I finally did it—S’mores Cupcakes for the blog. Rich in layers this cupcake starts from the bottom with a graham cracker crust and then moves to a deep dark chocolate cupcake body. For the finishing touches a layer of the marshmallow frosting is dipped in chocolate and dusted with graham crackers crumbs—never enough, I piled the cupcake high with a light cloud-like toasted marshmallow frosting.
This fork-required cupcake has been on the to-do list for a while. I just kept thinking I had to come up with a clever design. But you know what? Sometimes you just have to get it done. Even though these S’mores cupcakes are carved-up pretty much the same way as you will find here on my Banana Split Cupcakes and Toffee Crunch Cupcakes , it was better to do it than not.
And, don’t be surprised if you find these S’mores Cupcakes redesigned at a later time.

S'mores Cupcake
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Layer
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker, crumbs
- 7 tablespoons butter, melted
Chocolate Cupcake
- 1 cup (4.5 ounces) all purpose flour
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7.3 ounces) sugar
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and warm
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon instant coffee (recommended: Starbucks Via)
- 1/2 cup of hot coffee
Marshmallow Frosting
- 5 large egg whites
- 11/2 cup sugar
Chocolate Glaze
- 2/3 cups dark chocolate
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
- 4-5 tablespoons water, warm
Instructions
Preparation
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make graham cracker layer
Reserve 2 tablespoons of crumbs. Place remaining graham cracker crumbs in a bowl with butter and mix to combine. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of mixture to each cup and firmly press crumbs down. Bake for about 10- 12 minutes.
To make cupcake
- Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix thoroughly to combine. Add in the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute. Add in coffee granules and hot coffee, beat for 20-30 seconds until the batter is smooth. The batter will be thin enough to pour. Divide it evenly among the graham cracker crusted cups. Bake 18-22 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into a few of the cupcakes comes out clean. Set the pan on a rack to cool. Frost the cupcakes when they are completely cool.
TIP: For light tender cupcakes, spoon flour and cocoa lightly into measuring cups (instead of dipping the cups into the flour or cocoa) and then sweep the measures level without tapping or shaking them.
To make marshmallow frosting
- Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl placed over simmering water. Bring mixture to 160 degrees F while whisking constantly.
- Transfer mixture to stand mixer bowl, fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium high speed (speed 8 on a KitchenAid stand mixer)until mixture cools and doubles in volume and forms stiff peaks; about 10-12 minutes.
To make chocolate glaze
Place chocolate and heavy cream in a bowl over simmering water. Let chocolate and cream sit for 2-3 minutes to melt without stirring. Then slowly stir mixture to combine. Add powdered sugar and mix to combine. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition until pouring consistency is reached. Set aside chocolate glaze in a bowl to cool until warm.
ASSEMBLY
- Place 1/4 of the marshmallow frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Place remaining frosting in a second pastry bag fitted with Wiltons's 2D tip.
- Using the pastry bag fitted with the round tip, hold bag at a 90 degree angle above cupcake and pipe frosting around the perimeter of cupcake. Hold frosted cupcake directly above chocolate glaze, dip until frosting is covered. Lightly dust chocolate glaze with reserved graham cracker crumbs.
- Using the pastry bag fitted with the 2D tip, hold bag at a 90 degree angle above cupcake and pipe frosting moving in a spiral motion upwards into a peak.
- Using a kitchen torch lightly toast marshmallow frosting.
Notes
A few notes:
- The cupcakes are best consumed the day they are made.
- If you don't have a kitchen torch, skip toasting the marshmallow. Alternately, you can also toast mini marshmallows in the oven and then place them on top (to do so place mini marshmallows on a bake sheet and broil for 1-2 minutes checking every 30 seconds for doneness).
- Bear with me on the photographs as I learn to find my lighting in the new place. It's actually something I considered as we were looking for a place, but evidently I completely misjudged it. For now I'm shooting in the garage and still looking for my pacing with the new set-up.
these look delicious, but how can s’mores cupcakes not have a hint of graham cracker?
Bea-Thank you for letting me know. I originally left that step out and have since revised the recipe to include it.
Your lighting looks great, and the cupcakes are beautiful!
Thank you, Mimi!
Absolutely stunning and I think I have to buy a kitchen torch just to make these. Oh, the fun I could have. Beautiful!!!!!!
I love the moody lighting in these photos! what a delicious sounding cupcake
These cupcakes are stunning!
So stunning! Absolutely love it and I have to try it someday!
The photos look just as stunning as always! I’d be in heaven with one of these cupcakes!
WOW!!! Those are some cupcakes!
that browned, pillowy icing… that deep, dark chocolate cake… excuse me as i pass out!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/
STUNNING! Seriously.
Mmmmm they look awesome!! 😀
Seriously?! What more deliciousness can you come up with. I want to eat your entire blog! Speaking of which, I just had to feature your Pumpkin Praline Trifle from last year on my big fall pumpkin post! http://www.at-altitude.com/35-amazing-pumpkin-recipes-for-fall/. Thanks for keeping my mouth watering.
These look amazing!
Super amazing!!! I want like 6 of these. They are “almost” too pretty to eat!
These look so good, do they require refrigeration
Gorgeous!
Oh wow – this is like a dream of my favorite dessert, ever. Loving this, Naomi!
These look amazing!!
Everything looks amazing, as always (including your photos!)! I wish I could dig into one of these as I speak. Yum, yum, YUM!
Absolute perfection! Not only do I want to make these, I want a print of your photograph of yours to frame and hang in my kitchen! Just gorgeous. I’m so impressed!
Love how you broke it down in layers. I have always had s’mores cupcake in my list, but never attempted it. These are just stunning and your photos are still gorgeous. Cheers!
Whoa. These are deadly. And I want 4, stat. Or soon, no big rush. Don’t want to sound demanding. Beautiful, Naomi!
Oh my god those look amazing. I’ve been obsessed with anything s’mores lately, as well as multi-step desserts, and meringues… this really hits the mark.
I love your photos! So dramatic! Have to try that recipe now. Thank you! And nice to meet you!
All the layers of this cupcake are amazingggg! 🙂 such a pretty treat!
These cupcakes are gorgeous and love the use of meringues for the marshmallow topping. I just want to take a big bite into one of these delights! I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thank you so much for keeping me inspired with such delicious creations…
These look amazingly delicious. I can’t wait till I have a reason to make cupcakes again. Do you mind if I pin the recipe to use later?
I made this and they were delicious but my cupcake layer was dense almost brownie like…..should I add more eggs? I added hot water to my batter so that it would be slightly more pourable, do you have any tips?
I made these cupcakes and they were amazing. I could not find the Wilton 2D tip and could not figure out how to get my frosting to “stand up” like yours, but they were great and a big hit for the engagment party that I made them for.
How do you get the frosting to stand up?
I made these as well, but mine came out sunken in the center and very dense and dry. My batter was also very thick and didn’t pour out at all, I ended up having to scoop it out. Tips would be great!
I have tried your cupcake recipe but my batter did not become smooth and thin. It looked more like a dough. I still baked it and it became more like a cookie in a cupcake form. However, it was still very tasty that it all got eaten up. I want to try it again but where did I do wrong with it?
I found my batter to be very dry also – and in the recipe, it says, “batter should be thin enough to pour.” Her recipe for Toffee Crunch Cupcakes has the same ingredients, but also calls for 1/2 cup of hot coffee. I added the hot coffee to mine and the cupcakes turned out great! I think perhaps she just forgot to put the coffee as the last ingredient.
I had the same problem as well…followed the recipe exactly and the batter was very thick. I cooked them for 22 min and the toothpick still came out wet, and they sank when I pulled them halfway out of the oven. I cooked them longer but eventually the graham cracker crust was burnt.
I had the same problem…my batter was more like brownie batter. I fixed by adding one 6oz container of vanilla yogurt and my cupcakes came out perfect! These are amazing! Will definitely make again and again.
Can anyone confirm whether or not a 1/2 cup of coffee is required (or some additional liquid)?
Also, I have browned a meringue frosting in the past using the broil setting on my oven, since I do not have a kitchen torch. I think a similar technique would work here. I place the rack on the top shelf and it doesn’t take long, less than 5 minutes, so keep an eye on your cupcakes.
Thanks!
Great picture but not sure your recipe works at all. Did you read people’s comment at all? Some people have a problem making it, some were able to find a solution and made it work but obviously something up with your recipe.
Hey everyone-Jamie Lee is right, I left out the 1/2 cup of hot coffee in the ingredients. A crucial component in this cupcake recipe from Alice Medrich.
Hi Piper – Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I left out one crucial component in the recipe – 1/2 cup of hot coffee. An important ingredient for making this recipe work. I’ve updated the cupcake recipe to reflect that.
Hi Naomi – I believe you also forgot to include the step “add the hot coffee to the batter” in the instructions following the list of ingredients. It only states to “add the coffee granules.” Might be where people are getting confused. I dissolved the 2 tbsp of coffee granules to 1/2 c of hot water. The batter thinned out and baked up nicely. Thanks for the recipe!
Btw, I’ve made these a few times now and I have a really hard time getting the frosting to stand up. It always likes to “shlump” off the cake. My cakes are completely cooled, chocolate glaze included. The only thing I can find that helps is to cool the frosting in the bag in the refrigerator, pipe a few at a time, toast them right away and return them to the fridge. Still never looks like yours though. Am I over whipping the frosting? I bring it to 160 degrees and form a fairly stiff peak. Any other suggestions?
Everything about this recipe is great! Except for the crust… I’ve tried multiple times but the graham cracker crust always comes out dry and crumbly, basically ruining the entire bite. Any suggestions to fix this? I figured some granulated sugar should do the trick, but I wanted a second opinion. Thank you in advance. 🙂
Am I to assume that the hot coffee goes into the batter? I didn’t see that step listed.
Well my question is I follow every step of baking but my cake never increase in size n remain raw in middle hard at sides n burnt at base