A Graham Flour Substitute So Simple Your Head Will Spin!

Anyone who has had my S'mores cupcakes will tell you that all of the components are so close to the real thing that your taste buds won't be able to tell the difference between my cupcake and the campfire classic.  My S'mores cupcakes consist of three parts: a honey graham cake, a rich and smooth chocolate ganache, and a marshmallow buttercream to top it all off.  In my opinion the honey graham taste of the cake is one of the most important things.  If you can't get that flavor across right off the bat the whole idea of the S'more pretty much goes down the drain.

Most recipes call for graham flour, which is processed differently than other flours.  This is how many bakers achieve that graham cracker taste.  So what's the big deal?  Well, first of all graham flour isn't very easy to come across.  Some grocers will carry the graham flour in the heath food section.  Others don't carry it at all because it does not move on the shelf as much as your other flours do.  Graham flour can be purchased online, which means you'll have to plan ahead and allow time for shipping before you can use it.  Second, a package of graham flour is going to cost you. A 24 oz. bag of off brand, all purpose flour will cost you between $1.50 and $3.00.  Brands like King Arthur Flour will cost you between $3.00 and $5.00 for all purpose flour.  One 24 oz. (1.5 lb.) bag of graham flour will cost you between $7.00 and $10.00.  Personally I'm not too keen on spending that much on a bag of flour, especially since I bake for friends and family free of charge.  But if it's the only way to get that great graham cracker taste I'll do it.

-JUST KIDDING-

There's a better, more cost effective way to this and it is going to blow your mind.  All you need is:

1 package of graham crackers
Measuring cups
Food processor

See where I'm going with this?  The graham crackers can be ground down to a fine powder in the food processor and used just like you would graham flour.  You can use whichever brand you like to suit your flavor type or budget.  I can honestly tell you, I mainly use Aldi's graham crackers because they are dirt cheap and taste just as good as Honey Maid.  Sometimes I even use cinnamon flavored graham crackers.  There's something about the flavor of the graham cracker right out of the package that you just can't duplicate using honey and graham flour, or adding cinnamon into the mix.  One sleeve of graham crackers will yield about 3/4 of a cup of graham powder, which means you can do something else with the left over graham crackers instead of worrying about using up the remaining graham flour you would have purchased before it spoiled.  I've used this method in my recipe from day one and swear by it.  My cupcakes always come out moist and rise fully.

So remember: If you're in a pinch or are pinching your pennies, you can make your own graham flour substitute using a few simple steps.

Bake on!