Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Hostess cupcakes. Most can't picture their childhood without them. Being a Philadelphian, we were a TastyKake family, but had Hostess cupcakes on occasion.

Many people were upset when the company announced the end of the Hostess product line. Metropoulos bought the Twinkie, Ding Dong and Cupcakes brands from Hostess, but there's been no announcement made yet as to when the pastries will be available on stores shelves again.

So, in the meantime, comfort yourself with a homemade version of the childhood treat.

Yes, they are involved, with four different components: devil's food cake cupcakes, marshmallow cream filling, a ganache coating and a squiggle of icing on top.

But these cupcakes are worth the effort. The devil's food cake is moist and chocolatey, and the ganache is rich and creamy.

The marshmallow cream filling is sweet, providing contrast to the rich ganache coating. And the little squiggle of icing? Just makes you smile.

Hey, wait! Does that squiggle say "baby"? Okay, my icing was really thick. Just trust me, it does.

Yes, that is the other change coming to The Redhead Baker household late this October! We are expecting another foodie-in-training. I am currently almost 11 weeks along, so first-trimester morning sickness is why the blog has been so quiet lately. I've been living on pasta and ginger ale.

So, please, make this recipe, and enjoy a cupcake for me, okay? I miss cupcakes.

Recipe: Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Cupcake recipe from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
8 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup coffee, at room temperature
¼ cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cream filling:

2 tablespoons butter, soft
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 ¼ cups marshmallow fluff

For the ganache coating:

4 ½ ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup heavy cream

For the icing:

½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and creamy. Drop the speed to medium and gradually add the sugar. Once the sugar is added, beat another 5 minutes. Drop the speed to low, and beat in the eggs one at a time.
In a measuring cup, mix together the coffee, milk and vanilla, vanilla.
Add one third of the dry ingredients to the batter, then beat on medium until incorporated. Add half of the liquid ingredients, and beat on medium until incorporated. Repeat with another one third of the dry ingredients, then the remaining half of the liquids, and finally the last third of the dry ingredients.
Portion the batter into the paper liners, filling each ¾ full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes clean from center. Cool the cupcakes in the pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely.
Make the cream filling: Mix together the marshmallow fluff, confectioners' sugar and butter together in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Transfer to a pastry bag with a wide tip, or a heavy-duty plastic storage bag with one corner snipped. When the cupcakes are completely cool, stick the tip down into the center of each cupcake and squeeze out 1-2 tablespoons of filling. If using a plastic storage bag, cut a cone out of each cupcake with a paring knife, then squeeze the filling into the hole.
Make the ganache: Place the chocolate chips in a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan, and set over medium-high heat. Bring it just to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over top of the chocolate chips. Allow to sit for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Dip the top of each cupcake into the ganache, and swirl around to coat evenly. Set on a wire rack to set for 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners' sugar with a teaspoon of milk, adding more if needed to make a thick icing. Drizzle over top or use a pastry bag with a small plain tip (no bigger than a #6) to decorate the top. Store cupcakes in the refrigerator.

Number of servings (yield): 12 cupcakes