Campfire Cupcake

makes 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes

• 10 oz flour
• 2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.
   
2. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
   
3. Add egg, buttermilk and vegetable oil to the dry ingredients and mix well.
   
4. Add vanilla to boiling water and add to mixture. Mix well.
   
5. Pour batter into cupcake pan, filling a little more than half way, and bake at 300 degrees for about 19-21 minutes.
   
6. When done, remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Then remove from cupcake tin and allow to cool.

Decorations

• 20 red cinnamon hard candy disks
• 20 yellow butterscotch hard candy disks
• 60 pretzel sticks, broken in half
• 48 miniature marshmallows
• 24 toothpicks

1. Line sheet tray with foil; spray foil with cooking spray. Place unwrapped cinnamon and butterscotch candies in freezer plastic bag; with rolling pin, finely crush candies. Pour crushed candies into pan; spread in thin layer. Bake at 350 F 8 minutes. Cool completely and then break into flame shapes.
   
2. Lightly roast the marshmallows with a torch.

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting

• 7 oz marshmallow creme
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon lemon-yellow gel food color

1. Spoon marshmallow creme into large microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on High 15 to 20 seconds to soften. Add butter; beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar until smooth. Tint frosting with yellow food color. Frost cupcakes.
   
2. On each cupcake, arrange 5 pretzel pieces to look like logs of campfire. Insert candy pieces in tops of cupcakes around pretzels to look like flames.
   
3. Place 2 marshmallows on one end of each toothpick. Insert other end of toothpick into each cupcake.