Less Mess Fauxstess Cupcakes!

I was so excited to find a recipe for "faux" hostess cupcakes...until I read the reviews. Every blogger I could find pretty much promised that this recipe would require every bowl in my kitchen. And maybe a few of my neighbor's bowls too...every.one. I do dishes. Like all day long guys. Family of seven. It's practically my job. So, as much as I love baking and trying new recipes, "every bowl" was definitely a deal breaker.

Enter lightbulb moment! I LOVE using cake-mixes to create shortcut recipes, and this was the perfect opportunity. I had some left-over cake batter and realiazed that it was actually a flavor very close to the hostess cupcake. So, here's what I did:

Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
I used "Triple Chocolate Fudge" cake mix by Betty Crocker - follow package directions
(Or refer to link above for the actual cake recipe)

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

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

Icing:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 & 1/2 - 2 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

Cupcakes:
Pre-heat oven, mix cake batter, scoop into muffin tins and bake as directed (one mix usually makes about 24 cupcakes, I like to use an icecream scoop for consistency).

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.

Ganache:
Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until
smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.

Spoon the filling into a pastry bag - I like to use disposable decorating bags and tip #230 (check Hobby Lobby or wilton.com) - but a round tip #12 or a medium star tip also work fine. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill. (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. (I decided to dip mine instead). Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Using a mixer, beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, the milk and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, adding more milk if needed. Spoon into a disposable decorating bag, trim the end of bag with scissors to create a small round opening (no tip needed) pipe cursive e's onto the cupcakes (or write sweet words) to decorate.





And, just for clarification, here's all the dishes that were dirtied for the making of this recipe - not including the actual cake mix dishes, because it was refridgerated left-over batter...but it would have consisted of an additional mixing bowl, paddle beater, spatula and liquid measuring cup :)

I think I can handle that...if you want to be brave and attempt the original batter, maybe you can make a deal with your hubby - he does dishes, you do cupcakes...worth a try ;)

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Homemade Valentines - Chocolate Peanut butter Hearts

I wanted to make something for my sweetie for valentine's day, and remembered I had seen these cute chocolate peanutbutter hearts at Sunday Baker and Mommy's Kitchen. Thanks to coupons, I scored some free Peanut Butter, so I knew I had to try this recipe.
OMG. There are no words. You know those Chocolate Peanut butter eggs and trees that the stores have during the holidays? They taste like those. Only better. Much better, 'cause they're homemade, and fresh, and creamy, and you get to decide what goes into them!
Warning: Don't make these when the house is quiet and the kiddos are at school. You may save yourself some sanity, but at what cost to your waistline? Make 'em when the kids are at home, and running in circles, and you're too busy trying to keep the monkeys off the ceiling to bother tasting more than one...don't say I didn't warn you :)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Hearts:

1 regular-sized jar of peanut butter
1 stick of butter (or margarine)-softened
3-5 c. of powdered sugar
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels
3 Tbsp. shortening

In a large mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and stick of butter. Stir until very creamy.



Slowly start to stir in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Eventually you can just use your hands to start mixing it in. You want the mixture to be the consistency of play-doh. It should not stick to your hand at all and you should be able to easily form a ball with it (I divided into about 4 medium-sized balls because it was easier to work with). Once it's to this point, you won't need to add anymore powdered sugar (don't do what I did - I did 4 cups and it was too stiff and crumbly...if this happens, just slightly wet your hands and knead that water into the dough to encourage all the crumbles to stick). Also a good idea to use food prep gloves (wal-greens, $4 for 80 disposable), to keep off the peanutbutter grease.
Sprinkle a clean surface with a dusting of powdered sugar (I roll in between parchment paper sheets, less stick and less mess). Flatten some of the peanut butter dough on this surface, and slowly roll it to about 1/2" thickness (it should be very easy to roll. If not, add more powdered sugar). With a 1-1/2" heart cookie-cutter, cut out the heart shapes:



Place the hearts on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Refridgerate for at least an hour or freeze for 30 minutes (I stuck mine in the freezer overnight because I didn't have time to do them all in one sitting).



In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate morsels with the shortening for 1 minute. Stir frequently and the chocolate will start to melt more. Reheat for another 15 seconds, stirring again afterwards. Continue to do this until the chocolate is completely smooth and the shortening is melted (should not take more than 1 1/2 to 2 minutes). If the chocolate seems too thick and fudgey, add a bit more shortening. You want it almost at a runny consistency.



Remove hearts from the fridge. Using a large fork, dip the hearts in the chocolate one at a time. With the covered heart sitting on the top of the fork, bang the fork against the side of the dish removing any excess chocolate. Place the heart on the wax paper to set.



I like to re-use some of the left-over chocolate to drizzle across the finished hearts, or melt a contrasting color chocolate and drizzle. You can have fun dressing them up with different sprinkles, sugars, and colors/flavors of chocolate, or even use chunky peanut butter. I put the finished hearts in cupcake liners, but there are some SUPER CUTE packaging ideas at the Sunday Baker post!




This recipe made 66 for me, but yield really depends on how thick you roll the filling, (I aimed for the suggested 1/2 inch, but it wasn't perfect or exact), what size heart cutter you use (I went with the suggested 1 1/2 inch heart), and how many you eat in the process...just sayin'.

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