Hostess Cupcake Layer Cake
Hostess Cupcake Layer Cake is a layer cake version of the classic Hostess cupcake made 100% from scratch. It’s fun, nostalgic, and the best tasting cake ever!
So my son turned 11! It happened a couple of weeks ago, and this was his happy birthday cake. If you’ve followed along here for a while, you know that last year he Googled what kind of cakes he wanted me to make for his birthday for his birthday party, and we ended up at these light, delicious red velvet cupcakes.
That being said, he knew what he wanted this year too, and of course, he wasn’t going cupcakes again. For him, it’s always gotta be a layer cake. 🙂
I usually roll with cupcakes because they’re so easy and less fussy. In some ways, however, layer cakes are easier because you’ve only got one big cake to decorate instead of 24 smaller ones. It makes perfect sense, and when the cake is filled and decorated with the same icing, and covered in ganache like this, it really doesn’t get much easier.
My son came up with this idea based on some mini Hostess-style cupcakes Whole Foods Market had in the bakery. They were giving away samples of them one day when we were walking through, and we had to try them.
They were some of the best tasting cupcakes ever, so he decided he wanted a layer cake like that, with a “marshmallow middle”, but decorated a little differently. I envisioned a gigantic Hostess cupcake, except with the icing squiggles all around so everybody got some on their piece. We compromised on the decorations, and ended up with this. My son is a genius. 🙂
I’ve made homemade hostess cupcakes before, but I wanted to do this cake differently. I used a Devil’s Food cake recipe from Alice Medrich that I’d gotten from school this time around, because it was one of the best tasting cake recipes I’ve tasted.
Last time, I used store bought marshmallow creme, but this time I decided to make my own. It made a huge, finger licking good difference, too!
The Homemade Marshmallow Creme was used in the marshmallow buttercream icing for the filling and the decorations, and was this stuff ever G-O-O-D. I’m not a huge buttercream frosting person by any means, but this was light, airy, and delicious! 🙂
I like to do things in stages, so I baked the cakes the night before, and filled them the next day.
Once filled, I made the ganache and poured it over the top. I wanted the sides to be open so that luscious marshmallowy goodness would be visible.
Don’t you just want to take a finger to it?
I let the ganache set before I piped the rest of the marshmallow buttercream on top, and there you have it…a gigantic, 100% from scratch Hostess Cupcake Layer Cake!
I’ll have to admit, I loved everything about this cake except the lighting in my photos. While editing, if I went too light, the white was day-glow, and if I went to dark, the chocolate wasn’t the right color and the whites were dull.
Normally if I’m not happy with the photos, I’ll make the dish again and do a re-shoot, but I had to share this now. It’s seriously one of the best tasting things I’ve ever made, and I need to pass it on.
This cake is fun and nostalgic, and one of the greatest ideas my son’s ever had. Let’s see what he comes up with next year. 🙂
Hostess Cupcake Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the Devil’s Food Cake:
- 7 ounces 2 cups sifted cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 ounces 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder natural or Dutch process (I used Valhrona)
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature*
- 1/2 cup coffee cooled*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten*
- 4 ounces 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature*
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
For the Marshmallow Buttercream Icing:
- 1 1/2 cups Homemade Marshmallow Creme
- 4 ounces 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar sifted
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon milk or cream I used cream
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 2 ounces 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped fine*
- 2 ounces 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine*
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Prepare the cake:
- Position an oven rack to the lower 1/3 of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of (2) 9″ cake pans with cooking spray, then line each with a parchment round. Spray the parchment round and sides with cooking spray, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder with the lukewarm water until the cocoa powder has dissolved. Set aside to cool. In another small bowl, whisk the sour cream, coffee, and vanilla. Set aside.
- Place the softened butter in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until creamy, then add the sugars and beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 6-7 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium, and add the eggs slowly (about 1 minute), and continue to beat until the mixture is velvety, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add the cocoa mixture and beat on medium speed until incorporated.
- Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer stand. Add the sifted flour mixture in four parts, alternating with the sour cream mixture in three parts, stirring with a rubber scraper by hand after each addition until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and spread evenly. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed gently with your finger and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack, then unmold and continue to cool completely on the wire rack.
Prepare the marshmallow buttercream:
- Place the marshmallow creme and butter in a medium bowl and beat on medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and pinch of salt, and mix until fluffy. Blend in the teaspoon of cream until smooth and creamy. Add more cream if you feel that it hasn’t reached the desired consistency.
Prepare the ganache:
- Place a large saute pan filled halfway with water on the stove top and heat over medium heat until warmed. Turn off the heat. Place the chopped chocolate and the cream in a heat proof bowl, and place the bowl in the warm water. Stir the chocolate and cream continually with a rubber scraper until the mixture has emulsified. Remove from the water and allow to cool until it has thickened slightly and is pouring consistency.
Assemble the cake:
- Using a serrated knife or a cake leveler, remove the rounded tops off of each cake layer as level as possible so that the layers are flat on top.
- Place a few pieces of waxed paper on your cake stand or serving platter, and place the bottom layer over that. Pour 2/3 of the marshmallow buttercream on the top of the bottom layer, and spread to within 1/4″ of the edges. Turn the second cake layer upside down so the bottom of the cake is now the top with the trimmed side in the middle. This will make the top of your cake perfectly level. When the ganache has reached the right pourable consistency, pour it over the cake, spreading it gently to help it over the sides. Let the chocolate set before decorating, about 30 minutes to an hour at least.
- Place the remaining marshmallow buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a #7 tip, and pipe the Hostess “squiggles” around the edges, and a little decorated squiggle in the middle. If you have any buttercream left over, pipe some in between the cake layers where ganache hasn’t covered to make the filling more visible. Remove the waxed paper from the edges, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Total time above includes 30 minutes for the cakes to cool, and 1 hour for the ganache to set before frosting. Cook time includes 10 minutes to cook the syrup for the marshmallow creme.
- The cakes can be made the day ahead, and stored in an airtight container or wrapped well and kept at room temperature.
- The marshmallow creme and ganache can also be made in advance. Simply warm the ganache to pourable consistency before ready to use.
- *For the coffee, I used 1/2 cup boiling water and added 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder and stirred until dissolved. You can also use 1/2 cup of strongly brewed coffee.
- *To get eggs to room temperature faster, place whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
- *To get butter to room temperature faster, cut it up into small cubes and let sit out at room temp.
- *For the ganache, you may use all semi-sweet or all bittersweet chocolate, if desired.
- Cake recipe adapted from [Tante Marie Cooking School, San Francisco, CA, via Alice Medrich]. Ganache recipe by Flavor the Moments.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
45 Comments on “Hostess Cupcake Layer Cake”
Happy belated birthday to your son, Marcie! And wow…he sure knows how to pick out a cake! It’s gorgeous! And I’m sure this tastes a million times better than the regular hostess cupcakes. I said this before on your marshmallow creme recipe, but my brother loved hostess treats when we were growing up! Maybe I’ll have to make him this cake, with the marshmallow creme frosting for his birthday next year! 🙂
Thank you for the birthday wishes, Gayle, and yes — my boy knows how to pick a cake. haha This really did taste like a fresh, gourmet Hostess cake, and it sounds like something your brother would love! 🙂
Hostess Cupcakes were my favorite treat as a kid. I haven’t had one in years! I can’t wait to make this cake!
This cake reminded me of a Hostess cupcake, but it was so much lighter and fresher! Thanks, Liz, and I hope you can give it a try soon! 🙂
Ooh, your son has good taste! I definitely wanted to run my finger through this, Marcie! I have to admit I’ve only ever made 1 (ONE!) layer cake before. It was delicious but not the prettiest so I definitely need some more practice. I guess I need to have a child and then I’ll have plenty of birthdays to cater for! 🙂
My son is something else for sure — he has great cake ideas! Layer cakes can be so daunting but they’re really not that bad, especially using a ganache that you can just pour over the top! Worrying about a crumb coat around the sides, etc. can be quite the pain. Which is why I go rustic most of the time. haha Thanks, Helen, and happy Wednesday! 🙂
You’re killing me with this cake! Your son clearly has great taste in birthday cakes!
This cake killed me too…every delicious bite! I can’t wait to see what my son comes up with next year. haha
This cake is serious perfect! Serious perfection! I can’t stand it!
This cake put me over the moon…I could hardly stand it either! Thanks, Jocelyn, and happy Wednesday to you! 🙂
Happy happy birthday to your son Marcie! I love love love this Hostess cupcake cake you made for him, it’s absolutely perfect! Your son has awesome taste and must have been super thrilled 🙂 I can only imagine how amazing it tastes with the homemade marshmallow creme and that chocolate ganache looks gorgeous!
Thank you, Kelly! He had a great bday and loved this cake…as did everyone else.
This looks amazing!! I love love LOVE chocolate cake!! YUM! …and I have to say, this is definitely much better than your typical hostess cake!! Fresh and yummy!
This was like my dream chocolate cake — so chocolatey but so light! Thanks, Cailee, and have a great weekend! 🙂
Happy birthday to your son. Boy, is he smart. This cake looks so decadent and delicious! Love that ganache dripping down the sides. I just can’t get over how amazing this looks! Pinning
Thank you, Cindy! He had a great birthday, and a lot of it was due to this cake. I think I want it for my birthday, too! haha
Happy belated birthday to your son! He has very good taste in cakes! I want to make this right now.
Thank you, Christin! He sure does have great taste in cake. If I ever start a bakery, he needs to be my consultant. haha
I love everything about this cake Marcie! It works so perfectly as a cake. I hope your son had a wonderful birthday!
Thank you, Aida – my son did have a wonderful birthday, and this did work out so well as a cake! Hope you have a great weekend. 🙂
Oh my god! Your son is a genius and this looks amazing 🙂
Yes!! It is agreed he is a cake genius! Always has the best birthday cake ideas. I love this hostess cupcake cake idea. Marshmallow creme filling and all that chocolate drizzling. WOW!! Happy birthday to the young culinary genius 🙂
Thank you for the birthday wishes for my son, Zainab — he had a great birthday! This cake did have a lot to do with it…the boy is a cake mastermind! 🙂
I’m a lemon girl, but I have pinned this for my chocoholic and besides It is adorable.
Madonna
MakeMineLemon
Thank you, Madonna! 🙂
This looks just amazing! I would take a giant slice right now!
Thank you, Annie! 🙂
Wow! I want to run my fingers and fork all over that cake Marcie!! It looks amazing…and delicious!
Thank you, Lisa! 🙂
my chocolate cravings have definitely kicked in, this cake looks delicious marcie!
Thank you, Thalia! 🙂
This is SUCH a gorgeous cake, Marcie! Your son sure knows how to choose a birthday cake. 😉 I’ll take an extra-large slice with extra of your awesome marshmallow creme!
Thanks, Sarah! I really need to double the marshmallow creme so I have extra on the side. haha
Thank you, Arpita! That marshmallow creme centre was one of my favorite things for sure! 🙂
Thank you, Lindsey! I agree, I always had homemade layer cakes for my birthday, so I need to quit being such a cupcake freak. haha Thanks for the pin, and have a great weekend! 🙂
My mouth watered before I even clicked on your post over at the Best of the Weekend Link Party and this recipe didn’t disappoint! I love recreation recipes and this one looks divine. Although I have a special obsession for cupcakes. I can’t wait to try it!
~Meaghan from DIYfaerie
Thank you, Meaghan! I’ve definitely been more obsessed with cupcakes over the years, but I think layer cakes just might be popping up more around here. haha Thanks for stopping by!
I love this, what a cool, creative and yummy idea! PINNED because I just have to make this today 🙂 Saying hello from the best of the weekend and I think I just found it!
Cathy
Thank you for stopping by Cathy, and I hope you enjoy the cake! I cannot wait to make it again. 🙂
I love this cake Marcie – it reminds my of my youth 🙂 What a great choice from your son – can’t wait for next year – Pinned!!
I grew up on those cupcakes, ding dongs, and ho-ho’s! This was a fun cake to create for him, and I think it did make me feel like a kid again. (and that’s sayin’ something!) 🙂
Thank you, Margo! 🙂
Such a gorgeous cake!! 🙂 I wish I could devour every last piece of it!
Thank you, Jocelyn! I only got one piece of it, which means I need to make it again very soon! 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for the feedback! 🙂