There are times when my need for baking arises merely for satisfying a craving for a sweet delight, that catches me ever so often. On these occasions I need a quick recipe at hand, one that I can whip up in a heartbeat and enjoy the finished baked good within an hour. Other times I feel like making a more complicated dessert, one that requires the patience to follow numerous steps throughout the recipe, and then the final assembly of the complete dessert. It is like therapy for me. Also, when I need to impress someone with a beautiful dessert, recipes of the second kind I mentioned are the ones that are gonna do the trick.

Here I made 24 cupcakes with no graham cracker and chocolate
base, so they turned out quite short

Two friends of mine started working at the same company a while ago, and needed to throw an entry party for all the other employees. They asked my help with making two desserts that will be croud pleasers - both to taste and to watch. The first one I chose is a dessert you really can’t go wrong with when bringing it to a party - its beauty gets a lot of ‘wow’s from the croud, and its taste doesn’t fall behind. The second are these cupcakes, which I’ve seen on the Martha Stewart’s show during the cupcakes week she hosted a while back. They are the bestsellers at “Trophy Cupcakes” in Seattle, and for a good reason - they have a crispy base made of crushed Graham Crackers and butter, a thin layer of dark chocolate above it, on top of that a moist chocolatey cupcake, and to seal the deal we’ve got a so tender marshmallow-flavored meringue frosting. Did I convince you yet? Those 3 different textures are heaven in your mouth, and I urge you to taste all of them at once, and not eat each layer separately.
The girls said the party was a success and that both the tart and the cupcakes were gone so quickly. If you’re in for a little effort, try these. You’ll thank me.

Notice the crispy bottom

Some notes and tips about the cupcakes:

* You don’t have a burner? Don’t worry, you can brown the meringue in the oven as well. Leave the oven on after finishing baking the cupcakes, and switch it to grill mode. Prepare the meringue according to the directions below, pipe it on top of the cupcakes and put them back in the oven until the meringue gets a color that you’re pleased with (some like it more brown than others).

* Don’t feel like sweating for these beauties? You can also ommit the 2 bottom layers (the Graham Crackers and the bitersweet chocolate), and simply make chocolate cupcakes topped with meringue. Note that in this case your cupcakes will be lower in height than the original ones, if you make the specified quantity (24). If you want them higher, simply make 2-3 less.

* 8 egg whites for the frosting?? Are you crazy?? Well, no There are many recipes that leave me with a lot of whites in my freezer, and that’s a beautiful opportunity to use them. You can also make only half of the recipe for the frosting, and simply top each cupcake with a smaller amount. The original recipe results in a very generous frosting amount for each cupcake, so half of it would still be good.

We used up the small meringue amount that was left along with a bit
of leftovers from the pie crust and made meringue topped cookies. YUM!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow / Adapted from Trophy Cupcakes’ recipe
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 flat teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
80 gr unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons orange juice
150 gr bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the frosting:
8 egg-whites
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C) degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Sift sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add in the eggs. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed, until the batter is uniform.
3. In a large bowl, mix together milk, oil, vanilla and boiling water. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed until the batter is uniform.
4. Place graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and orange juice in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Check the mixture - if you can take some of it between your fingers and unify it into a shape that doesn’t fall apart and all crumbly - that’s what where looking for. If still too crumbly, add some more juice, spoon by spoon, until you get it right.
5. Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use a tablespoon or the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Place a teaspoon of the chopped chocolate above it. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture and chocolate for topping.
6. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture.
8. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
9. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.
10. Prepare the frosting: Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
11. Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.
12. Pipe the frosting on top of each muffin. If you don’t feel like piping, place spoonfuls of the frosting on top of each cupcake and arrange it nicely.
13. Slightly burn the frosting using a burner, or put it back inside the oven (see tips).

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