hostess cupcakes done right

when i was growing up there were tons of things that my sister and i weren't allowed to have: twinkies, hostess cupcakes, tv dinners, all manner of synthetic food. this was all for my own good, of course, but when i was ten years old i was much too young to realize that. while i didn't have an all-consuming desire for these packaged cake products, i would watch the commercials or see images of them and wonder what they tasted like. they always looked soft and dense, but not too dense; filled with some kind of delicious whipped cream.

now that i've taken charge of my own nutrition, i know that these fake cake products are actually pretty gross. the cake is too soft and doesn't taste like it should (ie, chocolate or butter), the filling is some sort of synthetic, gritty sugar parade, and the icing is more like plastic than anything else. but the idea is still a good one - it's the execution that's lacking.

so these cupcakes are everything a hostess cupcake isn't: moist cake that actually tastes like chocolate, but has enough body to stand up to being clutched in your fingers; whipped cream filling with flavor; ganache frosting that adds to the chocolate punch. i'm usually not a fan of all-cocoa chocolate cakes (as opposed to cocoa and chocolate chocolate cakes, or cocoa and oil based chocolated cakes) - this is basically the only one i'll use. it's a regular list of ingredients with a really easy set of directions, and you should feel free to halve the recipe if you don't want a million cupcakes, or feel completely grossed out at the thought of using an entire pound of butter in one cake recipe - it's essentially a doubled recipe anyway.

best of all, if you do make the full 48 cupcakes, you can eat them all: they stay good for two weeks, in an airtight container.

best chocolate cupcakes

cake
2c stout (I used guinness)
2c (1 lb) butter
1 1/2c cocoa (preferably valrhona)
4c flour
4c sugar
1T b soda
1 1/2t salt
4 eggs
1 1/3c sour cream or greek/strained yogurt

ganache
2c cream
1 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

whipped cream filling
1 1/2c cream
3-6T bailey's or other liqueur flavoring
1t unflavored gelatin
3-8T sugar

1. preheat oven to 350F. line a regular 12-cup cupcake pan with cupcake liners (you could also make 4 9" cake layers, but you'll need to grease the pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease the parchment paper to prep the pans). bring stout and butter to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. add cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. cool to room temp.

2. in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. in large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sour cream until blended well. make sure that stout-chocolate mixture isn't hot enough to cook the eggs, then pour into egg mixture in a steady stream, whisking as you pour. add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and fold batter together until completely combined - do not overmix.

3. if making cupcakes, fill each muffin cup about 2/3-3/4 full (closer to 3/4); if making cakes, divide batter among pans. bake until tester comes out clean, about 20-25 min for cupcakes and 25-30 min for cakes. cool cakes completely.

4. when cupcakes have cooled, take a sharp serrated knife and cut out the middle of each cupcake, so that you leave a large whole walnut-sized hole in each cupcake. do not cut through the bottom of the cupcake, and leave at least 1/2" margin around the edge of the cupcake top to leave enough area for ganache to adhere to. reserve the cupcake leftovers for some other use (they make a great trifle...); freeze in an airtight container up to 1 month. refrigerate the cupcakes while you're making the frosting and filling.

4. for icing: place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl, if you haven't already. bring cream to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. remove from heat and pour over chocolate. let stand 1 minute, then stir with a rubber spatula or whisk until smooth. let cool until spreadable, stirring frequently to let it cool evenly, about 1 hour.

5. while the icing cools, make the filling. pour the cream into a large bowl, then beat it to soft peaks with an electric mixer or whisk. sprinkle cream with gelatin, let stand 1 minute, then beat cream to stiff peaks. add liqueur and sugar to taste, then fill cupcakes. the gelatin will set when the cupcakes are refrigerated.

6. frost cupcakes with the ganache. you'll want to work quickly because it can really stiffen up at the end, though you can rewarm it in a double boiler over the stove (don't use the microwave). i'm not a master of technique with cupcakes, but i did a thin coat of ganache while it was still moderately runny, to cover over the cream filling, then after that cooled a bit, i did a thicker layer of frosting.

7. store the cupcakes in the refrigerator, in an airtight container. to keep the icing looking good, you really can only do 1 layer of cupcakes in the container. the cupcakes stay pretty soft, so you can eat them out of the fridge (my empirical observation). otherwise, leave them out for about 30-60 minutes to bring them to room temp. don't bring them straight into a really warm temp or the condensation will be really noticeable.

[makes 48 cupcakes]