S'mores cupcakes - moist chocolate cupcakes filled with a gooey, melty chocolate center and topped with homemade toasted marshmallow frosting. The ultimate campfire treat - without the campfire!
Who doesn't love s'mores? This cupcake version of traditional s'mores is bound to bring a smile to the face of any kid or adult and is the perfect summer dessert or fall treat! It's not hard to see why this was one of the most popular cupcake flavors we served in my bakery!
If you love the flavor of chocolate and marshmallow together, you might also enjoy my decadent S'mores Brownies or my Triple Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies.
Jump to:
Why you'll love these S'mores Cupcakes
- Super fun for both adults and kids
- Great s'mores flavor from melty chocolate filling and toasted marshmallow frosting
- Real marshmallow frosting - no jars of marshmallow fluff here!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour - All-purpose flour is best for these cupcakes
- Cocoa Powder - Dutch process cocoa powder is best because it has a stronger chocolate flavor and will keep the cupcakes nice and moist, but natural cocoa powder will also work.
- Sugar - White granulated sugar
- Large Eggs - We'll need whole eggs for the cupcakes and egg whites for the marshmallow frosting
- Vegetable Oil - Any flavorless oil will be fine, such as canola oil.
- Instant Coffee - (optional) Use a teaspoon of instant coffee or instant espresso powder to bring out the chocolate flavor in the cupcakes. You can just leave this out if you don't want it in there.
- Vanilla - Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste will provide a delicious base for the s'mores flavor
- Milk - I use whole milk, but you can use any kind of milk you have on hand.
- Heavy Cream - For the chocolate ganache filling, make sure it's heavy cream or heavy whipping cream, not half and half.
- Chocolate - In baking, I typically use dark chocolate, but for the chocolate filling in these s'mores cupcakes, I like to use a milk chocolate ganache as I find it gives a more authentic s'mores flavor. But you can use whatever kind of chocolate is your favorite!
- Cream of Tartar - This will help to stabilize the meringue (marshmallow frosting). If you don't have it you can use a teaspoon of lemon juice instead.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Rising agents to make the cupcakes light and fluffy
- Graham Crackers - These are optional, but you can add some crumbled-up graham crackers for extra flavor.
UK Ingredients
The same ingredients are called different things in North America vs the UK, if you are making this recipe in the UK, here is a handy list of what each of the ingredients are called there. (The ones that are named differently are in bold.
- Plain Flour
- Cocoa Powder
- Caster Sugar
- Medium Eggs (British eggs are bigger than North American eggs, so just use medium when the recipe calls for large)
- Vegetable Oil
- Instant Coffee
- Vanilla Extract
- Double Cream
- Chocolate
- Cream of Tartar
- Digestive Biscuits
- Baking Powder and Bicarbonate of Soda
Make the Chocolate Cupcakes
This is the same base recipe I use for my delicious chocolate cupcakes. It comes together so quickly.
Prepare
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C or 170°C in a fan-assisted oven) and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Sieve all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Add Wet Ingredients
Add the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and mix until there are no more lumps.
Add Hot Coffee
Add hot coffee (or hot water) and mix together. The batter will be very liquid.
Bake
Divide batter between the liners and bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Optional - you can add some crushed-up graham crackers to the bottom of each cupcake liner first for some extra crunch.
Make the Chocolate Ganache Filling
The melty chocolate middle of the s'mores cupcakes is a chocolate ganache with the chocolate-to-cream ratio tweaked slightly so that it will stay fluid and ooze out slightly when you bite into the cupcake.
- Step 1: Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium bowl.
- Step 2: Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it is scalding hot (little bubbles appear on the surface, this is the stage before it starts to boil)
- Step 3: Remove from the heat and pour the cream into the chopped chocolate, let sit for 30 seconds.
- Step 4: Stir the mixture together until smooth and silky. Let cool.
Make the Marshmallow Frosting
The marshmallow meringue frosting is a kind of Swiss Meringue - it gives delicious gooey marshmallow flavor without being sickly sweet, and it toasts beautifully - just like s'mores!
Make a Double Boiler
Fill a saucepan with an inch of water and bring to a simmer, place a heatproof bowl over the top - make sure the bottom of the bowl isn't touching the water. Add the egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar.
Heat the Egg Whites
Whisk the egg whites and sugar together while they warm up in the double boiler, this is doing two things - bringing the egg whites to a high enough temperature to make them safe to eat, and also dissolving the sugar into the egg whites. Test if it's ready by rubbing some of the egg white mixture between your fingers - if you can feel any grains of sugar, it needs longer.
If you want to use a thermometer, the egg whites should reach 160°F / 71°C.
Transfer to Stand Mixer
Once the egg whites are warm and the sugar has dissolved, transfer the mixture to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment fitted and whip until stiff peaks form.
Add Vanilla
Once you have thick, glossy peaks of meringue, add the vanilla and whip for a few more seconds.
Tip:
If you have a metal bowl for your stand mixer, you can use that for the double boiler and then just move it over to the mixer once the egg whites are ready - this saves on dishes!
Decorate S'mores Cupcakes
Core the Cupcakes
Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, use a cupcake corer or a spoon to core out the middle of each cupcake.
Fill
Fill each cupcake with a generous amount of chocolate ganache. You can spoon it in, or use a piping bag to pipe it in. You can either replace the little chocolate cake lid or just eat it!
Frost
Pipe or spread the fluffy marshmallow frosting on top of each cupcake. This can be as messy or as neat as you like. The beauty of s'mores cupcakes is that they will always look great no matter how you decorate them!
Toast
Toast the marshmallow. Use a kitchen torch (culinary torch) on the frosting to toast the marshmallow frosting. Drizzle the remaining chocolate ganache over the top of the cupcake and sprinkle with some graham cracker crumbs.
Equipment
- Cupcake pan
- Stand Mixer with Whisk attachment
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- Heatproof bowl
- Kitchen Torch
- Cupcake Corer
Storage
Any leftover cupcakes should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days. The meringue can begin to weep in storage, so it's best to enjoy them sooner rather than later. Refrigerating the meringue is also more likely to make it weep.
More Chocolate and Marshmallow Recipes
If you love this S'mores cupcake recipe, you might also enjoy some of these delicious desserts:
Recipe
S'mores Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcake pan
- Stand Mixer with whisk attachment
- Kitchen Torch
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose Flour 188g
- ⅔ cup Cocoa Powder 57g
- 1 ½ cups White Sugar 300g
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Large Eggs
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil 110g
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¾ cup Milk 183g
- ⅓ cup Hot Water 80g
- 1 teaspoon Instant Coffee
- 2 Graham Crackers
For the Melty Chocolate Filling
- ½ cup Whipping Cream 120g
- 5 oz Milk Chocolate 140g
For the Marshmallow Frosting
- 4 Egg Whites
- 1 cup White Sugar 200g
- ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners
Make the Chocolate Cupcakes
- Sieve all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl1 ½ cups All-purpose Flour, ⅔ cup Cocoa Powder, 1 ½ cups White Sugar, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Add the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and beat for a couple of minutes until combined2 Large Eggs, ½ cup Vegetable Oil, ¾ cup Milk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Mix the instant coffee in the hot water and add to the batter, mix until combined. The batter will be fairly liquid⅓ cup Hot Water, 1 teaspoon Instant Coffee
- Optional: If you want to, you can add some crumbled up graham crackers to the bottom of each cupcake liner before adding the batter, for extra crunch.2 Graham Crackers
- Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 18 -22 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Make the Melty Chocolate Filling
- Chop your chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl5 oz Milk Chocolate
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it is scalding hot (little bubbles appear on the surface, this is the stage before is starts to boil)½ cup Whipping Cream
- Remove from the heat and pour the cream into the chopped chocolate, let sit for 30 seconds
- Stir the mixture together until smooth and silky. Let cool
Make the Marshmallow Frosting
- Make a double boiler by putting a 1 inch of water in a saucepan and placing a heatproof bowl on top, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water.
- Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and sugar into the bowl and whisk constantly - it doesn't have to be vigorous whisking, just enough to keep it moving. Heat until the egg whites are warm and the sugar has dissolved. Check if it's ready by feeling the mixture between your fingers, if it's grainy at all it needs longer. If you want to use a thermometer, the temperature to aim for is 160°F / 71°C.4 Egg Whites, 1 cup White Sugar, ½ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- Transfer to a stand mixer with whisk attachment fitted and whip until stiff peaks form.
- Add the vanilla and whip for another few seconds, it should be thick and glossy.1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Construct your S'mores Cupcakes
- Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, core out the middle of the cupcake using a cupcake corer or teaspoon
- Fill the cavity with chocolate ganache filling
- Pipe or spread the marshmallow frosting onto the cupcakes
- Use a kitchen torch to toast the marshmallow.
- Drizzle remaining chocolate filling over the top of the marshmallow frosting and sprinkle with some graham crackers crumbs
Notes
- Plain Flour
- Cocoa Powder
- Caster Sugar
- Medium Eggs (British eggs are bigger than North American eggs, so just use medium when the recipe calls for large)
- Vegetable Oil
- Instant Coffee
- Vanilla Extract
- Double Cream
- Chocolate
- Cream of Tartar
- Digestive Biscuits
- Baking Powder and Bicarbonate of Soda
It really helps and I love hearing all your feedback!
Rhonda
Delicious cupcakes, and the cakes were super simple! The filling seemed a little too liquidy and I probably only used a quarter of the recipe. The marshmallow topping was excellent!
jules
Thank you so much! Yes that could totally work. You could even mix the graham crackers with a little bit of butter and press them into the base of the cupcake liner to make almost like a cheesecake base - that would work too. Let me know how you like them! 🙂
Rea Rae
This is the best sounding S'mores cupcake recipe and idea that I have come across in my S'mores collection of recipes! I was wondering if a small amount of a graham cracker crust (like for a pie) could be sprinkled in the bottom of the cupcake paper, before pouring in the batter. Would that work?