S'More Cupcakes Please. Ha! Get it?

You know how I feel about box mix. Personally, I chose to leave plastic food behind around the same time I gave up my Playskool kitchen. But to each his own. Golden Butter Cake a boîte de Madame Crocker is my Dad's favorite cake despite my greatest efforts. 

Nevertheless...there was a new cupcakes kit from Dove left in the giveaway box at work. Free baking goodies...thank you! I'll make an exception. 

The kit includes:

• Cake Mix 
• Chocolate Frosting Mix
• Cupcake Liners 
• Sprinkles 
• Chocolate 

 
For class this Wednesday, I decided to use the mix to make s'mores cupcakes. I used the same graham cracker crust that I use for my mini cheesecakes as a base for these chocolate cakes. The crust has a sandy crunch that's buttery, sweet and just a touch salty all at once. The graham cracker crust combined with the moist chocolate cake builds a tasty contrast. 

Things you'll love about the mix potentially...

• Instead of using the 6 T melted butter like the instructions indicated, I used applesauce to ease the minds of my girly pals. The cake was still moist and still quite tasty so the mix holds up well even if you fudge with the directions. 
• It's a one-bowl cake. Since you use melted butter or applesauce the cake can all be made in one bowl, no electric mixer necessary. 
• 24 large cupcakes...they don't skimp on batter. 

Things you might not adore...

• The flavor of the cake isn't mind blowing. If I'm going to eat chocolate cake, I want chocolatey chocolate cake that tastes like chocolate. That rich flavor was missing here. I added a bit of salt and vanilla to the mix, but I still wasn't pleased. Next time I'd add melted chocolate or mini chocolate chips to beef it up a notch. 
• The texture is slightly rubbery, most likely due to the apple sauce but still..

Today I'm heading to heaven on earth, Whole Foods, to find some organic "marshmallow topping" aka granola girl Fluff. S'mores Cupcakes: Chocolate Cake with a Graham Cracker Crust, Marshmallow topping and graham cracker crumble. Hungry yet? Enjoy!

P.S. These cupcakes have left me hankering for summer; the beach back at home, s'mores from a real fire & BBQ. For those of you who cannot wait for a bite out of a ooey-gooey-chocolatey-crumbly s'more (like myself) some of the best s'mores I've ever made were born right in the microwave. Truth. Here's how you do it....

Indoor S'more

1. Place one graham cracker sheet on a paper towel.
2. Layer Hershey's milk chocolate and one big marshmallow on top of the cracker. 
3. Top the chocolate & marshmallow with another graham cracker. 
4. Place the uncooked s'more in the microwave. 
5. Microwave the s'more on MEDHIGH for 30 seconds. 
6. Remove & Enjoy!