Red Velvet S'more Cupcakes

Cupcakes: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

To the large bowl of a stand mixer (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), add buttermilk, oil, egg and egg yolk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. With mixer on low speed, slowly beat in flour mixture until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full; sprinkle tops of cupcakes with remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely on rack.

Frosting: In the large bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high about 45 seconds, until frothy. Add vanilla and 1 Tbsp of the sugar. Continue beating on high, adding remaining sugar 1 Tbsp at a time, until the whites form stiff peaks. Spoon 1/4 cup meringue onto each cupcake and swirl with a small metal spatula into high peaks. If you want to go all-out, use a small handheld butane torch to lightly brown the frosting (aim the torch at just the tops, so the liners won’t burn). Serve or store in a container in refrigerator up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.