Copycat Hostess-Style Cupcakes! These homemade recreation of the famous Hostess cupcakes are classic chocolate cupcakes filled with a light whipped cream inside. The rich chocolate glaze on top and white curly icing make these cupcakes look so good and taste even better!
The inspiration...
My husband bought me a new cookbook filled with delicious baked goods from my childhood. It is called Braveheart by Stella Parks. It is a FABULOUS cookbook with many classic American brand recipes from my childhood such as Oreos, Twinkies, and of course these Hostess cupcakes. The original recipe re-creates the packaged Hostess cupcakes by using coconut oil mixed into the batter of the cupcakes to bring in a fresh coconut flavor plus it makes it resemble those packaged treats. I made these with coconut oil but I did not enjoy the strong flavor of coconut in the cupcakes. So, I remade these with regular vegetable oil which is a neutral flavor oil and these chocolate cupcakes came out much better. This cookbook inspired me to bake fun cupcakes from my childhood. I went to a kid's birthday party and baked these cupcakes. They were a huge hit! The kids loved the light whipped cream filling in the center. It was a big surprise for the kids to find the whipped cream in the center. Almost every cupcake was opened up to eat that delicious whipped cream filling. The kids loved these cupcakes because they were fun to eat and taste DELICIOUS! These cupcakes are a perfect celebration cupcake for a birthday party or just to enjoy a tasty chocolate dessert. I always feel like chocolate could solve all my problems. Even on my busiest days at work, I grab a bite of chocolate to satisfy my chocolate cravings. These cupcakes are filled with chocolate flavor. They are the perfect cupcakes to bake for that craving for chocolate that I am sure we all get during the day. The best part is these cupcakes store well so you can have extra cupcakes for about 2-3 days stored in an air-tight container.
What makes these cupcakes taste so good?
The packaged brand of Hostess cupcakes is not very healthy because they are filled with processed ingredients. These homemade cupcakes are healthier, fresh, and taste just as good as the packaged Hostess cupcakes. They are rich in chocolate flavor from the cocoa powder in the cupcakes and topped with a delicious chocolate ganache topping. The whipped cream as a filling adds a lightness to the cupcakes and contrasts the rich cupcake chocolate flavor. These cupcakes taste so good! They are fun to make and will be very popular at a celebration. There is extra work to make these cupcakes because you have to stuff the cupcakes with whipped cream. It is well worth the extra step because the light whipped cream filling is my favorite part of this cupcake!
Copycat Hostess-Style Cupcakes
Serving size: 24 cupcakes
Total Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Source: Adapted from Braveheart cookbook by Stella Parks
Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
Chocolate Topping
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
1 tablespoon honey or corn syrup
Whipped cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 cupcake pans with baking spray or butter.
Step 2: Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a medium bowl to remove large clumps. Mix in the sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk into the dry ingredients, the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil until smooth.
Step 3: Pour the batter into 24 cupcake baking pans, filling each cupcake three-quarters of the way.
Step 4: Bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes, until they puff up and a toothpick comes out smooth. Let the cupcakes cool before icing.
Step 5: While the cupcakes are baking, make the chocolate topping. Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a stainless steel pot over medium heat. Remove the heavy cream from the heat and pour it over the chocolate chunks with the corn syrup in a small bowl. Whisk the mixture until smooth and then set aside to cool for about 15 minutes. The mixture should thicken up as it cools. Mix the chocolate ganache until smooth before using it to ice the cupcakes.
Step 6: In a large mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, make the whipped cream by whipping together the heavy cream and powdered sugar on high. It will take about 5-10 minutes for the whipped cream to form. It will be ready when it is thick and looks like whipped cream consistency.
Step 7: Assemble the cupcakes by making a small hole at the top of the cupcakes. To do this, take a paring knife to cut a cone shape hole at the top of each cupcake. You want to make the cone large enough to stuff the cupcakes with a good amount of icing. Keep the cone part of the cupcakes to use for later.
Step 8: Take a wooden spoon or the back of a spoon to compress the cake layer to the bottom of each cavity. This will make extra room for the whipped cream filling. Be careful to not make a whole through the whole cupcake.
Step 9: Take a piping bag or use a zip lock bag to make a piping bag and transfer the whipped cream into the piping bag. Cut the corner tip of the piping bag, and stuff each cupcake hole with the whipped cream. Then, take cut the top piece of each cone to cover the hole.
Step 10: Ice each cupcake with the chocolate icing using an offset spatula or smooth knife. Make sure to cover the hole at the top of the cupcake completely. Then refrigerate the cupcakes for a few minutes until it firms up. Next, take the remaining whipped cream to pipe the classic hostess white swirl look. I practiced this on parchment paper before adding the whipped cream on top of each cupcake. The whipped cream is very light and it can be hard to make swirls. An alternative to this is to use vanilla icing that will be slightly thicker and easy to form swirls. Serve and enjoy! Store the cupcakes in an air-tight container for up to 2 days at room temperature.