Hostess Cupcakes Copycat Food

HOMEMADE HOSTESS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F (148°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
• Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together to combine. Set aside.
• Whisk together the egg, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla in another medium-sized bowl.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
• Add the water to the batter and mix until well combined. The batter will be very thin.
• Fill the cupcake liners a little more than half way and bake for 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
• Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
• When the cupcakes are cool, make the filling. Add the butter to a mixer bowl and beat until smooth.
• Add about half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth. It may take a few minutes to incorporate, but it will.
• Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Add the marshmallow creme and stir until well combined.
• To fill the cupcakes, cut out the centers of the cupcakes. You can use a cupcake corer or a knife.
• Fill the centers of the cupcakes with the filling and replace the core of the cupcake that you removed on top of the filling. I cut a little bit of the core off before placing it back on top, since there's a filling there now and you don't need all of that cake core.
• To make the chocolate ganache topping, add the chocolate chips to a medium sized bowl.
• Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
• Spread the chocolate ganache onto the top of each cupcake, all the way to the edges. If it starts to cool and get a bit firm, heat it back up for 5-10 seconds, until spreadable again.
• To make the icing for decorating on top, beat the butter in a mixer bowl until smooth.
• Add the powdered sugar and mix until evenly combined. It'll be lumpy and dry.
• Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until everything comes together and smooths out.
• Pipe the loop design on top of each cupcake using a small round tip. I used Wilton tip 3.
• Refrigerate the cupcakes until ready to serve. Serve cool but not cold.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH CREAM FILLING

Steps:

• For the cakes: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the interior of a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a mixer, beat the egg yolks with the oil, .5 cup of the sugar and 2 tablespoons water. With the mixer at low speed, add the cake flour mixture and beat until smooth; set aside.
• In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Mix .25 of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites until no streaks remain. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling them halfway. Bake until risen and lightly firm, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
• For the filling: Using a mixer, beat together the butter, confectioners' sugar and Marshmallow Fluff. Add cream and beat just until smooth. Fit a pastry bag with a round .25-inch tip, and fill bag with all but .25 cup of the filling. (Put the extra .25 cup in a pastry bag fitted with a .125-inch round tip, or in a small Ziplock bag, and reserve.) Plunge the tip into the side of a cupcake, filling just until you feel the cupcake swell. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
• For the frosting: Heat the cream just until bubbles begin to form on the edges of the pan, add the chocolate and remove from heat. Stir until melted and smooth. Add the butter, stirring to combine. Dip the top of a cupcake into the frosting, flip and set aside. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Allow frosting to set, about 20 minutes.
• With the small pastry bag of filling, or snipping a tiny corner off the Ziplock bag, pipe a tiny squiggle across the top of each cupcake. Place in an airtight container until serving.

HOSTESS CUPCAKES COPYCAT

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Place paper liners in two 12-cup muffin pans.
• Prepare the cupcakes: Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Bring the sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Pour into a large bowl; add the chocolate and butter and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture has cooled slightly. Stir in the vanilla. Using a mixer, beat in the eggs, then mix in the dry ingredients.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (about 1/4 cup batter per cupcake) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 25 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Beat in the marshmallow creme; set aside.
• Prepare the ganache: Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.
• Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill until the cupcake is heavier (do not overfill). Dip the cupcake tops in the ganache. Chill for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Using a mixer, beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, the milk and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spoon into a pastry bag with a small tip; pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.

HOSTESS CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes - Position a rack in the center and preheat oven to 325°F Lightly butter twenty-four 1-3/4" x 3/4" (1-oz) muffin of biscuit cups.
• Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Mix in the sugar. Make a well in the center. Whisk in the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Blend until smooth. (The batter will be very thin.).
• Spoon the batter into the prepared cups. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean, about 12 to 14 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pans and finish cooling on the rack.
• To Make the filling - In a heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream to a boil. Add the white chocolate and remove from heat. Let the mixture stand briefly; stir until smooth. Transfer to a metal bowl and refrigerate until chilled thoroughly, stirring occasionally. (To speed the process, set the metal bowl over a larger bowl of ice water; stir the chocolate mixture until cool.) With an electric mixer, beat the white chocolate mixture just until fluffy, about 1 minute.
• Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 3/8-inch plain tip. Insert the pastry tip 1/4-inch into the bottom of each cupcake and squeeze a little filling into each one.
• To Make the glaze - Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Whisk in the boiling water and blend until smooth. One at a time, dip the top of each cupcake into the warm glaze. Turn the glazed cupcakes right side up and set them on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Refrigerate the cupcakes for 5 minutes to set the glaze.
• To Make the icing - In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Stir in the cream of tartar. Gradually mix in enough of the confectioner's sugar to make a fairly stiff and smooth icing. Fill a small paper cone with the icing and cut a 1/16-inch opening at the tip. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator. Pipe a design (a squiggle, spiral, etc.) on the top of each cupcake. Let the design harden and then cover and refrigerate the cupcakes. Serve at room temperature. The cupcakes can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance, or frozen up to 2 weeks.