Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Contributor: anibundel

Author's Notes: This is for 12 cupcakes, and is based on the recipe seen on America's test kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

CUPCAKES
1cup all purpose flour
1/2tsp baking soda
1/4tsp Salt

1/2cup boiling water
1/3cup cocoa powder
1/3cup semisweet chocolate chips
1tbsp instant espresso

3/4cup sugar
1/2cup sour cream
1/2cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract

FILLING
3tbsp water
3/4tsp unflavored gelatin
4tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/8tsp salt
1tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4cups marshmallow creme (Be sure to use marshmallow creme, not marshmallow sauce!  Otherwise the filling won't set up correctly.)

GLAZE
1/2cup semisweet chocolate chips
3tbsp unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

Cupcakes:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Grease and flour 12-cup muffin tin.
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl, set aside
• Whisk water, cocoa, chocolate chips, and espresso in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until incorporated.
• Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out with few dry crumbs attached, 18 to 22 minutes.
• Cool cupcakes in tin 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely, about one hour.

At the 30 minute mark on the cupcake cooling cycle, make the filling, and then the glaze.

Filling:

• Combine water and gelatin in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.
• Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds.
• Stir in butter, vanilla, and salt until combined. Let mixture cool until just warm to touch, about 5 minutes
• Whisk in marshmallow creme until smooth; refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer 1/3 cup marshmallow mixture to pastry bag fitted with small plain tip; reserve remaining mixture for filling cupcakes.

Glaze:

• Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 30 seconds.
• Cool glaze to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

Assembly:

• Cut a cone out from the topside center of each cupcake. Cut the point off each cone to leave a cupcake "lid." (Be careful you keep each lid with it's proper cupcake, otherwise you'll have lumpy lids that don't fit right!)
• Fill cupcakes with 1 tablespoon filling each. Replace tops.
• Frost with 2 teaspoons cooled glaze, and let sit 10 minutes.
• Using pastry bag and reserved filling, pipe curlicues (or whatever design you want, really.  The curlicues are just to scream "hostess") across glazed cupcakes.
• Serve.