date! We baked and watched, cooled and torched. Something about having a certain bad teen dance movie on in the background while we worked a kitchen torch really made for a fantastic friday night!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Icing
Adapted from Trophy Cupcakes, via the Martha Stewart Show

It turns out after further examination, Eileen and I weren’t actually planning on making the same cupcakes, but rather just cupcakes with the same idea. I was going to make the smores cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book, Eileen was thinking of this recipe, which she found on the Martha website. I’m glad we went with this one because it’s fantastic, and not nearly as fussy, particularly with ingredients, as the one in the cookbook. But who knows, maybe we’ll get another chance to try a different variation sometime–maybe for next year’s birthdays?

Ingredients (for 2 dozen cupcakes):

• 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 milk (we used skim)
• 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

For Meringue Icing:

• 8 large egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions for Cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.

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

In a separate 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. Take the mixer bowl off the mixer base, and by hand, stir in the boiling water. The cake batter will be really thin, this is okay. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter until well combined.

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

Place a large pinch of chopped chocolate on top of the graham mixture in each muffin cup. Bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5-7 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 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. You can put the cupcakes in the freezer to help quicken the cooling–they should be completely cool before you ice.

Meanwhile, make icing. In the bowl of your electric mixer, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar. Then place the bowl of your electric mixer over a pot of simmering water. Cook, whisking constantly, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch, about 3-4 minutes. Place mixer bowl on the stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form and the outside of the bowl is cool to the touch, 5-7 minutes. Once you have stiff peaks, beat in the vanilla.

Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (We used two large star tips). 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 or anything else in your kitchen, or yourself. And don’t get distracted by the flame or you’ll burn the cupcakes! Serve immediately or store in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

And prepare yourself for something amazing, because these cupcakes truly are. With their cookie base, super moist cupcake interior and fantastic meringue top, they’re not only amazing to look at, but amazing to eat as well!

Sometime late last summer, I was sitting around a fire pit where folks were roasting marshmallows for smores. With a few glasses of wine in me, I boldly proclaimed, “you know, I can MAKE marshmallows!” Not that I had ever made marshmallows, but I had seen people on the internet do it, so I was sure it could work for me too. Pairs of surprised eyes turned to me. And then someone said, “or we could just buy and eat the store bought ones.” Marshmallow roasting resumed. But I felt a challenge had been issued. I needed to make marshmallows. And they needed to be made into smores!

Fast forward six months. It was December, and I still hadn’t made marshmallows, and now they were appearing in holiday baking magazines everywhere, cutely shaped into snowmen and other festive creations. Taunting me. I took another look at the marshmallow recipe I was planning on using, and realized I had everything I needed except gelatin, so I picked some up at Safeway. But then, further derailing, compliments of fear. After the near epic fail with these, I decided that I should really stop trying to eyeball the temperature of hot liquids. Candy making was delayed until a candy thermometer could be obtained.

Christmas came, and I got not one but TWO candy thermometers! And someone was nice enough to find me a sleeve of digestive biscuits–which I was certain would form the perfect base for homemade smores. After the bustle of the holidays was over, there was no excuse, marshmallow time had arrived. Noel and I set aside some time on a quiet Saturday night, read and re-read the directions, and then we were off. We weren’t quite ready for the revelation that was waiting for us at the other end of our journey, but we were soon really glad we made the trip!

Revelation? Yes, revelation, as in, homemade marshmallows are a food revelation. They are fantastic, and after you have one–which is an experience like having a cloud melt on your tongue–you are never going to want jet-puffed again. And you know what, after all the time it took me to getting around to making them, the marshmallows really weren’t that hard. But definitely worth the effort, oh, a thousand times over!

Vanilla Marshmallows
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

As I mentioned above, once I fully comprehended the technique (it took several reads through the instructions!) these marshmallows were pretty simple to make. You just dissolve the gelatin, bring the sugar and corn syrup to temperature and then whip until you have marshmallow. But there are a couple of things you should not try this recipe without–mainly a candy thermometer and a stand mixer. No, you cannot use a hand mixer, because my KitchenAid Artisan barely had enough horsepower to handle this job. Also, the marshmallow base itself is pretty tasteless, so you can add which ever type of extract you please to flavor your marshmallows. I’m already dreaming of peppermint ones dipped in chocolate!

Ingredients:

• 4 packets of gelatin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar, plus more for dusting

Directions:

Grease a 9×13 pan with veggie shortening or cooking spray (like Pam for Baking). Make sure you really coat that pan!

Put gelatin packets in a bowl with 1/4 cup cold water. Allow to dissolve, the gelatin will soak up all the water and will be solid to the touch at this point. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat in 30 second increments until the gelatin is liquid.

In a medium saucepan, gently stir together the sugar, 1/2 cup of the corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water. Be careful not to splash the ingredients onto the sides of the pan. Put the saucepan over medium high heat and clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.

Put the remaining 1/2 cup of corn syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly pour the melted gelatin into the corn syrup. Keep the mixer on low.

Bring the sugar mixture (the one on the stove with the candy thermometer) to the soft ball stage on your candy thermometer (235-240 degrees), then remove from the heat. Take out the candy thermometer. Turn the mixer up to medium for one minute, then slowly pour the hot sugar mixture into the gelatin mixture. When all of the sugar mixture has been added, turn the mixer to medium high and beat for about 5 minutes. The marshmallow mixture will begin to turn white and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and salt and turn the mixer up to its highest setting for another minute. Your mixer will probably sound strained at this point–mine did!–but don’t worry, it will be okay!

Working very, very quickly, pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to spread out the mixture evenly. Sprinkle with a bit of sifted confectioner’s sugar and let set for 6 hours, or overnight.

Use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan, and use your hands to pull the marshmallow out (it will come out in one HUGE piece). Place on a surface you can cut on dusted with powdered sugar. Prepare a bowl with some powdered sugar. Use a chef’s knife to cut the marshmallows into a 6 by 8 grid. Roll each marshmallow in confectioner’s sugar. The marshmallows will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

These marshmallows are delightful treats as is, but my favorite way to eat them is in smores, particularly ones made with digestive biscuits. Yeah they sound funny, but digestive biscuits are absolutely fantastic wholemeal biscuits (think first cousin to a graham cracker) dipped in chocolate, that are sold mostly in the UK. They’re my absolute, all time favorite packaged cookie, and I usually beg anyone going on holiday to the UK to bring me back a few sleeves. But luckily for me, Carlos found some at World Market last week! Woohoo! Lots of digestives for me!

So, to make the fantastic digestive smores, take one biscuit and top with one homemade marshmallow. Place it on a foil lined sheet in your toaster oven (you could also do this under the broiler in your big oven, but keep an eye on them!) and set to toast for about 4 minutes. Remove when the top is browned and crystallized, allow to cool slightly, and enjoy the most amazing smore of your life! And don’t forget to share the joy with your friends–you know they’re worth it!