S'more Cupcakes

The end-of-summer days should be filled with savouring summer's best.  That might be a final trip to the neighborhood pool or beach, caprese salad with fresh, locally grown tomatoes, dinner on the deck during sunset...  And definitely something s'more related.  S'mores instantly take me back to summer camp, sing around the campfire with those fast-but-new best friends after a day spent sailing or canoeing on the lake.

For a summer bbq I wanted to take something that was summery but that I could make quickly and with ingredients that I had on hand... So s'more styled cupcakes ended up as the winner.  And they couldn't be easier while still making a nice presentation. 

For this, it really is just about the decoration and styling so you can use your favorite recipes to bring it together.  Here was my process...

1st - Make your favorite chocolate cupcakes, using a cute liner (maybe gingham or stripes like these).  My favorite chocolate cake is this one but it makes a lot of cupcakes so...

2nd - Make marshmallow frosting - this one on MS is perfect and very easy.

3rd - Frost your cupcakes, making a cute little swirl from a spoon or use a pastry tip - whichever you prefer (I just used a spoon as this frosting goes on easy and smooth).

4th - Prepare the decorating components - break up graham crackers so you have small squares, crumble a few graham crackers for dusting and cut up a high quality chocolate bar (I used a Valrhona dark chocolate bar that in Chicago you can get at Trader Joes).

5th - Use a kitchen torch to 'toast' your marshmallow frosting.

6th - Immediately sprinkle on the crushed graham cracker and add in the graham cracker and chocolate squares next to each other - I like them at a slight angle.

Voilà!

Banana Cupcakes

I really try to not let ripe bananas go to waste.  Banana baked goodness is definitely too tasty to pass up so when there are ripe bananas and I also have a bit of free time there is bound to be some kind of dessert made.  While banana bread is good, banana cake is my favorite.

I have a favorite recipe for banana cake that I have been making for 20+ some years.  But this time I was looking to make cupcakes and wasn't sure if my banana cake would translate to cupcakes.  It is one of those cakes that you put a sugar mixture on top before baking so ends up more of a coffee cake.  So I turned to a Betty Crocker banana cake recipe for my banana + cupcakes trial.

They turned out really very good.  Dan and our neighbors gave them an enthusiastic approval.  They are moist, light, and tasty.  It is also a very easy recipe.  I did discover after baking the first batch that they don't rise as much as some cake recipes so you do need to fill the cups more than usual (I filled mine 2/3rds full for a cup that is usually filled to 1/2).  And I tried to make these as Banana Chocolate Chip but my chips sunk!  I might try sprinkling them on top next time to see if they stay a bit higher in the cupcake.

I frosted them with a classic cream cheese frosting and dusting of bittersweet cocoa powder.  As the tops are pretty soft due to how moist these cupcakes are, I used a small scoop to drop the frosting on top and then a teaspoon to swirl it out to the edges. A chocolate frosting or glaze would be delicious on these cupcakes.

Banana Cupcakes

Adapted from a recipe in Betty Crocker

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Blend the shortening, sugar, and eggs.  With mixer on low, slowly add the buttermilk and then the flour mixture.  Finally, add the bananas and vanilla.  Beat for three minutes on high speed. 

Pour into greased baking pan or cupcake tin with liners; fill 2/3 full for cupcakes.

Bake a 13x9 inch pan for 45 minutes; layer pans for 35-40 minutes; and cupcakes for 20 minutes.

Cool on racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

First blend the cream cheese and butter with a whisk attachment for your mixer.  Then set the mixer to a low speed and gradually add the powdered sugar.  You can modify how thick or thin the frosting is by how much sugar you add.  Last, stir in the vanilla.

We ended up with about two dozen cupcakes so we really needed to share as to avoid eating them all ourselves!  I packaged up a little box to take to our neighbors, being both neighborly and saving our waistlines!