Knock Off Hostess Cupcakes

Todays post is brought to you by the letters P and C, and the word PITA. The P today is for patience. The C is for commitment. If you don't have patience or a commitment, I say move on, find another recipe. And for those who don't know what PITA is, it means Pain In The A--. Corey asked me to try to find a recipe for a Hostess style cupcake. I promised I would make some when I found a recipe. I looked around and this one seemed like it wouldn't be too bad. I knew anything with a filling, frosting, then decoration was gonna take a little time and patience. I should have known things were gonna get bad when the recipe says makes 20 cupcakes and I got 24 with some batter left. I'm thinking maybe she had a bigger sized muffin tin. Then they expanded more then I expected, so major overflow on the sides of the cups.

Then filling time. This was the first time I have filled a dessert. It seemed pretty easy. But the filling didn't seem as stiff as I expected. The ganache was simple, no problems there. Then came the icing for the decoration. It seemed fine at first but then when I was ready for it, it had slight separation. I put a little food coloring in it, just as an added touch, and mixed it back together. Of course after I put a little swirl it looks separated again. As you can see I lost my patience and just slopped some swirls on.

I tried one and the flavor was good, but I had to eat it with a fork.


Knock Off Hostess Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes
1 & 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla exrtact
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow creme

For the Ganache
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Icing
1 stick unsalted butter
1 & 1/2 - 2 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla


Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Place paper liners in muffin tin for about 20 cupcakes.

Prepare the cupcakes: 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.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Using a mixer, beat the eggs into the chocolate, 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.

(They will sink in the middle...they'll puff up when filled later)

For 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 or refrigerate.

For 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 star tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill until the cupcake is heavier (do not overfill). (It's OK if some of the filling peeks out, it will be covered by the ganache.)

Spoon a little ganache on each cupcake and lightly spread with an offset spatula or a knife. 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, adding more milk if needed. Spoon into a pastry bag with a small tip (I used a #2 plain tip); pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.

Store in the refrigerator.

**I found this recipe online at one of the many blogs I read. I didn't have it written on the card so can't give a link.