{"id":93,"date":"2008-03-27T19:54:27","date_gmt":"2008-03-28T01:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/2008\/03\/27\/smurtle-cupcakes\/"},"modified":"2008-03-28T19:17:21","modified_gmt":"2008-03-29T01:17:21","slug":"smurtle-cupcakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/2008\/03\/27\/smurtle-cupcakes\/","title":{"rendered":"S&#8217;murtle Cupcakes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/slush.wordpress.com\/cupcake-hero\/\">Cupcake Hero<\/a> theme for March was Marshmallow.\u00c2\u00a0 Last month, for the liquor theme, I made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/22\/strawberry-margarita-cupcakes\/\">Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes<\/a>, but felt like they were kind of boring.\u00c2\u00a0 This month, I spent hours pouring over recipes and cupcake descriptions, agonizing over the &#8220;perfect&#8221; recipe, one that would really stand out in what I figured would be a sea of s&#8217;mores and rocky road cupcakes.\u00c2\u00a0 My entry, the S&#8217;murtle Cupcake, was inspired by the S&#8217;murtle Cupcake I found online on the menu at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jillyscupcakebar.com\/Cupcakes.html\">Jilly&#8217;s Cupcake Bar<\/a> in St. Louis.\u00c2\u00a0 I&#8217;m in Houston, so I&#8217;ve never heard of nor visited this bakery, but the cupcakes look amazing!\u00c2\u00a0 Anybody out there ever visited this bakery and seen or tasted the S&#8217;murtle Cupcake?\u00c2\u00a0 I&#8217;d love to hear about it!\u00c2\u00a0 My S&#8217;murtle Cupcake consists of a c<span style=\"line-height: 14px\" class=\"style_3\">hocolate devil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s food cake stuffed with marshmallow fluff and topped with chocolate ganache, drizzled with dulce de leche, praline pecans, a toasted marshmallow pretzel stick and a chocolate dipped graham cracker.<\/span><span class=\"style_4\">\u00c2\u00a0 Whew!\u00c2\u00a0 That made me tired just typing it out!\u00c2\u00a0 Clearly, this cupcake is not for the faint of heart-in terms of baking or eating it because there is a lot going on. It&#8217;s pretty gimmicky, but a real show-stopper in my opinion.\u00c2\u00a0 My taste-testers gobbled them down, so apparently the cupcakes are tasty too.\u00c2\u00a0 I prepared the various parts of this cupcake over several days, so I&#8217;m just squeaking in under the deadline!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/smurtle-cupcakes.jpg\" title=\"smurtle-cupcakes.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/smurtle-cupcakes.jpg\" alt=\"smurtle-cupcakes.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><u><span class=\"style_4\">Devil&#8217;s Food Cupcake<\/span><\/u><\/p>\n<p>from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/500-Cupcakes-Cupcake-Compendium-Youll\/dp\/1569065977\/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1206668420&amp;sr=8-1\">500 Cupcakes<\/a>, by Fergal Connolloy<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 cups self-rising flour<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp. baking powder<\/li>\n<li>1 cup packed light brown sugar<\/li>\n<li>1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened<\/li>\n<li>2 separated eggs<\/li>\n<li>3 1\/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted<\/li>\n<li>1 tsp. vanilla extract<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 cup milk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"style_4\">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.\u00c2\u00a0 Place 18 paper baking cups into muffin pans.\u00c2\u00a0 Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside.\u00c2\u00a0 In a medium bowl, cream the sugar and buter.\u00c2\u00a0 Add the egg yolks and beat well.\u00c2\u00a0 Add the melted chocolate and vanilla, mixing well.\u00c2\u00a0 Add the flour and milk alternately, beating well with each addition.\u00c2\u00a0 Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, and gently fold them into the batter.\u00c2\u00a0 Spoon the batter into the cups.\u00c2\u00a0 Bake fro 20 minutes.\u00c2\u00a0 Remove pans from teh oven and cool for 5 minutes.\u00c2\u00a0 Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><u>Marshmallow Filling<\/u><\/p>\n<p>Transfer 1 jar of Marshmallow Fluff to piping bag.\u00c2\u00a0 Once cupcakes have cooled, cut a cone shaped piece out of the center of each cupcake and discard (or eat!).\u00c2\u00a0 Using the piping bag, fill the hole you&#8217;ve created with marshmallow fluff until level with top of cupcake (approximately 1 tbsp. of marshmallow per cupcake).<\/p>\n<p><u>Chocolate Ganache<\/u><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 1\/2 sticks unsalted butter<\/li>\n<li>10 ounces good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped<\/li>\n<li>3 tablespoons light corn syrup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan.\u00c2\u00a0 Remove from heat, add chocolate and corn syrup, and whisk until chocolate is melted.\u00c2\u00a0 Refrigerate ganache in bowl, stirring occasionally, until thickened and spreadable, about 1 hour.<\/p>\n<p>Frost each cupcake, making the top flat (or even with a little indention), to allow for the dulce de leche.<\/p>\n<p><u><span class=\"style_4\">Dulce de Leche<\/span><\/u><\/p>\n<p>from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Pastry-Queen-Royally-Recipes-Countrys\/dp\/1580085628\/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1206668485&amp;sr=1-1\">The Pastry Queen<\/a>, by Rebecca Rather<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remove the paper wrapper from the can of sweetened condensed milk.\u00c2\u00a0 Use a can opener to make two small punctures in the top of the can on opposite sides.\u00c2\u00a0 Set the can of milk in a medium saucepan, puncture side up.\u00c2\u00a0 Fill the saucepan with water to reach two-thirds of the way up the sides of the can.\u00c2\u00a0 Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat.\u00c2\u00a0 Decrease the heat until the water simmers and simmer about 1 hour.\u00c2\u00a0 (<strong>Picky Apple Note: <\/strong>It usually takes around 2 hours, not 1).\u00c2\u00a0 Check the sauce pan periodically, adding water to ensure that the level does not drop below halfway.\u00c2\u00a0 A bit of milk may seep out of the small holes in the can.\u00c2\u00a0 Cook until the milk pooled on top of the can has turned a deep golden brown.\u00c2\u00a0 (You may have heard that boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk unopened is a shortcut.\u00c2\u00a0 <em>Do not attempt this<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 The milk expands when heated and may erupt with explosive results.)<\/p>\n<p>Allow dulce de leche to cool.\u00c2\u00a0 Spoon about a tablespoon on top of each cupcake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ingred\"><span class=\"style_4\"><u>Praline Pecans<\/u>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ingred\">adapted from <a href=\"http:\/\/find.myrecipes.com\/recipes\/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&amp;recipe_id=1133867\">this Southern Living Recipe <\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\">3\/4 <\/core:ifnotequal>cups\u00c2\u00a0granulated sugar<core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\"><\/core:ifnotequal><\/li>\n<li><core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\">1\/3 <\/core:ifnotequal>cup\u00c2\u00a0firmly packed brown sugar\u00c2\u00a0<core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\"><\/core:ifnotequal><\/li>\n<li><core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\">1\/4 <\/core:ifnotequal>cup\u00c2\u00a0butter\u00c2\u00a0<core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\"><\/core:ifnotequal><\/li>\n<li><core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\">1\/4 <\/core:ifnotequal>cup\u00c2\u00a0milk\u00c2\u00a0<core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\"><\/core:ifnotequal><\/li>\n<li><core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\">1 <\/core:ifnotequal>tablespoons\u00c2\u00a0corn syrup\u00c2\u00a0<core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\"><\/core:ifnotequal><\/li>\n<li><core:ifnotequal object1=\"&lt;%= amount.trim() %&gt; object2=\">2 1\/2 <\/core:ifnotequal>cups\u00c2\u00a0toasted pecan halves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Stir together first 5 ingredients in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, 7 to 8 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 234\u00c2\u00b0.\u00c2\u00a0 Remove from heat, and vigorously stir in pecans. Spoon pecan mixture onto wax paper, spreading in an even layer. Let stand 20 minutes or until firm. Break praline-coated pecans apart into pieces.<\/p>\n<p>Chop praline pecan pieces, and sprinkle each cupcake with about a tablespoon of chopped praline pecans.<\/p>\n<p><!-- end class=\"rcpdetail\" --> \t\t        \t\t \t\t<!-- PREPARATION  --><u>Toasted Marshmallow Pretzel Sticks<\/u><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pretzel sticks (I used &#8220;Old Fashioned Dipping Style&#8221; pretzel sticks)<\/li>\n<li>Mini marshmallow<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Toast mini marshmallows on a cookie sheet under the broiler until browned.\u00c2\u00a0 Working quickly, put a toasted marshmallow or two on the end of each pretzel stick.\u00c2\u00a0 Insert bare end of pretzel stick into cupcake.\u00c2\u00a0 (Depending on the length of your pretzel sticks, you may only need half a stick).<br \/>\n<u>Chocolate Dipped Graham Crackers<\/u><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00c2\u00a0at least 3 whole graham crackers<\/li>\n<li>2 cups of dipping chocolate (or chocolate chips with a little bit of butter)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Break each graham cracker into 4 pieces.\u00c2\u00a0 Heat chocolate until runny.\u00c2\u00a0 Dip each graham cracker in chocolate, and set on a rack to cool and harden.\u00c2\u00a0 Once the chocolate has cooled and hardened, insert a graham cracker into each cupcake.<br \/>\n<span class=\"style_4\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"style_4\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/2008\/03\/27\/smurtle-cupcakes\/\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cupcake Hero theme for March was Marshmallow.\u00c2\u00a0 Last month, for the liquor theme, I made Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes, but felt like they were kind of boring.\u00c2\u00a0 This month, I spent hours pouring over recipes and cupcake descriptions, agonizing over the &#8220;perfect&#8221; recipe, one that would really stand out in what I figured would be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,43,4,20,31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chocolate","category-cupcake-hero","category-cupcakes","category-dessert","category-dulce-de-leche","category-pecans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thepickyapple.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}