FUN WITH FLAMES: S'Mores Cupcakes

My grandma gave me a culinary torch for Christmas that I've been dying to use. With a quiet day around the house during winter break, I had a perfect opportunity to break out the flames. I've always wanted to try this Martha Stewart Cupcake recipe for s'more inspired cupcakes. The perfect-sized cakes are a combination of graham cracker-like cake, a layer of chocolate ganache, and browned marshmallow frosting.

I have to tell you that making the marshmallow topping was an adventure. I don't have any experience making candy, which is probably why I had a "do-over". Even the second batch of sugar syrup I made didn't turn out the way it should, but I was able to use enough of it to make it work. Making sure the sugar dissolves completely before letting it boil to temperature is key. Using a pastry brush to prevent the sugar from crystalizing is also something I assume is quite important-- considering I didn't have one and things even crystalized in the syrup batch I managed to make work. Last but not least, you have to be ready to pipe the frosting immediately after beating it. I put my ganache layer on in between making the frosting and piping it, and I couldn't squeeze it out of the bag because it had already set! The only thing left to do was get my hands dirty, separating chunks of marshmallow to place on top. Though messy and slightly complicated, the homemade marshmallow was worth it in the end. The browned outside gave it that s'more taste everyone loves.

S’MORES CUPCAKES
recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
makes 24

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups graham flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 6 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Chocolate Ganache Glaze (below)
• Marshmallow Frosting (below)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter, brown sugar and honey until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium; beat in eggs and vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored up to 1 day at room temperature, or frozen up to 1 month, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, spoon 2 teaspoons chocolate glaze onto each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (Ateco #806 or Wilton #2A) with frosting; pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

Ingredients

• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Method

1. Place chocolate in a medium-size heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.
2. Using a flexible spatula, gently stir chocolate and cream until totally combined; begin near the center of the bowl and gradually work your way toward the edge, pulling in as much chocolate as possible, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. (If any chocolate pieces remain, strain mixture through a fine sieve and discard solids.) If not using immediately, glaze can be refrigerated up to 5 days in an airtight container.
3. Reheat gently before using.

Shiny chocolate glaze variation: Reduce amount of chocolate to 2 ounces. Follow step 1 of recipe above, letting mixture stand 5 minutes before slowly whisking until smooth and combined. Use immediately, without straining.


Cook's Note
Avoid overmixing when stirring the chocolate into the hot-cream mixture, as this can cause the ganache to become dull and grainy.


Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 scant tablespoon)
• ⅓ cup plus ¼ cup cold water
• 1 cup sugar
• I added a splash of vanilla

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin over ⅓ cup cold water. Allow gelatin to soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Heat remaining 1/4 cup water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium-high, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; clip a candy thermometer onto side of pan. Boil syrup until temperature reaches the soft-ball stage (238 degrees F), brushing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Remove from heat; add syrup to softened gelatin. Whisk mixture by hand to cool, about 1 minute, then use an electric mixer to whisk on medium-high speed until soft, glossy (but not dry) peaks form, 8 to 10 minutes. Use immediately (frosting will harden).

ALL-IN-ONE DINNER: Stuffed Bell Peppers

With red bell peppers, mushrooms, and ground beef in the fridge, I started brainstorming what I could make for dinner-- stuffed bell peppers. I looked through some recipes online and came to this one, but I made some substitutions/additions based on what I had on hand. I didn't have diced tomatoes, but I did have mushrooms to add to the rice and meat mixture (and a little tomato paste to give it the desired flavor). I wanted to use up my shallots, so I substituted those for the white onion, sautéing them first with the garlic and mushrooms with a bit of red pepper flakes. To get a little green into the dinner, I added fresh spinach. Last but not least, I only had two peppers, so I put the rest of the stuffing into little ramekins to be enjoyed later.

The stuffed peppers made for a healthy, flavorful take on comfort food with minimal clean up. Next time I'll make more of the ketchup topping to have on the side!

DAD’S STUFFED BELL PEPPERS
from SimplyRecipes.com, personal adaptations noted
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 4 bell peppers, any color
• Salt
• 5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped I substituted shallots
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb of lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (if using can, drain of excess liquid first) I added some tomato paste instead of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• Dash of Tabasco sauce
• I added sautéed mushrooms, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and fresh spinach

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, cut top off peppers 1 inch from the stem end, and remove seeds. Add several generous pinches of salt to boiling water, then add peppers and boil, using a spoon to keep peppers completely submerged, until brilliant green (or red if red peppers) and their flesh slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Drain, set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Remove skillet from heat, add meat, rice, tomatoes, and oregano, and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well. (You may find it easier to put the ingredients at this point into a large bowl and mix together with your hands.)
3. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil inside the peppers. Arrange the cut side of the peppers up in a baking dish, then stuff peppers with filling. Combine ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl, then spoon over filling. Add 1/4 cup of water to the baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 40-50 minutes (or longer, depending on how big the peppers are that you are stuffing), until the internal temperature of the stuffed peppers is 150-160°F.