Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Ok so Martha Stewart I am not.  Many of you will disagree that I am so OCD that I am worse...I think I hear the Nutrition Nazi seconding that motion.  Anyway we had a little get-together at the new house last weekend and I decided to make Homemade Hostess Cupcakes.  All I can say is YUM!

I found the idea over at the Bake @ 350 blog.  Bridget has some amazing recipes, not to mention that she rocks at cookie decorating.  One of these days I am going to get around to trying it out, but probably not anytime soon with the holidays on the horizon.

So here they are all hanging out waiting for some one to test one.  Luckily NN's inner fat kid was running around Friday night.

This is actually the second time I have made these so I thought I would try to pipe words on the cupcakes this time.

It looks delicious, don't kid yourself.  And I can tell you that it tastes a million times better than it looks.

The original squiggly versus my new piping words.

For someone special's birthday.  I hear that he did not share these.  I guess he figured it was his birthday so he would do as he pleased.  At least he did not hide them like NN's mom does to his step-dad.

So before I post the recipe I will say that these are definitely not a quick dessert to make.  I actually made the cupcakes on Thursday and then finished the other 3 steps on Friday.  For the original recipe you can visit Bridget's blog by clicking here.  I added a few shortcuts to my recipe because I did not have time to make everything from scratch.  I also felt like the box mix version of the cupcakes was pretty close the homemade versions.  Also for the icings and fillings the measurements are simply starting points.  Many times I will add more of something to get the taste the way I like it.  Good Luck and Enjoy!!

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes
1 Box of Triple Chocolate Cake Mix

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

Cupcakes: Mix and bake cupcakes as directed on the package. I used a little less than 1/4 cup per cupcake.

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. Beat in the marshmallow creme.  Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium star tip.  A trick to filling the bag is to put the bag into a large cup with the top of the bag falling over the sides, and then fill it.  It also gives you a place to set it in between cupcakes.

For the ganache: Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel or glass 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.

Insert the tip of the filling bag into the center of each cupcake top; fill until you can see the white starting to poke out, but don't overfill because the cupcake will start to fall apart. Don't worry, though, the excess filling 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 in the fridge.

White top 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 to pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.

Store in the refrigerator.