This homemade hostess cupcakes recipe makes delicious cream filling that can be used for a variety of different baked desserts! Save money on tasty treats!
Homemade Hostess Cupcakes Recipe
Kids and hubbies love their treats for lunch but sending cake in a lunch can be messy so, to prevent the frosting from sticking to everything, slice the cake in half horizontally and make a “sandwich” of it with the frosting in the middle.
Better still, here is a recipe from Dining on a Dime explaining how to make cream filled cupcakes like the chocolate Hostess ones and you don’t need to frost them.
The thing I like most about these homemade hostess cupcakes is that they freeze well so you can pull out one or two as you need them, which makes these great for birthday parties, football games or any time of the year.
You can also make a huge batch right before the summer heat hits and freeze them. Boy, do they make a tasty frozen treat.
If you have leftover filling, you can freeze it separately, then thaw and use for your next batch of cupcakes or make a double batch to keep in the freezer for when you need it.
You can use this recipe for almost anything that needs a cream filling – yellow cakes, spice cakes, to spread on gingerbread, creme horns, and donuts.
-Jill
Cupcake Filling
1/2 cup (1 stick or 1/4 lb.) butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
½ cup shortening
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer without stopping for 30 minutes. With a pastry bag and a long pastry tip, poke a hole in the center of each cupcake and fill.
Fills one cupcake recipe or makes a good center filling for layer cakes. This is just like the filling in the cupcakes at the store. Kids love to take them in lunches and they freeze well. Eat them right from the freezer, either thawed or frozen. Frost cupcakes as desired. Fills 20-24 cupcakes.
Tawra,
Loved the idea for making cupcakes with the hostess like frosting put inside the cupcake. I want to try that sometime.
I have an easy suggestion to keep your frosting from coming off your cakes and brownies. Spray the middle area of plastic wrap with Pam or any buttery cooking spray. Make sure you set the frosting part on that sprayed area and wrap it up. If doing a whole bunch cover the plastic wrap almost completely with the cooking spray. My husband now enjoys lunches with brownies that keep their frosting.
This is a great idea, but are the directions right? Beat for 30 MIN? What happens if you do less? I bet the kids will love to help with this recipe! Thanks!
Yes, 30 minutes is right. :-) Tawra
30 mins. is right but since I have only a hand mixer to stand for 30 mins mixing is hard so I usually mix it sitting down at the table and read while I do it. I have fudged sometimes and done it for only 20 mins when I was in a hurry but the longer you do it the lighter and fluffier it gets.
Jill
We love this frosting! I wanted to let you know that it is also really yummy in crepes. The kids thought it would be fun to make crepes after supper one night. I was out of whipped topping and didn’t have any heavy cream to make homemade whipped cream, so I happened to have some of this frosting left-over in the freezer. I got it out, defrosted it, gave it a little whip-up and wa-lah! It goes great with whatever fruit filling (or chocolate pudding) they put in them. This has now become the asked for ingredient when we crave dessert crepes.
I know this is a stretch, but is there a “healthier” option with NO shortening, and less sugar? Has anyone tweaked this and still have the yummy factor?
Hi ladies
I was wondering if anyone besides me is having problems with the new shortening that is not partially hydrated. The end product does not seem to come out the same. Also if so-have you done any experimenting to get the right results.
I am at 7,000 ft altitude, but I usually add a couple Tablespoons of flour.
I also cannot get pie crust to come out the same and does not roll very well. Talked to another lady that lives at 6,000 ft. and she was having the same problem with pie dough.
Is that powdered sugar or confectioners sugar?
Valerie powdered sugar and confectioners sugar are the same thing but for this recipe it doesn’t call for those it calls for regular white sugar. When you see sugar in our recipes usually it means regular white sugar. I know it seems like when making a filling it should use powdered sugar but it doesn’t.
LOL I have no idea why I typed that. I meant granulated sugar or confectioners. lol Thanks
No problem- I do stuff like that all the time so it makes me feel better that some else does it too.:)
Jill
Where is the recipe for the cupcake itself???
Margaret you can use any cupcake recipe you want. We usually use just a box cake mix. You also can do them in chocolate like the original or any flavor. Here is a whole list of the cupcake itself if you need one. https://www.livingonadime.com/10-best-cupcake-recipes/
Thanks! This icing looks like something I’m looking for cupcakes I’m baking soon, and I do love those Hostess treats. Though my mixer going for 30 minutes might drive me up the wall!
Oh, I’m so glad to have a recipe for this! The Hostess ones haven’t been worth purchasing in ages now, there’s practically no flavor! And the other brands that taste so much better are that much harder to find. It’s good to be able to make your own.
Can the filling be frozen for later use?
Yes it can. This is one of my favorite things about this recipe is you can freeze any leftover filling or make a double batch so you can freeze some and the next time you need it all you have to do is to make the cupcakes and fill. You can also make a layer cake with this and spread the filling between the 2 layers. You can keep the whole thing in the freezer and it is so refreshing to have a cake like this on a hot summer day and you didn’t have to heat up the kitchen that day to bake it.
I have made this several times – it has become my favorite filling to put between cake layers lately. Thanks so much for sharing!
My recipe is not fluffy and the sugar is stilk grainy. Not sure what happened.
You probably didn’t beat it enough. This is one time you have to beat it for no less than 30 mins
What is the recipe for the frosting on top
You really can use any frosting.