Last weekend was devoted to planting seven new fruit trees and my niece’s ninth birthday, so I my post for last week is late. As always, I was looking to bake something new for the birthday party to wow everyone. I’d set aside several variations of copy-cat of Hostess Cupcake recipes but this one caught my eye and I wasn’t disappointed.
Instead of using the cupcake recipe in the original recipe, I used Duncan Hines Devil’s Food cake mix. The mix instructions say that the mix yields 24 cupcakes but I made them large, so I only ended up with 14.
These cupcakes got great reviews. My husband’s only complaint is that he wanted a thicker layer of frosting. Enjoy.
Filling the cupcake by cutting the top out of it.
Put the top back on.
Frost.
Ready to eat.
Fauxtess Cupcakes
Yield: 14 cupcakes Cook Time: 23 – 28 minutes
Ingredients
Cupcake:
- Prepare your favorite devil’s food cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
Filling:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup Marshmallow Fluff
- 1 1/2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoons heavy cream
Frosting (next time I will probably double this):
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 oz. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
Step 2: Prepare the cake mix as instructed on the package.
Step 3: Fill the cupcake pan liners to 3/4 from the top. Bake as directed on the package for cupcakes. I had to bake longer for about an extra 5 minutes because the cupcakes were larger than indicated in the instructions. When a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean the cupcakes are done. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes in pan before removing to cool completely.
Step 4: For the filling, in a medium bowl beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, Marshmallow Fluff and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the heavy cream with a mixer (handheld is fine) until fluffy. If you have a pastry bag and a 1/4 inch tip, you can fill the pastry bag with all but 1/2 cup of the filling and use the 1/4 inch round tip to pipe the filling into the middle of cupcake by inserting the 1/4 tip 1/2 inch deep into the top of each cupcake and fill. If you don’t have a 1/4 inch round tip as I don’t, spoon all but 1/2 cup of the filling into a Ziploc bag and cut a half inch off one of the corners. Prepare the cupcakes by inserting a sharp knife into the top of a cupcake at a 45 degree angle about 1/4 inch from the edge and cut a circle. You should have a small cone cut out of the top of the cupcake. Gently turn the cone on its side and, about 1/4 inch from the top of the cone, cut the excess bottom portion of the cone. Pipe some of the filling from the Ziploc bag and place the top of the cupcake over the filling. You or your favorite taste tester can eat the cupcake middles. Note that I needed to use about another teaspoon of the 1/2 cup of marshmallow mixture for the filling.
Step 5: For the piping, beat the remaining 1 teaspoon of cream into the remaining 1/2 cup of marshmallow mixture and cover until ready to use.
Step 6: For the frosting, in a small saucepan heat cream over medium heat until steaming while stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. My chocolate didn’t melt completely, so I put the pan back on the burner that was still warm to melt completely. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and dip the top of each cupcake to thoroughly coat. Spoon the remaining marshmallow mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain tip and pipe curlicues across the center of each cupcake. Alternatively you can use another Ziploc bag and cut a 1/4 inch off one of the corners and pipe curlicues across the center of each cupcake. Refrigerate the cupcakes for 10 minutes or more to set the frosting.
Enjoy!!!
Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats (originally from Food and Wine).
Bakewell Junction 