Homemade Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes

These homemade Hostess chocolate cupcakes have a rich devil's food cake, a fluffy vanilla cream filling and a chocolate ganache topping. Made within 30 minutes, these copycat cupcakes are dairy free and with the signature icing swirl.

Homemade Hostess chocolate cupcakes have a soft chocolate cake texture, a sweet frosting filling, and the squiggle on top - just like the commercial snack cake. The chocolate cupcake has a fluffy chocolate cake texture, and the frosting cupcake filling tastes just as sweet as the iconic version's processed marshmallow whipped cream filling.

This Hostess chocolate cupcake recipe is healthier than the store-bought version because just like my ring ding cakes copycat recipe, and like all my cupcake recipes , including my vegan vanilla cupcakes with applesauce they contain no eggs or oil. I used the same thinking for my other healthier copycat desserts including my milano cookies and Girl Scout copycat samoa cookies.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love These
• Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Step by Step Instructions
• Recipe Tips
• FAQS
• Other Copycat Recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love These

Quick & easy to make. These one-bowl homemade hostess chocolate cupcakes with cream filling are easy to make. Even the chocolate ganache top is simple, only two ingredients, just mix and dip the cooled cupcakes.

Healthier, fluffy cake texture. Thanks to no oil and milk mixed with lemon juice, the cake texture is light and fluffy. And this hostess cupcake copycat is dairy-free, vegan and gluten-free so everyone can enjoy them.

Tastes better than the original. The original Hostess cupcake is delicious, but using high-quality cocoa as well as other healthier ingredients, makes this homemade version taste better than the classic treat. And this homemade Hostess cupcake doesn't have the preservatives or additives found in the famous snack cake.

Ingredients

Flour. Use all purpose flour, or a gluten-free baking flour. You can also use oat flour which is naturally gluten free and provides extra fiber, protein and vitamins. 

Unsweetened Cocoa. The chocolate flavor depends heavily on the cocoa you choose. Use dutch process cocoa if you can for this recipe. That's because it has a sweeter, more mellow flavor and is the quintessential dark color of the classic Hostess cupcake.

Sugar. Organic cane sugar tastes much better than refined white sugar, but either is fine.

Applesauce & Pumpkin Puree. I use canned puree and unsweetened applesauce. Both replace eggs and oil. Do not mistake pumpkin puree for pumpkin pie filling - the latter has added ingredients such as sugar.

Leaveners: baking powder and baking soda.

Milk & Lemon Juice: Creates the acidic environment baking soda needs to create a lighter texture.

Other Essentials: salt and quality vanilla extract.

The chocolate top is simply melted chocolate chips and milk.

The inside filling and the white squiggle are based on a white frosting.

See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions

Instead of all purpose flour, you can use oat flour, just use more of it, 2 cups instead of 1 ½ cups of flour.

Instead of coconut milk in the chocolate ganache top, use any milk, just be sure it warm before adding to the chocolate.

Instead of pumpkin puree, you can use canned sweet potato or butternut squash or more applesauce.

Step by Step Instructions

For more detail, visit the complete recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.

Make the Cupcakes

1. Add the lemon juice to the milk five minutes before to allow it to curdle. It reacts with the baking soda to create lift. Line a cupcake pans with parchment paper liners.

2. In a bowl, mix up wet ingredients, including sugar.

3. Add in the dry ingredients. Mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer.

PRO-tip: If the cupcakes dome high above the paper, just press them flat as soon as they come out of the oven.

Add the Cream Filling & Make Squiggle Frosting

Add the Chocolate Ganache Topping

1.Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Heat the milk and pour onto the melted chips and stir.

2. Dip the cupcakes tops into the chocolate. If your cupcakes have not reached above the cupcake paper, simply spoon the ganache on top. Set cupcakes aside to set.

3. Once the chocolate is set, pipe on the frosting in a white squiggle.

Recipe Tips

1. Add the batter using only 1 ½ scoops from a medium-sized ice cream scoop. This will fill the cupcake well about ⅔rds so it is the perfect height for that flat top you need to make the perfect hostess cupcake. Sticking to this pattern, you will end up with 16-18 cupcakes.

2. Remember to use pumpkin puree from a can, and not pumpkin pie filling. Sweet potato puree is also fine.

3. Be sure to fill these cupcakes with the cream center after they have been baked and cooled completely otherwise the cream will melt and soak into the cupcake.

4. How to pipe the Hostess cupcake signature swirl. Insert a writing tip into a frosting bag. I use Wilton #3 or #5. Fill the bag with white frosting and angle it over a cupcake that has dried chocolate top. Gently press and pipe the loops from one side to the other, down the center.

FAQS

Other Copycat Recipes

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