Can I have S’more!?

I found this amazing link from a woman (macsmom) on cake central who has all these variations of a WASC Cake. WASC stands for White Almond Sour Cream cake. There is everything from Fuzzy Navel to Peaches N Cream to Root Beer Cake to, you guessed it, S’mores! I can’t wait to try all her recipe variations, but tonight, I put the S’More to the test. Well, actually, it’s a Honey Graham Cracker Cake…with my twist on it to make it a S’more cupcake!! I followed her recipe for the Graham Cracker Cake (see recipe below) and then once they were cooled, I cut out a dome of cake from the center, added a dollop of chocolate ganache, replaced the dome center and then topped it with a marshmallow buttercream I invented! I added a 7oz jar of marshmallow fluff to a batch of buttercream. I just made the basic butter/powdered sugar buttercream since I was in a hurry today. I also added a few teaspoons of the Torani Toasted Marshmallow syrup to the buttercream to kick it up a notch. I also had to add another cup or two of powdered sugar because of the marshmallow fluff! This sucker was SO sweet!!! – like eating a S’More! We just got back from camping a few days ago and I had my fair share of S’Mores and I honestly couldn’t eat more than one or two S’mores per sitting…just like this cupcake…sugar overload!! But, Yuuummmmmy!

I also used a new cupcake cup…it’s a paper souffle’ cup I found at Cash N Carry. What I LOVE about them is that you just put them out on a half sheet pan and bake them in the cup…no using muffin tins! So, I could squeeze like 28-30 of these on a half sheet pan and cook 2+dozen cupcakes all together. There are a few lessons learned/tricks with these cups though..let me warn you!

To open these and access the yummy goodness inside, you either need a spoon to scoop the yummy goodness out, or you gently pull the pleats apart (see pic above) and the cup folds down into a little plate….
Perfect for eating…and holding all the crumbs! Also, the other thing is that when you pull it down, you have a pretty smooth side to your cupcake incase you need to use it for show (without the paper cups on them). With these cups, you don’t get all the crinkle edges regular cupcake holders leave in the cupcakes.

One last picture…Yes, I think it’s smiling at you! Go ahead…take a bite! You can see in this pic how I cut the dome of cake away, put the ganache in the center and replaced the cap. Although, I did cut the tip of the cap off so there was room for the ganache and the cap fit back on there.
Oh, and one more thing about these little paper cups…they’re tempermental when you bake them! Here is my first batch I ever made with them…Messssssy!
I learned that when you cook the cupcakes in these cups, you HAVE to set your oven to 375 degrees. Then, once it’s pre-heated, put the cupcakes in, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Cook them for about 20-25 minutes. Also, DON’T overfill…only fill these little cups 1/2 way full of batter. What happened in the pic above was that I filled them 2/3 of the way full, and I cooked them at 325…I don’t know why…but I just thought it would be better for them to cook slower…WRONG! They almost need a higher heat to cook them faster because what happened was they rose sooo much they overflowed and then all the air came out and when I took them out of the oven and they cooled, they all collapsed. So, don’t do that! Otherwise, these might be my new cups…they’re simple, unique and makes my baking life a bit easier! – which is always good!!

She doesn’t tell you how to mix them, so I just mixed all the wet ingredients, then mixed all the dry ingredients, then blended them together! Also, the cake was pretty crumbly…so, if I make it again, I think I will use 4 eggs in place of her 8 egg whites. That might help make it more dense…but I don’t know for sure! Also, I halved the recipe to make 28 cupcakes and one 6″ round cake 2″ high…so, it probably would have made 36 cupcakes just cutting the recipe in half.

Enjoy…happy baking!