Ok my fellow friends of the 80s. Yes…we had bangs with ungodly amounts of hairspray, jellies, leg warmers, and Walkmans.  And of course every good 80s mom put a Hostess Cupcake or Twinkie in their kids’ lunches.

So today I bring you Cupcake #3 of my 52 cupcake challenge- the Homemade Hostess Cupcake courtesy of Bridget at Bake at 350, a site that I visit regularly for her recipes and her gorgeous cookie decorating. You can find the detailed recipe from her site here.

I mentioned these to my husband over the July 4th holiday and he immediately requested that they be next in line in my cupcake challenge.  Thanks Bridget- you helped me make my husband a happy man.

First step- The Cake. My daughter’s favorite part. And don’t worry, they are supposed to dip in the middle. It doesn’t matter anyway because that creamy filling is going to plump them right up. Make sure you let the cakes cool completely so you don’t make a gooey mess. Yes, in my impatience I tried one. Not pretty.

Second step- The Filling. I used a medium star decorating tip and inserted it straight into the cupcake and put in some filling. You can actually see the cupcake plump up a bit. Having this extra bit of filling is no problem as it will be covered by the yummy chocolate ganache. I thought I was going to have to remove the centers before filling like I did with the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes, but that step is not necessary with these.

Third step- The Ganache. This is where I didn’t do as my mother told me- “Always follow the directions.” I had to make the ganache twice.  With the first batch, I noticed it wasn’t glossy or liquidy like the recipe stated. So I had Ben do the taste test and he said “It needs some sweetness and chocolate. It doesn’t taste like much.” Then I thought, “Well Ben, you were stuck in the birth canal for too long. What do you know? What could be wrong with a combination of chocolate, butter, and vanilla?” Well a lot actually if you use unsweetened chocolate instead of what the recipe calls for- bittersweet chocolate.

So I discovered my error but only had semi-sweet chocolate at home so I improvised and used that on my second batch. It turned out great on the second try and after spooning the ganache on top I used a small off-set spatula to spread it onto the cake.

Fourth step- The Icing. The icing was easy to make and I put it into a pastry bag with a #2 tip. I then tried to make the cute little curly q’s like Hostess makes. I kept telling myself, “they are homemade, they don’t have to look perfect,” but it was more difficult than I thought. I tried writing my name in cursive but then Jeff said “Please let me eat one. I’ll just eat the ugly one.” It was the one with my name on it. It’s alright. My cupcake self-esteem will survive. If you have OCD tendencies like I sometimes have, let them go because I’m here to tell you, no one cares but you.

Overall, they take a bit of time and a lot of dishes. And with a husband who has impeccable taste, I knew they would be time consuming. But so do most recipes that I fall in love with. Also, if you have joined me on Project Health, DON’T EAT THESE! I possibly gained weight by just making them by osmosis, or is that diffusion? I’m not sure- I’m too old to remember my science class lessons.

The cake is very similar to the Hostess brand but the filling and ganache are so much better according to my faithful and getting-fatter taste testers. But when I cut it open to see the inside, I smiled.

If you are new to my site, you can read my story here.This is one of my challenges to bake 52 different types of cupcakes in one year. Happy eating.