It could well be a factor of the type of blogs that I ready, or websites that I visit, but according to my version of the Internet, EVERYONE is making hostess cupcakes. So when I put out the call out to my FB people, asking if the rumours of deliciousness were true, I was somewhat disappointed to hear that many of my American, or part-time/sometime Americans, had no real idea what I was talking about.
Some had heard of Hostess cupcakes (I think it's a brand, so it should probably get a caps), but most had not tried one, or hadn't eaten one since childhood...
So what to do? They look delicious (chocolate cake filled with creamy deliciousness, topped with ganache and swirly white icing). I decided to take the plunge.
Phase one: bake the cake. It's a pretty easy, but light, chocolate cake. They rise nicely, but sink in the middle as they cool. That's ok, since we're filling them with a piping bag.
Phase two: make a strange gooey, custardy filling. The recipe I was using was, obviously, American, and it called for the use of 'marshmallow cream'. It is a huge coincident that I spotted some in the shop as I was thinking of making these cakes. What an odd thing. It's sticky but incredibly light - a whole tub weighs less than 100grams.
That mixture is then placed into a piping bag, and squeezed into the centre of the cakes until the top becomes almost flat.
Phase three: make the ganache, and cover the cakes. This covers up the hole you made putting the filling in.
Phase four: make icing and pipe into swirls on top of the cakes. It was a cold day when I was making these, and my icing was pretty thick, so I couldn't manage the 7 swirls that are apparently required on a real Hostess Cupcake. In fact, I could hardly manage any swirls that looked any good, so I made it up as I went along.
Would I make them again? Maybe. They were pretty tasty, but a lot of effort for a cupcake. I think these might be special occasion cakes, or by request only. A good novelty cake, but probably only for people who've either heard of, or tried the real thing.
I'd be interested to try the original, boxed version. I'm sure they are one of those foods that last forever in the cupboard, unlike the homemade ones that are filled with real cream and eggs.
Credit where credit's due: these are from my favourite cookie blog, Bake at 350.
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