♥ s'mores cupcakes ♥

this recipe makes 24. if you only have 1 muffin tin, halve the recipe.

what you'll need...
♥2 1/2 cups (360g) whole wheat pastry flour
♥1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
♥1/2 teaspoon baking soda
♥3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
♥1/2 cup (30g) oat bran
♥1/2 cup (30g) wheat germ
♥1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
♥1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons, or 170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
♥3/4 cup (165g) brown sugar
♥3/4 cup (200ml) honey
♥4 eggs
♥2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
♥1/2 cup (60g) sour cream
♥1 1/2 cups (340ml) milk
♥ganache (recipe follows)
♥marshmallowy frosting (recipe follows)
♥2 or three good quality chocolate bars, broken into 24 pieces

what you'll do...
1. preheat oven to 180C and line 24 muffin tins with paper liners.

2. in a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, germ, bran, and cinnamon.

3. in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth, about a minute on medium speed. add in sugar and beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes more. with mixer on medium-low, add in honey. then incorporate the eggs, adding them in, one at a time, beating well after each addition. add in vanilla.

4. with mixer on low, add in a third of the flour mixer, followed by half of the milk and the sour cream. add in the next third of flour, the remaining milk, and finally the remainder of the flour mixture. mix until just combined. use a rubber spatula to fully incorporate the mixture, being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

5. with an ice cream scooper, divide up the batter evenly among the paper liners. (use a scoop that holds 1/3 cup, which works perfectly.) tap pans on the counter to remove any bubbles.

6. bake at 180C, or until a toothpick inserted into the center ones comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. let cool in pans for at least ten minutes before removing to a cooling rack. let cool completely before decorating.

7. remove a bit of cake from the top of each cupcake with a melon baller, and using a piping bag or a teaspoon, fill with cooled ganache.

working quickly, use the ice cream scooper to top each with marshmallowy icing and use the back of a spoon to create little peaks all over the top. (if at any time the icing gets too dry and is no longer smoot whisk it up again in mixer until smooth.)

8. use a blow torch to toast the icing.





9. top each cupcake with a piece of chocolate bar.



for the ganache:
♥1 cup (240g) heavy cream
♥1 1/4 cups (212g) chocolate chips
♥1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

heat cream in a large glass container in the microwave until just boiling, about 60 seconds. pour in chocolate chips and vanilla and let sit for about 1-2 minutes. whisk until smooth. refrigerate for 10-20 minutes until almost cooled.

for the meringue:
♥2 cups (380g) granulated sugar
♥1 cup (250ml) water
♥8 egg whites
♥2 teaspoons of very good pure vanilla extract

1. combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until dissolved. bring to a boil without stirring, and continue to boil until the temperature reaches the firm ball stage, or 248 degrees.

2. while the sugar syrup comes to temperature, beat egg whites in an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. with the mixer on low, slowly pour in the hot sugar syrup.

3. gradually increase the speed to high, and whisk meringue until stiff and cool, about 7 minutes and whisk in the vanilla.