This recipe for Homemade Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes is so incredibly delicious...you won't even miss the originals! They are rich chocolate cupcakes, filled with a fluffy vanilla buttercream, topped with a chocolate fudge frosting and decorated with more vanilla frosting. Best yet, they're gluten free, nut free, eggless and can easily be vegan!
In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the butter or vegan baking stick until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.
With the mixer on very low speed, slowly add in the confectioners' sugar.
Add in the vanilla and beat until combined.
While the mixer is on, slowly add in the water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water.
Once all the ingredients are combined, turn the mixer to medium high speed and really whip that frosting. I would do this for about 3 minutes or until the frosting is super soft, fluffy and creamy. Set aside.
Make the Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a regular size cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large measuring cup, measure out ½ cup of milk. Add in ½ tablespoon of the white vinegar and stir. Let sit 5-10 minutes and stir again. The milk will appear chunky; that's normal.
In a large bowl whisk together the gluten free flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powders, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt.
In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the cornstarch and water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add in the cornstarch water mixture, the homemade buttermilk, the warm water, vegetable oil and vanilla.Whisk until smooth and combined. If the batter appears very thin and liquidy, let it sit 10 minutes; it will start to thicken.
Use an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake tins ¾ way to the top. Smooth the tops with a small knife. You should have 12 regular size cupcake tins filled.
Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 24 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back at you when carefully touched or when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Let the cupcakes cool almost completely in the pan before trying to remove them.
Make the Chocolate Frosting
In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the butter or vegan baking stick until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.
With the mixer on very low speed, slowly add in the confectioners' sugar.
With the mixer on low speed still, add in the cocoa powders.
Add in the vanilla and beat until combined.
While the mixer is on, slowly add in the water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water.
Assemble the Cupcakes
Once the cupcakes have cooled, we are going to make the holes for the cream filling.If you have piping bags with tips, you can use that to make the holes.If not, using a clean thumb, simply push down in the center of the cupcakes but not all the way to the bottom.
Fill the holes in the center of the cupcakes with the vanilla buttercream, all the way to the top.Easiest way to do this is to fill a piping bag with a tip with the vanilla frosting and pipe it into the hole. If you don’t have a piping bag, fill a zip top bag with the vanilla frosting and snip a small piece of the corner off.
Once the cupcakes are filled, If you have piping bags, pipe the chocolate frosting on top of each cupcake.If you don’t have piping bags, put a thin layer of chocolate frosting on top of each cupcake.
If you frosted the cupcakes by hand, pop the cupcakes in the fridge for 15 minutes to let that thin layer harden. This is your crumb layer so that when you frost the tops of the cupcakes, the vanilla frosting doesn’t ooze out and get all over the place. If you have a piping bag, you don’t need the crumb layer or this step.
Use an icing spatula to smooth the chocolate frosting and make a flat top to pipe the vanilla swirl.
Immediately after finishing frosting the cupcakes with the chocolate frosting, pipe the vanilla swirl on top of the cupcakes. I like to use a wilton size 4 tip.
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Notes
Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks and non dairy milk.All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon packed AP flour (126 grams plus 2 tablespoons).Storing: Store the cupcakes in an airtight container or wrapped in foil at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for 30 days. If desired, warm each cupcake in the microwave for 5-10 seconds prior to eating. Be careful not to burn your mouth.Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.