S'mores Cupcakes-and a small sidebar about Creme Brulee

Non-cupcake related note: Today, I finished my theory of therapy paper. Tomorrow, I start working on the next paper for my qualifying exams.

This recipe was one of the first that caught my eye: graham flavored cakes with chocolate ganache and marshmallow topping glazed with a kitchen torch. However, the actual making of this recipe occurred in so many stages it's been hard to keep track.

The first problem I encountered with this recipe was graham flour. Trips to two different health food stores and two different grocery stores yielded nothing. I looked up Bob's Red Mill, a company that grinds organic flour from all types of grains, and discovered I could buy graham flour for $2 a bag. However, the cost to ship it to Lubbock was $8. I Googled graham flour and discovered that it was made by grinding various parts of wheat separately, and then combining them. According to Wikipedia, I could make my own graham flour with wheat germ, wheat bran, and white flour. The local grocery store had the first two items in the cereal aisle. I didn't question why that was.

The second problem with this recipe was that it required a blowtorch to add a golden brown sheen to the marshmallow topping, as if it had been roasted over a campfire. The local grocery store had one for $34. The little gourmet kitchen store across the street from my apartment was out. I finally located one inside a creme brulee kit at Bed Bath and Beyond, which cost me $20 and included four ramekins.

After obtaining the blowtorch, I had to get butane to fill it. This proved to be more of a search than I thought. Target didn't have it. Home Depot was out, but the very helpful employees said I could use propane and achieve the same effect. I didn't really believe them. I called my dad, who, as it turned out, owns a similar tiny torch. He expressed doubt that I could use propane and butane interchangeably, and suggested I go to a drugstore to purchase the butane. Two drugstores later, I had a canister in my possession.

I was a little fearful of using the torch, mostly because I get nervous about flammable gas. I decided that, in order to test it out, I needed to make creme brulee.

Creme brulee is, in my opinion, one of the greatest desserts known to man. It is one of those things that I have always wanted to make, but felt too intimidated by. On Friday, I was feeling pretty good about the amount of work I had put into my theory of therapy paper (I have now met the 25 page requirement. I will now spend the next two weeks editing it and making it coherent) and felt it was reason enough to bake again.

So I made creme brulee. Creme brulee is one of those desserts that seems easy, but is actually very hard. I can't really explain it, except to say that I have only had what I considered to be really good creme brulee once in my life. It was from room service in Caesar's Palace. The difference between it and every other creme brulee was, I think, its creaminess. I like creme brulee when it is smooth, almost like pudding. Usually, when I've had it, it has seemed to eggy, like, well, eggs. The stuff I made was no exception. However, it was still pretty tasty, and I caramelized the sugar with my new torch, which, if you are wondering, is what sets creme brulee apart from custard. Creme brulee actually means "burnt cream." PS. If you are inclined to make creme brulee, I have found that most recipes tell you to sprinkle brown sugar on top of it to caramelize, but I found that raw sugar (turbinado) works much better. It doesn't clump, and it tastes wonderful.

As a second sidebar, I took some creme brulee to Stephanie's for dinner that weekend, which opened up a debate about creme brulee vs. flan with Layne. I have learned by sad experience that, if I feel passionately about anything, I should never present it as a topic for debate with Layne because, without fail, he does not back down until I have recanted whatever my opinion was about whatever topic I brought up, to the point that, now, I basically have no convictions whatsoever. The bottom line is, I still firmly believe that creme brulee and flan are two completely different entities. Creme brulee is wonderful, and flan is creepy. Creme brulee is served in a ramekin. Flan is freestanding, and it wiggles. Ew.

Anyway, after that, I used the torch whenever I could. I've had to replace the butane since I bought it (in my defense, it doesn't hold much). I made creme brulee cupcakes, which are not in the Martha book, turned out bad, and do not need to be discussed ever again.

And I decided that, despite my best efforts to make the recipes that use seasonal fruit, I was, at long last, going to make the s'mores cupcakes I had been prepping for since I started this insane project three weeks ago (I can't believe it's only been three weeks).

So, here's the recipe:

S'mores Cupcakes (makes 24)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/3 c. graham flour (1 cup graham flour=2/3 c. white flour, 1 1/2 tsp. wheat germ, under 1/3 c. wheat bran. I put the wheat germ in a 1/3 measuring cup and filled it to the top with wheat bran)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/4 c. unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks. I know. It's just better if you don't think about it).

2 c. packed light brown sugar

1/4 c. honey

6 large eggs (Again, don't think about it).

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (the fake stuff is fine)

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

Marshmallow Frosting

First, preheat the oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. I used the groovy ones I bought at Michael's recently. Whisk together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Cream butter, brown sugar, and honey until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Fill cups about three-quarters full.

Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Martha says to bake for 25 minutes, but I would advise you to start checking at 20 minutes because they go from golden brown to burned really quickly.

Martha notes that a cake tester, inserted in the center of a cupcake, should come out with only a few moist crumbs attached. I found the recipe yielded 2 dozen standard cupcakes and another 2 dozen mini cupcakes.

But this is just the first step. I made these on Monday night, flash froze them, and stored them in Ziploc freezer bags. Then, on Wednesday night, I made the Chocolate Ganache Glaze.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

(Makes about 1 1/4 cups)

6 oz. finely chopped semisweet chocolate. Go ahead, use chocolate chips. I won't tell Martha.

2/3 c. heavy cream

1 Tbsp. light corn syrup

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream and syrup to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate. When chocolate begins to melt, gently stir into cream until it is smooth and glossy. Can be stored up to 5 days in the refrigerator, but gently heat in microwave before use.

Spoon 2 tsp. over each cupcake. The cupcakes sink after baking, creating a nice crater to fill with glaze. I'm not sure if they were supposed to do that, but that's what mine did.

Then, Thursday morning, I made the marshmallow frosting.

Marshmallow Frosting (makes enough for 24 cupcakes)

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 scant Tbsp.)

1/2 c. plus 1/4 c. cold water

1 c. sugar

In a small mixing bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 c. cold water. Allow gelatin to soften, about 5 minutes. Unflavored gelatin looks a little gross.

Heat remaining 1/4 c. water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring.

Clip a candy thermometer to the side of pan. Boil syrup until it reaches soft-ball stage (238 F), brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming.

Remove from heat. Add syrup to softened gelatin. WARNING: This mixture stinks. I was reminded of my mission, when I lived 20 minutes from LeRoy, NY, where Jell-O was invented. We visited the Jell-O museum and learned that gelatin is not a vegetarian product. I found that slightly disturbing, but it did not stop me from eating Jell-O. However, I was vividly reminded of that fact by the smell of sugar and gelatin.

Whisk mixture by hand until cool.

Use an electric mixer to whisk on medium high speed until soft, glossy (but not dry) peaks form (8-10 minutes. And, no, I did not use my KitchenAid for this because the bowl was still dirty from making the cupcakes. I used my sad little hand mixer, which worked just fine). Use immediately.

I put the frosting in a decorating bag, snipped the corner off, and piped it onto my cupcakes. I was disappointed. In Martha's picture, the cupcakes all look like they are wearing Smurf hats. My frosting was decidedly too runny for that.

However, I got to use my blowtorch on them, so all was well.

I have started bringing my cupcakes to work, to share at our Thursday meeting. In addition to being my favorites thus far, my coworkers spoke highly of them. This week, I distributed the extras among some of the other therapists in our hallway, which I have decided is better than leaving them in the breakroom for the psychiatry residents to eat. Last week, someone took a cupcake, bit it, and then stuck it back on the plate with the other cupcakes. I'm going to have to see some improvements, behavior-wise, before I leave cupcakes out for the doctors to partake.

Anyway, as I was explaining the project to Dave and Rob, two of the guys from my doctoral cohort, Rob said, with a mouthful of cupcake, "Moka [my cohort nickname], I think this is the year (2009-2010) that you are going to get married. I think the cupcakes are going to do it."

I replied, "Well, if I am bringing you guys cupcakes, then you should be out finding me a man."

His response? "Oh, crap."