Copycat Hostess Cupcakes Recipe

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Have you ever had a snack that reminded you of your childhood? We didn’t have a lot of packaged foods in my house growing up. In fact, we rarely had any snacks other than tortilla chips and salsa. True story! Don’t get me wrong; I wasn’t a sheltered child. Hardly! Even if my mom didn’t buy those types of snacks, I had them at my friends houses. And that’s how Hostess Cupcakes became one of my favorite childhood ‘special’ snacks. So making this Copycat Hostess Cupcakes Recipe was a bit of nostalgia with a dash of delicious! And you absolutely must try them for yourself.

Why I Made This Copycat Recipe

Don’t get me wrong — there is nothing wrong with the OG Hostess packaged cupcakes. NOTHING! But if you’ve never had the chance to recreate a favorite recipe, you’re missing out. Sure, the packaged stuff has something we can’t recreate (a little staleness that is, IMO, part of its appeal). But this copycat recipe has homemade ganache!

What you’ll need for this recipe

First things first — do not be intimidated by the amount of ingredients in this recipe. Sure, it seems like a lot. But it is truly easier than it looks.

Here are the ingredients you’ll want to have on-hand:

• flour
• sugar
• cocoa powder
• baking soda
• salt
• 1 egg
• milk
• vegetable oil
• vanilla extract
• water
• butter
• powdered sugar
• marshmallow creme
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• heavy whipping cream

Be sure to check the recipe below for the the exact amounts needed. Some of these ingredients are used in several stages of the recipe. But the only special tool you may need is a cupcake corer, which you can find here. If you don’t have a cupcake corer, you can use a small teaspoon to scoop out the top of the cupcake. Additionally, if you do not have a piping bag, you can use a sandwich bag and cut the corner for that step of the process.

Copycat Hostess Cupcakes Recipe

Yield: 18

Copycat Hostess Cupcakes

Print

This copycat recipe is equal parts nostalgia and delicious!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tablespoon of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ cup of vegetable oil
• ¾ teaspoon of vanilla
• ½ cup of hot water

Marshmallow Cream Filling Ingredients

• ¼ cup of butter, softened
• ½ cup of powdered sugar
• 5 ounces of marshmallow creme

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients

• 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream

Vanilla Icing Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon of unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup of powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions

Ingredients

1. Set oven to 300°F and ready a cupcake pan with liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine and mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Then set aside.
   
3. In a separate bowl, mix egg, milk, oil, sugar and vanilla.
   
4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones until fully combined.
   
5. Add water and mix well until the batter is thin.
6. Fill the cupcake liners a little more than halfway and bake for 18-23 mins (or until a toothpick comes out with only a few wet crumbs).
   
7. Cool for 2 minutes in the pan and then move to a wire rack to fully cool.
   
8. Start the marshmallow cream in a separate bowl: Beat ¼ cup of butter until smooth. Then add half of powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
9. Add the remaining sugar and mix until smooth.
10. Blend in the marshmallow creme.
    
11. Once the cupcakes have cooled, cut the cupcake centers using a cupcake corer or small spoon.
    
12. Add the marshmallow cream to a piping bag and add about a tablespoon of filling to the cupcake center then replace top part of the cupcake.
    
    
13. To make the ganache: Add chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream to a small bowl, microwave for 30 seconds, then let sit for 1 minute before mixing together to form the ganache frosting.
    
    
14. Dip the top of the cupcakes into the ganache once, letting it drip, and then dip and drip for a second time to coat the top of the cupcake. Set the cupcake aside to allow the ganache to firm.
    
15. While the ganache firms, make vanilla icing in a separate bowl: Beat 2 tablespoons of butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl and mix until lumpy.
16. Add the milk and vanilla to the butter/powdered sugar mixture. Mix until smooth and firm.
    
17. Add the frosting to a piping bag with a small hole.
    
18. Practice piping loops onto an extra cupcake or onto a flat surface.Pipe icing loops on top of cupcakes. Refrigerate before serving.
19. ENJOY!
    

If you’re looking for more incredible copycat recipes, check out this kid-approved Copycat McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets recipe and this Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Sweet Cream recipe.

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