Bleu Dress Jes: Flavor of the Week {Homemade Hostess Cupcakes}

I've had this recipe bookmarked for months and I have no idea why it took me so long to make these, but I wish I had done it sooner! Yeah, it was a little time consuming (and I don't recommend making them while you're in the middle of cooking dinner) but worth every second! I'm not a huge chocolate fan but ~~once a month~~ every once in a while I get a little craving for some and this definitely hit the spot last night! I started out doing so well, taking photos at every step, then company arrived and I had to ~~start~~ finish dinner and the photo's at each step got lost in the mix so I hope the directions are easy enough to follow! I'm just warning you, this will use every dish in your kitchen and I think I had to clean out my mixer 3 times through out the process. Like I said before though, it's worth it!

Originally seen at Bake at 350

For the Cupcakes
1 & 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla exrtact
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow creme

**NOTE: this filling is my favorite part, I'm so happy there was some leftover that I could eat by itself! You know how people squeeze canned cheese right into their mouth, I was doing that with this filling all night....soooo good!**

For the Ganache
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Icing

1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 and 1/2 tablespoons milk
1 cups powdered sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Place paper liners in muffin tin for about 18 cupcakes.

Prepare the cupcakes:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Bring the sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, add the chocolate and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour the water/sugar mixture over top and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture has cooled slightly.

Stir the vanilla into the chocolate mixture then beat in the eggs. Finally, mix in the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (about 1/4 cup batter per cupcake) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.

(They will sink in the middle...THIS IS OK!)

For the filling: Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Beat in the marshmallow creme; set aside or refrigerate.

For the ganache: Place the chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. (I had to add my bowl to a double boiler to get all the chunks of chocolate to melt) Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.

Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium star tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill until the cupcake is heavier (if the top of the cupcake starts to break apart, IT'S FULL). (It's OK if some of the filling peeks out, it will be covered by the ganache.)

Spoon a little ganache on each cupcake and lightly spread with an offset spatula or a knife. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Using a mixer, beat the butter, vanilla, the milk and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, adding more milk if needed. Spoon into a pastry bag with a small tip (I used a #2 plain tip);pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.