Hostess Cupcake Recipe

If you grew up sneaking Hostess Cupcakes into your lunchbox, you’re going to love this homemade version. These rich chocolate cupcakes are filled with a fluffy marshmallow frosting, coated in silky chocolate ganache, and finished with the signature white swirls on top. They taste just like the classic—but even better.

This is actually a recipe I went back and retested because I knew I could make it even easier without sacrificing that nostalgic flavor. I made a few simple changes that streamlined the recipe while making the cupcakes even more delicious.

One of the biggest updates was the filling. I used to make a homemade marshmallow fluff with egg whites into the center of each cupcake, but I found it could be a little messy and time consuming.

Instead, I created a light marshmallow frosting made with marshmallow fluff. It has the same nostalgic flavor, pipes beautifully into the cupcakes, and doubles as the signature icing on top.

I also changed the filling method. Rather than cutting out the center of every cupcake, I now simply pipe the filling straight into the middle. It’s much quicker, less fussy, and leaves the cupcake looking perfectly intact. If you prefer the traditional cone method, I’ve included those instructions too.

If you’re anything like me, recreating childhood favorites at home is half the fun. These Hostess Cupcakes are just one of my favorite copycat recipes. Be sure to check out my Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies, Chocolate Fudge Rounds, and Cosmic Brownies too—they’re all inspired by the nostalgic treats we grew up with, but made completely from scratch. 

Why This Recipe Works

• A homemade marshmallow frosting does double duty. Instead of using plain marshmallow creme, I created a fluffy marshmallow frosting made with marshmallow fluff. It fills the cupcakes beautifully and also pipes the classic white swirls on top, saving you an extra step.
• Oil, sour cream, and hot coffee create an ultra-moist chocolate cupcake. The oil keeps the cupcakes soft for days, the sour cream adds richness, and the hot coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor without making the cupcakes taste like coffee.
• Straight piping makes filling the cupcakes easier than ever. Instead of coring every cupcake, you can simply pipe the marshmallow filling directly into the center. It’s faster, less messy, and gives you the perfect amount of filling every time. If you enjoy the traditional cone method, that option works great too.

Ingredients Needed

For the Chocolate Cupcakes

• Granulated sugar
• All-purpose flour: Spoon and level the flour or weigh it for the most accurate results.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: Natural or Dutch-process cocoa both work well.
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Egg: Bring it to room temperature so it mixes evenly into the batter. Read How To Get Room Temperature Eggs Fast
• Milk: Whole milk is best.
• Sour cream: Full-fat sour cream gives the cupcakes their soft, moist crumb.
• Oil: Use a neutral-tasting oil such as vegetable oil or canola oil.
• Vanilla extract
• Hot coffee: Don’t skip it! The coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor without making the cupcakes taste like coffee. You can also stir instant espresso powder or instant coffee into hot water.

For the Marshmallow Filling

• Unsalted butter: Make sure it’s softened to room temperature. You can also use salted butter.
• Powdered sugar – If have run out, make your own! Read How To Make Powdered Sugar
• Marshmallow fluff – You can use store-bought or homemade. Check out my Marshmallow Fluff Recipe
• Heavy cream
• Vanilla extract
• Salt

For the Chocolate Ganache

• Dark or semi-sweet chocolate: Use chopped chocolate for the smoothest ganache, but chocolate chips work too.
• Heavy cream: Heat until steaming, not boiling.

How To Make These Homemade Hostess Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180^oC) and line two muffin pans with cupcake liners.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a second large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sour cream, oil, and vanilla until smooth.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula just until the last streak of flour disappears. Overmixing can create dense cupcakes, so stop mixing as soon as everything is incorporated.

Stir in the hot coffee. The batter will look very thin, but that’s exactly what you want. The thin batter helps create an incredibly moist cupcake with a tender crumb.

Fill each cupcake liner about three-quarters full. Bake for 18–22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking for even rising. The cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Make sure they’re completely cool before filling and frosting.

Making The Marshmallow Frosting

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.

Add the marshmallow fluff and beat until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.

If you’re making the filling ahead of time, refrigerate it, then whip it again before using.

Filling The Cupcakes

You can fill these cupcakes using one of two methods.

For the cone method, use a small paring knife to cut a cone-shaped piece from the center of each cupcake, going about two-thirds of the way down. Save the top, trim away most of the cake from the bottom, then pipe the marshmallow filling into the cavity. Replace the cupcake top.

For the piping method, fit a piping bag with a small round tip and insert it directly into the center of the cupcake. Gently squeeze until you feel the cupcake begin to fill. Avoid overfilling or the filling may split the sides of the cupcake.

Reserve some of the marshmallow filling to pipe the classic swirls on top.

How to Make the Chocolate Ganache

Place the chopped chocolate into a small bowl.

Heat the heavy cream until hot and steaming but not boiling. Pour it over the chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for about 3 minutes before stirring. This allows the chocolate to melt evenly for the smoothest ganache.

Stir until completely smooth.

Let the ganache cool for a few minutes so it thickens slightly. Dip each cupcake upside down into the ganache, allowing any excess to drip off. You can also spread the ganache with a small offset spatula if you prefer.

Refrigerate the cupcakes for about 10–15 minutes to help the ganache set before piping the swirls.

Add the Signature Swirls

Transfer the remaining marshmallow filling to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (or simply snip a small hole in the bag).

Pipe five small loops across the top of each cupcake to recreate the classic Hostess look.

Recipe Tips

• Don’t overmix the cupcake batter once you add the dry ingredients. Mixing just until combined keeps the cupcakes soft and tender.
• The batter will seem very thin after adding the hot coffee. That’s normal and helps create an extra moist cupcake.
• Let the ganache cool slightly before dipping the cupcakes. If it’s too warm, it will slide right off.
• Chill the cupcakes for 10–15 minutes after dipping them in the ganache before piping the swirls. The filling will sit neatly on top instead of melting into the chocolate.
• If using the cone method, trim away most of the cake from the cone before replacing it so there’s plenty of room for the marshmallow filling.

Storage

Store the assembled cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate them for up to 5 days. Let refrigerated cupcakes sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving for the best texture.

To freeze baked cupcakes, let them cool completely, then wrap each cupcake individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature before filling and decorating.

To freeze the cupcake batter, portion it into lined muffin tins and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen batter portions to a labeled freezer bag with the recipe name, baking temperature, and date. Bake directly from frozen at 350°F, adding 2–3 extra minutes to the baking time. Fill and decorate once the cupcakes have cooled completely.

Recipe FAQs

Hostess Cupcakes

A homemade version of the classic Hostess cupcake. Perfect chocolate cupcake, filled with marshmallow filling, dipped in chocolate ganache, and topped off with a perfect vanilla swirl.

4.94 from 15 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: chocolate

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 -14 cupcakes

Calories: 357kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

For the cupcakes

• ▢ 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
• ▢ ½ cup (42 g) unsweetened Cocoa powder (natural or Dutch)
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 large egg room temperature
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 ml) milk room temperature
• ▢ ¼ cup (57 g) sour cream
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil (or other neutral-tasting oil)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ cup (120 ml) hot coffee

For the marshmallow filling (and icing on top):

• ▢ 10 Tablespoons (142 g) unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups (142 g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 3 ½ ounces marshmallow fluff
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ Pinch of salt

For the Chocolate Ganache

• ▢ 4 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate chopped (or chips is fine as well)
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 mL) heavy cream

Instructions

Make the cupcakes

• Position a rack in the center of your oven. Pre-heat oven to 350°F (180oC). Prepare two muffin pans with cupcake liners.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour ½ cup (42 g) unsweetened Cocoa powder (natural or Dutch) ¾ teaspoons baking powder ¾ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt
• In a second large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sour cream, oil, vanilla extract until well combined. 1 large egg ¼ cup (60 ml) milk ¼ cup (57 g) sour cream ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir with a rubber spatula, together just until the last of flour has been incorporated.
• Stir in the coffee to batter and stir to combine. (batter will be thin). ½ cup (120 ml) hot coffee
• Fill each cupcake well about ¾ cup full of batter. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, rotating pans halfway through baking. Remove cupcakes from the oven and cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely.

Make the marshmallow filling:

• In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 10 Tablespoons (142 g) unsalted butter 1 ¼ cups (142 g) powdered sugar
• Add the marshmallow fluff to the mixture and beat until combined. Scraping down the bowl as needed. 3 ½ ounces marshmallow fluff
• Add in your heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt, and mix on medium to high speed for 7-8 minutes until light and creamy. If not using immediately, store in a container in the refrigerator until ready to use, mix again until light and fluffy. 1 Tablespoon heavy cream 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Pinch of salt

Assemble the cupcakes:

• For filling the cupcakes you have two options – the cone method or straight piping method. For the cone method cut out the center out of the cupcake at an angle about two-thirds of the way down. Save the top of the cupcake and simply trim off the bottom so you can replace the top of the cupcake once you have filled them with the marshmallow creme.
• Using a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with a corner snipped off, fill the center of each cupcake with the marshmallow filling. Just be sure not to overfill. If you fill above the cupcake, simply use a small spatula to scrape off the top. Place the trimmed top that you saved back on the cupcake. You will need some of this icing to pip swirls on top.
• For the straight piping method, you want to put the filling into a piping bag fitted a small round piping tip. Then press the tip right into the cupcake and squeeze the filling into the cupcake (you will feel the pressure as it fills).

To make the ganache:

• Place chocolate in a small bowl. 4 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate
• Heat cream in a saucepan or microwave until hot and steaming, but not boiling.
• Pour the cream over the chocolate making sure the chocolate is covered. Let sit for 3 minutes. Then stir until smooth. ¼ cup (60 mL) heavy cream
• Allow to cool slightly, then dip the top of each cupcake into the ganache so that ganache covers all the way to the liner. Allow any excess to drip off. Alternately you can also ice with an offset spatula. Place each one back onto the cooling rack. I like to refrigerate the cupcakes to set the ganache before adding the swirls.

Add swirls:

• Use remaining marshmallow filling icing to pipe swirls on top of cupcake. I placed the filling into a piping bag and cut off the bottom so it had a small hole. You can also use a small round piping tip (like Wilton #3). Pipe 5 swirls on top of each cupcake.

Video

Notes

• The recipe has been updated to now have a marshmallow frosting which is easier than the marshmallow homemade creme but that can still be used if you would like. 

Nutrition

Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 441IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg

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