Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy, is back with another tempting recipe….

This month’s cupcake recipe was inspired after a recent camping trip my husband and I took to celebrate our 5 year anniversary!  We pitched a tent, started a fire and roasted marshmallows to create the perfect camping treat…S’mores!  I can’t think of a better way to enjoy a night outside under the stars than with this gooey, sticky and messy sandwich cookie.  So I have transformed this graham cracker, marshmallow and chocolate combination into a S’mores Cupcake that is super easy and no roasting is involved.

The base of the cupcake is a simple one-bowl chocolate cake.  Who doesn’t love a chocolate cupcake?  The S’mores factor comes into play with the Marshmallow Cream frosting and graham cracker garnish.  Instead of using actual marshmallows in this recipe I decided on a jar of marshmallow cream, which creates a light and fluffy texture.  This icing is not overly sweet and pairs nicely with the chocolate and graham crackers.  Top off the cupcake with a chocolate square from a Hershey’s bar and you have the ultimate S’mores in cake form!

S’more cupcakes are the pefect treat for a picnic or camping themed party. They are low maintenance and super easy to make so grab your kids and get them involved. I guarantee they will love being your graham cracker crushers and dipping the cupcakes into the crumbs.

S’mores Cupcakes
(makes 30 cupcakes)

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup hot water
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In bowl of stand mixer combine dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix until well combined.
3. Add the wet ingredients: eggs, milk, oil, water and vanilla to the dry ingredients. With mixer on medium speed mix for about 2 minutes scrapping down sides of the bowl as needed. (The batter will be very liquidy, but that is ok.)
4. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. (I use a 4-cup measuring cup with a pour spout to transfer the batter to the cupcake liners so it is easier to control and less mess.)
5. Bake for 16-17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
7. Once cupcakes are completely cool, ice with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting and garnish with graham crackers and chocolate.

For the frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In bowl of stand mixer cream butter for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add marshmallow cream and mix until incorporated.
3. Add the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla and mix until well combined.
4. Place icing in a piping bag fitted with large round tip (I used 1A) and add a dollop of icing on top of cupcakes.

For the garnish:
1/2 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
3 Hershey’s Bars, broken into squares

1. Place graham crackers in zip lock bag and crush with your hands until fine crumbs.
2. Take frosted cupcakes and turn upside down into bowl of graham cracker crumbs to cover the frosting.
3. Place a Hershey’s chocolate square on top of each cupcake.

S’mores Cupcakes are best enjoyed on the day they are baked and assembled as the graham cracker crumbs will get a little soft over time.

Hope you enjoy!
Lauren

	Lauren is a regular contributor for Half Baked. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.

When you’re expecting a new addition to the family, there’s nothing quite like the moment you find out the gender of your little one.  Will there be pink tutus or snakes and snails in your future?   The days of waiting until the actual birth to find out the sex of your baby are long gone.  Most couples choose to find out ahead of time and many plan fun ways to share their big news with friends and family!  I’m loving all of the creative gender reveal ideas and parties we’ve been seeing lately and this one absolutely takes the cake!  Literally!  Well, I guess technically it is a cupcake, but you get the idea.   We’re definitely inspired by these clever Gender Reveal Cupcakes, created by Cream & Flutter.

A few thoughts from Trisha Sutton, co-owner of Cream & Flutter and proud mom-to-be:

“Around here, when there’s something to celebrate, we turn to cake.  Our family and friends have been “patiently” waiting to find out the gender of Baby Sutton.  I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and we finally got the news.  To make the big surprise even more delicious, I decided to hand out gender reveal cupcakes!  So I whipped up a batch of dark chocolate cupcakes, filled them with the appropriate color of vanilla bean cream filling, topped them with a layer of rich chocolate ganache, and finished them off with a charming (and mysterious!) little question mark.”

How adorable, right?  Just think of how delighted your friends and family would be… they get to share in your exciting news AND enjoy a cupcake!  How could that get any better?

A very special thank you to Trisha and Amanda from Cream & Flutter for sharing their ingenious Gender Reveal Cupcakes with us today!  Best wishes and congrats to Trisha on her new little man.  I have a feeling he’s going to be quite the baker!

Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy, is back with a bright and summery recipe to start off the week…

When I think of summer, bright yellow lemons and sipping on a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade come to mind. I am a huge fan of lemons, and really all things sour.  As a kid I can remember spending summer days at our local pool and every afternoon I would visit the concession stand to order a frozen lemonade and a box of lemonheads to satisfy my sour cravings.  Still to this day I have those same cravings and welcome all things citrus and tangy during the hot summer months!  So with lemonade as the inspiration, I have created a Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake that I think you are going to love!

For the cake:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup lemonade powder mix (I used Country Time)
1 cup milk
3 Tbsp lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
1 Tbsp lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)
1 tsp vanilla
lemonheads (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners
2. In medium bowl mix together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, lemonade powder and lemon zest, set aside.
3. In bowl of stand mixer cream butter and sugar on medium speed until combined.
4. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
5. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix well.
6. Gradually add the dry ingredients and milk, alternating starting and ending with the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
7. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
10. Once cupcakes are completely cool, ice with Strawberry Lemon Frosting and garnish with a lemonhead on top.

For the frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 Tbsp strawberry puree (from about 3-4 strawberries)
1 tsp lemon zest

1. In bowl of stand mixer cream butter for 1-2 minutes.
2. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar and continue mixing scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
3. Mix in strawberry puree and lemon zest.
4. Place the icing in a piping bag fitted with tip 1M to decorate cupcakes.

To create a cupcake in a jar:

1. Slice cupcake in half with serrated knife. You will need one and a half cupcakes (3 pieces) for each jar.
2. Place half a cupcake in the bottom of the jar and add a dollop of icing on top. Repeat two more times with cake and icing.
3. Garnish with a lemonhead on top.
4. For extra cuteness add a plastic straw.

I hope you enjoy this combination of sour & sweet!

	Lauren is a regular contributor for Half Baked. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.