I can’t tell you how many requests I’ve gotten for a cupcake version of my S’mores Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Buttercream. It’s one of my all-time favorite recipes (s’mores fan to the core, here!) and there are so many amazing flavors going on in it: graham cracker cake, decadent chocolate, toasted marshmallow buttercream. I had to get a little creative to capture the magic of these flavors in cupcake form, and I am so happy with how they turned out. Behold!

These S’mores Cupcakes have a lot going on, but every step is totally worth the amazing flavor. It all starts with a graham cracker flavored cupcake baked on top of a graham cracker crust (my husband’s idea, and it is so genius). You basically mix up a quick graham cracker crust and press a spoonful of it into the bottom of the cupcake tin before adding the cupcake batter on top. Although the cupcake batter is already flavored with graham cracker crumbs, the crust adds the perfect amount of texture and really takes the graham cracker flavor to the next level! 

After those tasty graham cracker cupcakes cooled, I filled them with marshmallow fluff and frosted them with my favorite chocolate buttercream. And since one thing I really loved about the S’mores Cake I made last year was the piped and toasted meringue, I decided to use that same technique to top these cupcakes! The marshmallow meringue recipe below is the perfect piping consistency, and toasting it is my favorite part of the whole recipe. 

If you don’t feel like going the extra mile to make marshmallow meringue, you can totally top these with a regular ol’ marshmallow and toast it with a culinary torch. The marshmallow meringue is so pretty and tasty, but it is the only thing in this recipe that can’t be made ahead of time. That being said, if you do decide to spend that extra 10 minutes making the meringue (worth it!), make sure you whip it up right before you’re gonna pipe it on. After you toast it, the meringue holds its shape for two days, whether it’s at room temp or refrigerated. 

Whether you’re a hardcore s’mores fan or you’re making these for someone else who is, they are sure to please. Between the gooey marshmallow, the graham cracker cupcake, and the perfect hit of chocolate, these beauties are a little bit of s’mores heaven. Enjoy!

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Toasted S’mores Cupcakes

Graham Cracker Cupcakes filled with Marshmallow Fluff, topped with Chocolate Buttercream and Toasted Marshmallow Meringue – the perfect S'mores Cupcakes!

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

Servings 14 cupcakes

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1/2 Cup (52g) graham crackers, ground into crumbs
• 2 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Graham Cracker Cupcakes

• 1/2 Cup (52g) graham crackers, ground into crumbs
• 1 1/4 Cups (133g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 Cup (71g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 Cup (137g) granulated white sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) whole milk, room temperature

Marshmallow Filling

• 1/3 Cup Marshmallow Fluff

Chocolate Buttercream

• 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 Cups (180g) powdered sugar
• 1/4 Cup (21g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Marshmallow Meringue Topping

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (150g) granulated white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Make The Graham Cracker Crust

• In a small bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar. Add the melted butter and mix until well incorporated.

Make The Graham Cracker Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a muffin pan or cupcake pan with liners. Press a spoonful of the Graham Cracker Crust into the bottom of each cupcake liner.
• In a medium sized bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs, sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter for one minute on high. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and add the sugar. Cream together on high for two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle once in between. Turn the mixer to low and add the egg and egg yolk until combined.
• Add vanilla and mix on medium for one minute. Turn the mixer to low and add all of the dry ingredients at once until just combined, then add the milk all at once. Scrape down the bowl and paddle once more and mix on low for about 30 seconds. Do not overmix.  
• Pour batter on top of the graham cracker crust bottomed liners to fill no more than ⅔ full. Bake for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before filling or frosting.

Make The Chocolate Buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip butter on medium speed until creamy and light in color, about four minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and turn the mixer to low, then add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Increase the speed to medium and beat for one full minute.

Make The Marshmallow Meringue

• Whisk the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar together in a small heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan filled with an inch or two of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water (or else it will cook your eggs!). Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar has dissolved, about 4 minutes.
• Once the sugar has dissolved, pour the mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the vanilla and whisk the mixture on high for 6 full minutes, until stiff peaks form. You should be able to dip the whisk into the meringue and it forms a peak that maintains its shape when turned right side up and upside down.

Assembly

• Once the Graham Cracker Cupcakes are cooled, cut out the centers using a knife or inverted large piping tip. Fill the empty centers with Marshmallow Fluff. Fit a piping bag with Wilton tip 1M and fill it with Chocolate Buttercream, then pipe a swirl of chocolate buttercream on top of each cupcake. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs.
• To get the look pictured, fit one piping bag with Wilton Tip 1M and another with Wilton Tip 4B. Fill both piping bags with Marshmallow Meringue. Pipe a small swirl with Wilton Tip 1M on top of each cupcake, then pipe two stars next to each small meringue swirl with Wilton Tip 4B. Toast the meringue accents (carefully!) with a culinary torch.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips:

The Graham Cracker Cupcakes can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day. Alternatively, you can place them in the freezer in an airtight container for up to one month before thawing and using. 

The Chocolate Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and rewhip with your stand mixer to bring back to frosting consistency. 

The Marshmallow Meringue cannot be made ahead and must be made right before you’re ready to pipe and torch it. 

Did you make these cupcakes? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below and be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram. I love to see what you’re caking!

The post Toasted S’mores Cupcakes appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

The first time I tried this cactus cupcake design, I shaped the base of each cactus with a big hunk of fondant, then covered it with buttercream piping to add detail. While it looked great, I realized how terrible it is to bite into the cactus and end up with a mouth full of fondant. No thank you! Since then I decided that creating a cake ball base (a mix of cupcake crumbs and buttercream) is much more tasty, sturdy, and easy to mold into cactus shapes.

The Cactus Flower mix is the perfect color scheme to pair with these pretty green cacti. It’s basically all the colors you’d find in a lush succulent garden and adds so much pretty texture to these cupcakes. If you’re wanting to recreate the look with this sprinkle mix, don’t forget to use my code SUGARANDSPARROW15 at checkout to get 15% off your SprinklePop order. I don’t get any kickback from that code, it’s just a little something special for you. You’re welcome!

Before you get started with the tutorial below, here’s a quick video of the process I whipped up for you visual learners:

You Will Need

• 18 baked cupcakes (12 for decorating and 6 chopped into bits)
• 1 batch of vanilla buttercream
• Green food color gel
• Purple food color gel
• Bowls and spoons for mixing
• Baking sheet
• Wax paper
• 4 oz bottle of Cactus Flower sprinkles
• Small icing spatula
• Piping Bags  
• Wilton Tips 4B, 352, 3, and 109 (or any drop flower tip)

Step 1: Prep The Materials

Before you get started, it’s best to get all your materials prepped and ready to go. Divide your buttercream into three different bowls: add about ¼ cup of the buttercream to a small bowl and keep it uncolored and add another ¼ cup of buttercream into another small bowl and color it with purple buttercream. Divide the rest of the buttercream into two separate bowls and color one a darker shade of green and one a lighter shade of green. I used different amounts of Americolor Forest Green for these two shades.

Next, pour the Cactus Flower sprinkles into a small bowl, then chop up six of the baked cupcakes into smaller bits and add them to a medium sized bowl.

Step 2: Make The Cake/Buttercream Mixture

Add about ¼ cup of either of the green buttercreams to the bowl of chopped up cupcake bits. Then, use a rubber spatula or spoon to mix it all together until it’s uniform in consistency.

When you’re finished mixing, the result should be moldable when you try to shape it with your hands. If it’s not sticking together enough, just add a little bit more buttercream until it’s easy to mold with your hands.   

Step 3: Create The Cactus Shapes

There are two different styles I love when it comes to cactus cupcakes. The first is a traditional elongated shape and the other is more spherical. Before you start shaping, fit a piece of wax paper onto a baking sheet. Then, roll a little bit of the cake/buttercream mixture into 1 inch spheres using your hands and place them one by one onto the baking sheet. You’ll want to make 6 of these.

To make the elongated shape, roll the cake/buttercream mixture between your hands to make more of a rod shape. They should each be about 1.5-2 inches tall and about an inch wide. Place them one by one onto the baking sheet until you have 6 of them.

When you’re finished making your cactus shapes, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to let them firm up for about 20 minutes. They’ll be much easier to work with that way!

Step 4: Create The Sprinkled Cupcake Surface

Using the bottom of one of your piping tips, create a small cutout in the center of each cupcake to give the cactus shapes a nice foundation to sit on later.

Use a small icing spatula to frost the surface of the cupcake, excluding the small hole you created.

Then, dip the surface of the cupcakes into the Cactus Flower sprinkles. Repeat until you have all of the cupcake surfaces covered in sprinkles.

Step 5: Decorate The Spherical Cacti

For the spherical cacti, add the refrigerated cake/buttercream balls to 6 of the cupcakes.

Prepare a piping bag by fitting it with Wilton Tip 4B and filling it with the lighter green buttercream. Cover the surface of each spherical cactus in open stars.

Next, prepare a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 109 (or any drop flower tip) and fill it with purple buttercream. Pipe a drop flower onto the top of each one.

Continue decorating with spherical sprinkles from the Cactus Flower mix wherever you’d like.

Step 6: Decorate The Elongated Cacti

For the elongated cacti, add the refrigerated cake/buttercream rods to 6 of the cupcakes. Prepare a piping bag by fitting it with Wilton Tip 352 and filling it with the darker green buttercream. Then, pipe a series of vertical lines around the surface of the rods.

Use the purple buttercream bag to pipe a drop flower on top of each of the cacti. Then, prepare a piping bag fitted with Wilton tip 3 and fill it with the remaining white (uncolored) buttercream. Pipe a series of dots onto every other line on the cactus. These are meant to look like the spines of a cactus.

Use your lighter green buttercream to pipe a couple open stars next to the elongated cacti, then continue decorating with spherical sprinkled from the Cactus Flower mix wherever you’d like.

Aren’t these sprinkled cactus cupcakes the cutest thing? They’re perfect for any Summer gathering and are sure to impress.

If you’re inspired to make these sprinkled cactus cupcakes, be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram so I can see! I love seeing what you create.

The post Sprinkled Cactus Cupcakes Tutorial appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.