Description
These Homemade Hostess Cupcakes elevate a mass-produced treat into something truly special and decadent. A super moist chocolate cupcake is filled with a light marshmallow filling and covered in chocolate ganache, then frosted with a swirl of vanilla icing!
Ingredients
For the Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 cup (130g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 6 tbsp (43g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup (120ml) hot water
For the Marshmallow Filling
- 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (58g) powdered sugar
- 5 oz marshmallow creme
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 4 oz (113g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- 6 tbsp (90ml) heavy whipping cream
For the Vanilla Icing
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- Splash of vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- 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.
For the Filling
- 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 Assemble
- 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.
Notes
Makes 14-16 cupcakes.
Cupcakes are best when stored in an airtight container and eaten within 3-5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 309
- Sugar: 30.6 g
- Sodium: 180.2 mg
- Fat: 15.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.9 g
- Protein: 2.7 g
- Cholesterol: 28.2 mg