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S’mores cupcakes are a must-make before summer’s end. With a graham cracker base, an easy, tender chocolate cake, and perfect marshmallow frosting, they are everything you love about s’mores in cupcake form!
It’s been years now, friends. Between you and me, if you’ve been hanging out here, you are well aware of the fact that I have a slight obsession with all things s’mores.
From giant s’mores cookies to s’mores dip, I just can’t get enough of all that melty chocolate goodness. Seriously, I’m obsessed.
And you know how much I also love a good cupcake! So obviously I had to combine the two to make these totally awesome s’mores cupcakes.
With the end of summer coming up, these are pretty much a must. Kiss summer goodbye and welcome the new school year with a batch of these cupcakes!
WHAT ARE S’MORES CUPCAKES?
The first time I ever made s’mores cupcakes, I was headed to a girls’ night with our old neighbors and was totally anxious about it. So I decided that I would just dazzle with s’mores cupcakes.
Turns out, I didn’t need to worry at all – and they totally loved the cupcakes, too.
When I first made these, I used s’mores oreos as the base of the cupcake. But those oreos are a lot harder to find now and they’ve changed them a bit, so I decided to tweak the recipe for a more straightforward “graham cracker” element to these cupcakes.
I ended up adapting my graham cracker crust recipe and putting it under a devil’s food doctored cake mix. That took care of the graham cracker and the chocolate part of the s’mores.
For the marshmallow, I topped the cupcakes off with silky marshmallow frosting, toasted it up with a kitchen torch, and added a square of chocolate for an added touch.
The final s’mores cupcakes are decadent and so delicious, but also totally easy to make.
HOW TO MAKE S’MORES CUPCAKES
These cupcakes combine some shortcut elements with some from-scratch elements for a cupcake that is totally doable no matter your baking experience.
The cupcakes themselves are especially easy to make, so they’re the perfect thing for kids to help with!
Making this recipe
The first thing you need to make is the graham cracker base.
Mix graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and sugar, then divide between 24 lined cupcake wells. Press the mixture down firmly – if you have a cocktail muddler, that works really well for this.
Next, mix together the chocolate cupcake batter. Combine a devil’s food cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and water in a large mixing bowl. Beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer.
Divide the batter over the graham cracker base. You’ll use about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
Bake the cupcakes for about 18-22 minutes. The cupcakes are done when the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, you can make a batch of my marshmallow frosting and pipe it onto the tops.
Because the frosting does use the stove, this is one step that an adult will definitely need to help with if you have kiddos working on this recipe!
To finish off the cupcakes, use a butane kitchen torch to toast the frosting – again, another step an adult will need to do if you have young helpers in the kitchen.
Top each cupcake off with a square of milk chocolate and voila! You have adorable, delicious s’mores cupcakes just begging to be eaten.
MAKE-AHEAD AND STORAGE TIPS
Because of the egg whites in the marshmallow frosting, you will want to store these s’mores cupcakes in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
If you want to prep them ahead of time, you could make the chocolate cupcakes and store them unfrosted at room temperature for up to 3 days. You could also freeze them for up to 2 months – for more info, check out my post on how to freeze cake.
You can make the marshmallow frosting 1-2 days ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an airtight container.
When you’re ready to serve, just frost the cupcakes, toast the marshmallow frosting, and add the chocolate square!
FAQS
Can you substitute yogurt for the sour cream?
Absolutely. If you don’t have sour cream on hand or don’t like to bake with it, you can substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream in the cake batter.
Can you use homemade cake mix?
Of course! If you don’t like using store-bought cake mix, my friend Megan has a homemade devil’s food cake mix that you could use here instead.
Is there a substitute for the homemade marshmallow frosting?
I really love pairing the shortcut chocolate cupcakes with the homemade marshmallow frosting. The frosting is a lot easier than you’d think and it totally fools everyone into thinking you made all of the cupcakes from scratch!
But if you are running short on time or energy, you could top the cupcakes with some store-bought marshmallow creme. Simply spread it onto the cupcakes and toast it with a kitchen torch for that campfire flair.
Can I toast the marshmallow frosting using the broiler?
You MUST use a kitchen torch to toast the frosting. I know it’s tempting to pop the cupcakes under the broiler to toast them all at once, but the broiler will get too hot and will melt the frosting.
Avoid the mess and stick with the kitchen torch!
Can you freeze s’mores cupcakes?
Since the marshmallow frosting doesn’t fully harden when frozen, I wouldn’t recommend freezing the frosted cupcakes.
Freeze the cupcakes and the frosting separately, then thaw and decorate when you’re ready to serve.
S’mores Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
For the graham cracker base:
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 5 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
For the cupcakes:
- 1 package devil’s food cake mix 15.25 ounces
- 1 package instant chocolate pudding mix 3.4 ounces
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup warm water
For the topping:
- 1 batch marshmallow frosting
- 2 full size Hershey Bars broken into small squares
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cupcake pans (24 wells) with paper liners. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Divide between liners and press firmly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and water. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined.
- Using a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons), distribute the batter between 24 cupcake wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched.
- Allow cupcakes to cool inside cupcake pans for about 10 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes from cupcake pans and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare the marshmallow frosting.
- Pipe or spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
- If desired, use a kitchen torch to lightly brown the marshmallow frosting and top with a milk chocolate square.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these with the recommended marshmallow frosting for a party – they were a big hit! I was secretly happy to “have” to bring three or four back home, because I wanted to have leftovers.
I was able to find Pillsbury Fluffy Frost Vanilla Marshmallow frosting that worked great!
These cupcakes are delicious. I couldn’t wait to eat them and even without icing they are scrumptious and fluffy! Thank you for the recipe!
Can I use another icing, don’t really like marshmallows
Of course, you can use whatever frosting you like best. I suggested the marshmallow frosting since these are s’mores-inspired cupcakes, but you could use a simple buttercream if you prefer (just don’t try to toast it). Happy baking!
Jamie
I was planning to make the smore cupcakes for my baby shower. will the frosting with egg whites hold up for two days?
Hello! The frosting would not hold up for that long; it will be best served the same day. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
Wow, these look so scrumptious! Definitely would give it a try when my s’mores cravings come. My family doesn’t particularly enjoy very sweet desserts. If I cut the sugar by half, would it matter to the recipe?
Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Hi, Athena! Try reducing the sugar in the frosting and taste it to see if it’s to your liking before you frost the cupcakes. Add a bit more in if you like. I hope you enjoy them!
Hi!
I just love your recipes,. I use them all the time. I’m making these for a party and I was going to make them on Friday for a saturday party. Could I make the cupcake part Fri and do the frosting on sat? Also I happen to have 2 hershey bars in the fridge. If I use them from the fridge will they get that gray color and sweat? Should I just buy 2 new ones?
Elissa-
That is exactly what I would recommend doing re: the cupcake prep. I’m not sure re: the chilled candy bars, so I’d probably recommend picking up a couple of new ones just in case.
-Jamie
Can the frosting be piped on the cupcakes and stay out for about 2 days. I have to make 200 for an event and wanted to know if it’s safe
Hi, Emilie! I’ve not made these in advance, but my reaction is that keeping them out for a few days might not be the best idea, especially if the come into contact with any type of humidity whatsoever. I hope your event goes well! Let me know if I can help with anything else.
I made these for my 9th Annual All Girls Camping Trip and they were a huge hit! I changed it a bit… I used your Heath Bar Cupcake cake recipe (my fav!) and couldn’t find the cookies so I just made a graham cracker crust. Thanks for all of your great recipes!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Zoe! Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie