homemade hostess cupcakes.
my grandpa used to be a hostess delivery man. so their little treats (especially the chocolate cupcakes and cherry pies) have always had a special place in our hearts/stomaches. they are our go-to treats for road trips, hospital stays, and quick pick-me-ups. i have been trying to perfect the homemade hostess cupcake for several years now. here is what i have come up with:
homemade hostess cupcakes
cake
i either use my favorite chocolate cake recipe found here or a chocolate cake mix. but only the cake mix that calls for butter, NOT OIL (it makes all the difference in the world). craig actually prefers the chocolate butter mix to a cake made from scratch.
filling
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
in a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk (making sure to get all of the lumps out) and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. you want it to be quite thick. kind of like brownie batter. remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
once the flour/milk mixture is completely cooled, stir in vanilla.
while the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (you dont want any graininess left). add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat on high for several minutes. beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
once the cupcakes have cooled, inject the frosting into the center of each cupcake. use a piping bag with a #230 tip. shove the tip down pretty far down into the cupcake and fill until the frosting starts to come back up the top. (put a lot more in than you would think)
ganache topping
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
over a double boiler, heat the cream and chocolate together. stir constantly, until the chocolate is completely melted and combined with the cream. remove from heat.
dip each filled cupcake into the ganache so that the top is fully covered. let stand for a few minutes and then dip again.
hostess swirl
1/4 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
dash salt
dash vanilla
milk
mix ingredients together in a bowl until combined. add milk or more powdered sugar to get desired consistency.
pipe a line of loops (using a #2 tip)on top of the frosted cupcakes. hostess cupcakes have 7-8 loops on each cupcake!
