My faux Hostess Cupcake...

So I've seen recipes for homemade Hostess Cupcakes all over the place and just had to give it a shot myself. My thought pattern was along the lines of, "Gee... how tough could that be?"

Just so you know, in an ill equipped kitchen, it can be really tough.

First off is the cupcake recipe itself. I love this recipe! It makes the BEST chocolate cupcakes. However, the cupcakes came out with really domed tops. They were pretty, but harder to decorate that way.

Here's the recipe, straight from allrecipe.com.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups white sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup boiling water

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Put cupcake liners in pans.
2.	In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
3.	Bake about 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Now for the filling, I hit the blogs. As a result, I made a version of 7 Minute Frosting. This is really, really tough to do with a hand mixer that doesn't reach to the stove. You have to mix it as it cooks over boiling water. So, what that meant for me is that I would heat the water to boiling, then move the pot over to where my mixer could reach and beat until it cooled, then put the water back on the stove to heat it back up and do it again. So the 7 Minute Frosting was more like 15 Minute Frosting. And it was exhausting (even with Not-So-Ex jumping in to help). But it did turn out ok.

So, here's that recipe, which I found here.

Marshmallow, or Seven Minute Frosting

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine frosting ingredients with a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and beat with a handheld electric mixer at high speed until frosting is thick and fluffy, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled. Use frosting the day it is made.

Once the filling was done, I piped it into the middle of the cupcake. The goal is around a tablespoon but I just pipe till they start to explode.

Then the frosting is a chocolate ganache. This recipe also came from allrecipes.com, but I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet cause it's just too bitter for me (and I left out the liquor believe it or not).

INGREDIENTS:

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.
2.	Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

Once they were ganached, I used the filling for the curlicues on top. I probably shoulda skipped this part cause, as those who know me can tell you, I have a really bad shake. So they weren't the prettiest. But I was ok with it.

The finished product was cool. But, next time I make them, I will wait for a really cold day and turn down the heat cause all that time spent with boiling water just killed me!