In my early years of college, I was editor-in-chief of our campus newspaper. The first decision I made under that title had nothing to do with breaking news or investigative stories, however. Instead of getting down to business, I planned a party.

It was kind of business-related. I thought it would be cool to have a summer bonfire at one of the local beaches as kind of a get-to-know informal event, so editors could befriend some of the incoming writers and vice versa. We’d have a united staff, I thought, bonded equally by our love of sniffing out the news and the strong friendships that would stem out of this gathering. It was gonna rock.

And initially, at least 30 staff members also thought it was gonna rock, all agreeing to come after we settled on a date in August that worked with everyone’s schedule. As it drew nearer, I started stocking up on goodies like booze and s’more ingredients.

On the day of the bonfire, people slowly trickled in — until the attendee flow just stopped completely. In all, seven people, including myself, showed up. I’ll never forget the moment we gathered around the fire, outnumbered by the boxes and grocery bags that lay before us. I sat there lost in my thoughts of failure in bringing our staff together. But then I heard a laugh, breaking my concentration. “Well, we can have a bottle each,” he said, pointing to the cooler full of vodka, rum and juice. Hmm. There was a bright side after all.

So there we were, all seven of us, with a gazillion boxes of graham crackers, a boatload of family-size Hershey bars and an estimated 3 pounds of marshmallows. And at least 10 bottles of top-shelf rum and vodka.

We drank like kings that night.

(Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe)

I also ate my fair share of s’mores that night too, which, in combination with all the rum, didn’t sit well with my stomach. Inexplicably to this day though, I can’t get enough of those simple sandwich treats. And I was ecstatic when I came across this recipe comes from Martha Stewart’s site for s’mores cupcakes. A bonus: The frosting is definitely a keeper, and you can use it on fruit. Swirl a strawberry or peach half in frosting, torch it, and you’ve got a new take on fruit ‘n cream.

CHOCOLATE GRAHAM CRACKER CUPCAKES WITH MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

Adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Yield: 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

For marshmallow frosting:

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

PROCEDURE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. In a stand-mixer mixing bowl, sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 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 about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine Set batter aside to cool a bit.
4. Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.
5. With a tablespoon, place scoop of the 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 (my glasses are too large, so I use the bottom of my kitchen blowtorch). Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.
6. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. 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 if needed, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake 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. To make frosting: Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a stainless-steel mixing bowl. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.
9. Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (Martha Stewart recommends 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.

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 5:28 pm and is filed under Baking/desserts, Cake, In the kitchen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.