For Clay's birthday a few weeks ago Andrea made the awesome Oreo cake and I made the kiddie cupcakes. I wanted to make something similar to the old Hostess Cupcakes (but yummier). Plus, I had never filled a cupcake and wanted to try that, too. It was a success.For the cake I used one of my Grandma's recipes. I filled the cupcakes with a mixture of marshmallow cream and whipped cream, and I frosted them with a chocolate ganache.
I made these last week with a cake mix and they weren't as awesome, but still good.
Cake:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a saucepan combine and heat to a low boil:
2 sticks butter
4T cocoa
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Add to:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
Then add:
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
For the cake you bake it 25 mins at 350. I think I baked the cupcakes about 18 minutes.
Ganache (estimates):
3/4 cup cream*
8 oz chocolate (I used semisweet, but you could use milk or dark)
1 teaspoon corn syrup
1/2 - 1 Tablespoon butter
Put your chocolate, corn syrup, and butter in a bowl. Heat the cream until almost boiling and pour on chocolate. After a few minutes, stir to combine. It will be smooth and beautiful. Let it sit around for a while to thicken up. You could make this while the cupcakes are cooking and it should be good by the time you needed to frost them.
*I have used half and half, and even whole milk before... you know cream will taste better, though.
Filling:
Use about 1/2 cup of whipping cream to make 1 cup whipped cream. I didn't sweeten it at all. Add to about 1/2 a container of marshmallow cream and mix. You want about half whipped cream and half marshmallow cream. Put this mixture in a ziplock bag and cut the corner of the bag off to make a mock pastry bag.
When the cupcakes are cooled, cut little cones out of the top, much like carving a jack-o-lantern. Cut off the point of the cone, so you are left with a little cake lid. This will leave space for you to fill the cupcakes with cream. You can also dig a little more cupcake out if you want more cream. I did. Fill the cupcakes with the cream mixture and put the tops back on. Stick in the fridge for a while and it will help to cement the lid to the cream.
Ice the cupcakes with a knife. I tried dipping them and it didn't work.
If you want to make the white swirls on the top, mix 1/2 - 1 T milk with 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Get a good consistency - not too thin, and swirl away. You could use a decorators tip or just cut a tiny corner off a bag. The tip will look better, though.
If you have any left after a day you should store them in the fridge. If you're feeling a little naughty, put a cupcake in the microwave for exactly 8 seconds. The creamy center will melt a little and so will the ganache. When you bite in to the chocolaty goodness it will blow you away. You'll feel like you need to go confess you sins, but you don't. It's just a cupcake.
