S'more, Please!

I must have marshmallows on my mind. Last night I had an idea pop into my head, and I knew I'd be baking cupcakes in the morning. As an added bonus, my children are both in VBS (Vacation Bible School) every morning this week, so I have (almost) complete freedom for a few hours!

My idea started while I was thinking of baking my Chocolate Caramel Crinkle cookies with the caramel centers. I stumbled upon a salted caramel shop in Talent yesterday, Sweet, and couldn't resist buying a package of their chews. Naturally, I wanted to do something with them! But then my thoughts switched to chocolate cupcakes with a gooey salty caramel center. Yummmm. Of course, what to frost with? I wanted a toasted marshmallow topping, like s'mores, only a little more gooey but still firm enough to set up. Instead of using a 7 minute (aka White Mountain) frosting with egg whites or a meringue buttercream, I thought I'd go for a marshmallow recipe with less gelatin in it. After tinkering a bit, I had success!

If I make these again, I probably won't add the caramel to the center of the chocolate cake batter. It didn't get gooey, it sank to the bottom, and while it tasted divine, the cupcake didn't need the extra flavor to take away from the marshmallow frosting. To decorate the tops I used a small strainer to sift powdered sugar over the gooey marshmallow, as I do when I make regular ones from scratch. Some I dusted with cocoa powder and some I took my kitchen torch to, being careful to avoid catching the paper liners on fire. Each cupcake got a chunk of New Morning Graham crackers to finish it off.

S'more-Style Cupcakes

12 standard chocolate cupcakes (1/2 batch cake recipe, baked about 20-25 min)

1-2 graham crackers, broken into small squares

1 1/2 tsp unsweetened gelatin, such as Knox

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup agave syrup*

pinch sea salt

1/2 vanilla bean, or 1/2-1 tsp vanilla extract, or a combination, to taste

powdered sugar

natural cocoa powder

After the cupcakes have cooled completely, begin to make the marshmallow topping. Place 1/4 cup water in the bowl of a mixer with the whisk attached. Sprinkle gelatin over the water and set aside to bloom.

In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup water, sugar, agave, and salt. Stir until combined. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until mixture reaches 244 degrees on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove from heat. Turn mixer on lowest speed. Drizzle the sugar syrup into the gelatin while machine is running. Increase speed to high. When it starts to turn white, add the vanilla extract (or scrape the vanilla bean, reserve the pod, and add the seeds only to the marshmallow mixture). Continue to whip on the highest setting until extremely thick, bright white, and glossy (7-10 minutes total).

Dollop a generous amount of marshmallow onto each cupcake. Using a small strainer, sift a little powdered sugar over each top. Add a graham cracker piece by pressing firmly in (don't wait too long or it won't go into the marshmallow). If using cocoa powder, lightly dust tops using the strainer. If toasting the marshmallow, wait at least half an hour to allow the goo to set up. Use a kitchen torch on a low setting to toast the marshmallow.

If you have a little extra topping, use a spoon to drop it in heaps on a piece of wax paper. Dust liberally with powdered sugar and set aside for a day or so to firm up if you can wait that long).

*Agave syrup is available in the natural foods section of the grocery store. I like to use it in place of corn syrup because it's less processed. Corn syrup can be substituted, of course, as can honey. Beware when using honey, though. It imparts a strong flavor on finished marshmallow (my husband say if he wants to eat a flower he'll go to a field, so I'm banned from making tasty honey marshmallows!), and it tends to boil over. Keep a close watch on the pot as it's boiling! I've never had an issue with corn syrup or agave-based syrups boiling over, however. Honey also takes about twice as long to reach the desired temperature as the other options.