So as healthy as we try to be, every once in awhile we indulge in something rich and fabulous. In this case, it was a cake for Auntie Rosita's birthday. Auntie Rosita had an 80's party for her birthday and while trying to decide whether to buy a few boxes of hostess cupcakes I said to her, "Why don't you just make a cake that looks like a hostess cupcake?" At this point she didn't know I was coming, so when I showed up I decided I'd make the cake. And it was definitely better than store bought, process cupcakes (although I did use a boxed cake mix).
It looked fabulous. It tasted fabulous. And it was easy as pie, err cake.
The Recipe:
Hostess Cupcake Cake
What you need:
1 box devil's food cake mix (or other chocolate cake)
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
2 tbsp mayonnaise (to make it moist)
1-2 cups whipped topping
a plastic baggie
Make the cake as directed on the box, substituting mayo for about 2 tbsp oil. Put in two round cake pans and bake for 24-29 minutes (directions on box) at 350˚.
Allow cake to cool completely.
Use a circle shaped cookie cutter or container to cut a whole in the middle of both cakes. Hollow out the cake where the hole is, be careful not to cut all the way through the cake.
Fill the holes of both cakes with whipped topping and place one cake on top of the other with the holes facing in, this creates the cream filled middle of the cupcake.
Frost the cake using chocolate frosting (again, I used store bought for sake of time, but feel free to make your own).
Fill a small baggie with about a tsp of whipped topping. Cut a hole in the tip and gently draw a loopy, squiggly line (resembling the one on top of a Hostess cupcake) on top of the cake.
Put the cake in the fridge and let it cool. This will help the frosting to harden, making it more like the frosting on the cupcakes. Cut in pie shape pieces to enjoy the middle!
There you have it. Simple nostalgia.
