S'mores Pie

The end of summer is sneaking up on me. I've been spending my days working as a camp counselor. It's been a fast summer. The time flies by rather quickly when working with nearly 70 elementary school aged children; there's never a dull moment with dozens of questions, flurry, and distractions thrown at you all at once. Every night I come home starving, exhausted, and in need of a dose of peace and quiet.

Even so, I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world.

The final week of camp begins on Monday. I've grown attached to these kids and it will be hard to say goodbye. Many of them have spent most of their summer with me, too. I'll miss them when camp ends—the quiet ones, the silly ones, the troublemakers... Well, maybe not the troublemakers as much (though I suppose we do spend the most time together).

Throughout the summer, I've learned the importance of using Silly Bandz when making a fashion statement. I've been taught that Taylor Swift has song lyrics that can truly speak to the heartache and woes of 8 year old girls ("Love Story is like the story of my life."). 7 year olds can go through a mid-life crisis ("Oh, I think I need to rethink my life"), most girls are hesitant to proclaim their love for Justin Bieber until someone else does first, and it's perfectly reasonable to get into a fist fight over Pokemon cards.

Also, it is possible to lose your underwear and not notice.

I still haven't figured that one out.

Yet, the one thing that holds true about camp, no matter your age or where you are, is that s'mores will always be the number one food to make and eat. After consuming more than my fair share of s'mores over the last few months (I'll have a hard time facing marshmallows again after this summer), I decided I wanted a less messy, more "grown-up" way to enjoy one of my favorite summer treats. Now, tell me, what could be more perfect than S'mores Pie?

I originally made this pie for the sweet finale of a dinner party. Not only was it a hit, but the entire pie was demolished in only a few minutes. My sister and I were both disappointed it disappeared before we got seconds (and you will wish for seconds). When I made it again, I suggested she bring a couple friends over to enjoy the pie. She shot down that idea faster than the first pie vanished—"Share this pie? Are you joking? There's no way I'm going to share this pie."

And so we didn't share the pie. We were selfish and ate it all by ourselves. I don't even feel the least bit guilty.

The moral of the story is that some food is too good to share. This S'more Pie is one of them.

Have you ever found a food so delicious you became greedy and absolutely refused to share?

This S'mores Pie takes the classic s'more and turns it into something so much more than just a pie—it's a graham cracker, chocolate, marshmallow revelation. I actually had tears come to my eyes when I took my first bite. A buttery graham cracker crust is filled with a thick chocolate custard and topped with a layer of toasted marshmallows before being drizzled in warm chocolate sauce. The marshmallow to chocolate layer is just right—you won't overdose on sugar before you finish your slice.

Now, since I know you are going to want to make this, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The pie is easiest to cut when chilled, but tastes best when warmed. While the s'mores pie is good when cold, it would be a real shame to eat it this way. When warmed, the pie takes on a new texture and flavor dimension. The chocolate custard holds its shape but becomes melted when it reaches your tongue. When combined with the warm toasted marshmallow, you'll understand why tears came to my eyes. Ten seconds in the microwave is all it takes to turn this pie from good to absolutely mouthwateringly I-never-want-to-swallow-because-this-tastes-so-unbelievably-heavenly amazing.

Truth.

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"Please, Sir, Can I Have S'more?" Cupcakes

I entered these s'more cupcakes into the Cupcake Camp Montreal baking competition and was a finalist for Amateur Design. I spent weeks working on these cupcakes to make them just right, changing around ingredients, varying the method of the recipe, mixing up the design. Five well thought out batches later, I came up with these. The perfect flavors of a s'more in a cupcake form. And it tastes just as good as it looks. Believe me.
I often find baking can be quite the adventure. Like when you want to a make a large batch of meringue using 16 eggs and it won't stiffen because you got the teeeeniest bit of egg yolk into the whites. You thought you fished it all out with a spoon, but when you give up on your hopeless meringue after 20 minutes of beating it on high, you realized that maybe you hadn't. So the 16 egg whites go down the drain. And then, after making it right, you suddenly have 32 egg yolks sitting in your refrigerator (what on earth am I going to do with 32 egg yolks?!).
Or sometimes a squirrel steals your spatula. That happens too. Like when you set a pot of chocolate on the balcony to cool down for just a minute and a squirrel comes by, plucks up your spatula, and walks off whistling a little tune. Well, maybe not whistling, but he did look oh so smug. Even left a shiny little chocolate trail, squirrely footprints and all. I hope he realizes that spatula won't keep him warm at night.
He came back later to taunt me. He brought a nice girl squirrel over to lick up his fancy chocolate mess. I imagine this was quite the hot date. I just hope I don't have little squirrels coming back to steal more of my utensils in the spring. Spatula thief.
This s'mores cupcake features a graham cracker cupcake absolutely stuffed with a marshmallow creme, covered with a decadent dark chocolate, and topped with a toasted marshmallow meringue. All of the necessary and proper components are present (and are in the correct quantities!). The cupcake is light and, since its made of graham crackers, it tastes of graham cracker just like it should. The marshmallow filling is dense, sticky, and wonderful. I ate some of the dark chocolate straight from the bowl. And the marshmallow meringue honestly tastes like campfire marshmallows. Even if you burn it, it still tastes delicious (just try not to start a fire with these though).
Although these cupcakes are involved, they are well worth the effort and can bring campfire s'mores back into the fall season (or any season for that matter).

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