Twinkie Cupcakes

        I have recently discovered a new found love for baking. I love cooking and I am learning to love baking. Afterall, who doesn't love a good cake or tart or anything sugary out of the oven?! So, my father-in-law’s birthday was coming up. My husband and I were not sure what to do or get for him. We started talking about the different stuff that he liked and we landed on Hostess snacks. I thought it would be a good idea to try and re-create a Hostess snack into a cupcake!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try! I loved how the cupcakes themselves turned out. The cake was the perfect texture! I liked the frosting, but I did not love the frosting. I think it could have used some additional structure and flavor. Overall, I think it was a good cupcake!

Twinkie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes

• 1 box of yellow cake mix

• ½ package of instant french vanilla pudding (3.4 oz box)

• ½ cup sour cream

• ⅓ cup oil

• 1 cup water

• 3 eggs

Frosting

• 14 oz marshmallow fluff

• 1 cup shortening

• ⅔ cup powdered sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 4 tsp hot water

• ½ tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 muffin tins with cupcake wrappers. Mix together the cake mix, pudding, sour cream, oil, water, and eggs. Fill the cupcake wrappers about ½-¾ full. Bake for about 16 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out clean). Let them cool completely.

2. Mix together the salt and water--let this cool until room temperature. Mix together the fluff, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt water.

3. Remove a small amount of the cupcake from the center and fill with frosting--I used the largest piping tip I had to remove some of the cupcake and continued to pipe with it. Continue to frost the cupcakes. 

Taste: 8/10--the frosting needs some work

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I would like to change the frosting a bit!