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Ingredients
    Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 1 Cup All-purpose flour
  • 3⁄4 Cup C&H® Baker’s Sugar™
  • 1⁄3 Cup Natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp Baking soda
  • 1⁄2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1⁄4 tsp salt
  • 1⁄4 Cup Vegetable oil
  • 1 Large egg, room temperature
  • 1⁄2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
  • 1⁄2 Cup Buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1⁄2 Cup Hot coffee or hot water
    Chocolate Buttercream
  • 1 Cup Unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 Cups C&H® Powdered Sugar
  • 1⁄2 Cup Natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 Tbsp Whole milk, room temperature
  • 2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
  • 1⁄4 tsp salt
    Marshmallow Creme Filling
  • 1 Large egg white
  • 1⁄4 Cup C&H® Baker’s Sugar™
  • 1⁄8 tsp Cream of tartar
  • 1⁄4 tsp Pure vanilla extract
    Toppings
  • 1⁄2 Cup Mini marshmallows
  • 1⁄3 Cup Chopped almonds
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Instructions
Prep Time: 20 minutes / Cook Time: 15 minutes / Yields: 14 cupcakes
Make the Chocolate Cupcakes
Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 177°C and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.

Step 2

Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl to fully combine them.

Step 3

Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk until combined. Add the hot coffee (or hot water) in a slow stream. Continue whisking until fully combined and smooth. The batter will be very thin.

Step 4

Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake liners (no more than 2⁄3 full) and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before filling and frosting.

Make the Chocolate Buttercream
Step 1

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on high speed until creamy and light in color, about five minutes.

Step 2

Scrape down the bowl and paddle and turn the mixer to low, then add the C&H® powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, vanilla extract, and salt. Continue mixing on low speed until fully combined and uniform, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.

Make the Marshmallow Creme Filling
Step 1

Fill a medium saucepan with an inch or two of water and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk together the egg white, C&H® Baker’s Sugar™, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl, then place it on top of the simmering saucepan. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.

Step 2

Whisk the egg white mixture continuously until the sugar and cream of tartar are dissolved, about 3 minutes. It will thin out and be very frothy on top.

Step 3

Remove the mixture from the heat and add it to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (you can use a hand mixer for this part as well). Add the vanilla, then beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks glossy with stiff peaks. To test it, dip your whisk attachment into the meringue and make sure the peak holds.

Fill & Decorate Cupcakes
Step 1

Use a sharp paring knife to cut a circle into the center of each cooled cupcake that will become the space for the filling. The piece you remove will be sort of cone-shaped.

Step 2

Fill a piping bag with the marshmallow creme filling and fill the empty space in each cupcake. Slice off the pointy end of the cone-shaped piece of cupcake you removed, and gently press the round piece back on top of the filling.

Step 3

Prepare another piping bag by fitting it with your preferred piping tip and fill it with chocolate buttercream. Pipe a swirl onto each cupcake, then sprinkle on the mini marshmallows and almond pieces.

Make Ahead Tips:
  1. The chocolate cupcakes can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, they can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
  2. The chocolate buttercream recipe can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix with your stand mixer on low speed to bring it back to frosting consistency.
  3. The marshmallow creme filling can be made one day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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Recipe by

Whitney DePaoli

@sugarandsparrowco

Whitney DePaoli is the writer, photographer, recipe developer, and cake artist behind Sugar & Sparrow, and the author of Anyone Can Cake. Self-taught every step of the way, she turned her passion for cake decorating into a custom cake business before focusing on teaching others through her website and social media. Her work has been showcased in numerous print and online publications, including The Food Network, BuzzFeed Tasty, and American Cake Decorating Magazine.