Hummingbird Bakery S'more Cupcakes Recipe

I am so pleased with my copy of Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days, it is a big book and far more extensive than the first Hummingbird Bakery book.  The book is full of recipes I'm dying to try, which is always a good sign and includes cupcakes, layer cakes, whoopie pies, tarts, muffins, loaf cakes and cheesecakes, all of which look delicious.

These gorgeous S'more Cupcakes of S'moreanne Cupcakes as Hummingbird Bakery calls them, caught my eye straight away and I'm so pleased I decided to make them because they are nothing short of glorious.  The chocolate cupcake base is lovely with a fantastic texture and the frosting and biscuit crumbs push these over the edge, I will certainly make these again.

I used the grill to brown the top of my cuppies and they came out perfectly, although the browning doesn't show up particularly well in these pictures.  I definitely Buttercream Bakery -ized these a bit and my look very different to the cupcakes in the book.  Mine are much bigger (I made 12 large cupcakes as apposed to 16 smaller ones) with lots more frosting and cake peeking out from the edges.

S'more Cupcakes 

 Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days

Makes 12-16 cupcakes

For the sponge:

30g (1oz) dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), chilled

5 digestive biscuits

80g (3oz) unsalted butter, softened

280g (10oz) caster sugar

200g (7oz) plain flour

40g (1 1/2 oz) cocoa powder

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs

240ml whole milk

For the topping:

200g (7oz) caster sugar

4 egg whites

100g (3 1/2oz) dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids),

broken into squares, to decorate

Blowtorch (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas mark 3, and line a muffin tin with muffin cases.  Use the finest blade of a cheese grater to shave the chilled chocolate, then set aside.  Crush the biscuits in a food processor with the blade attachment or in a plastic bag using a rolling pin.

2. Using a hand-held electric whisk or a freestanding electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt on a low speed until resembling fine breadcrumbs.

3. Mix the eggs and milk by hand in a jug, then pour three-quarters of this into the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed to combine.  Increase the speed to a medium and mix until smooth and thick.  Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the remaining milk mixture and keep mixing until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth.

4.  Fill each paper case two-thirds full with batter.  Sprinkle the chocolate shavings and three-quarters or the crushed biscuits on top of the cupcakes, reserving the remaining biscuit crumbs for later.

5. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch.  Leave to cool slightly, then remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

6. Put the sugar into a saucepan with 150ml of water and bring to the boil.  Meanwhile, using an electric hand whisk or freestanding mixer with paddle attachment, whisk the egg whites until foamy.

7. When the sugar has boiled for 5-10 minutes and reach the soft-ball stage, pour onto the beaten egg whites while mixing on a medium speed.  Once added, adjust the speed to high and whisk until the underside of the bowl feels lukewarm.  At this stage, the meringue should have increased in size and become, white, smooth and shiny.

8. Smooth the meringue on to the cooled cupcakes, then swirl into decorative spikes using a palate knife.  With a cooks' blowtorch, lightly brown the meringue to give it a baked appearance.  Alternatively, pop the cakes under a hot grill - but only for a few seconds, as the meringue will brown quickly and you don't want it to burn.  Decorate the cupcakes with biscuit crumbs and squares of chocolate.

I can't wait to try the Tiramisu Cupcakes, the Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake, the Coffee and Chocolate Loaf and the Butterscotch Marshmallow Bars.

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Hummingbird Bakery S'more Cupcakes Recipe