Video
Hostess Cake
This Hostess Cake is so much fun to make and even more fun to eat with fluffy marshmallow cream filling sandwiched between rich, moist chocolate cake layers. It is complete with chocolate icing and those signature marshmallow icing loops on top! I guarantee it tastes so much better than the packaged Hostess snack cakes you buy at the supermarket.
Ingredients
Chocolate Fudge Cake batter:
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp (150g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (28g) cocoa powder (I prefer this Dutch cocoa or this one)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (60ml) oil (such as canola, olive, sunflower or vegetable oil)
- ⅓ cup (80ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120ml) hot coffee
Marshmallow Cream Filling:
- 5 oz (142g) marshmallows (about 3 cups mini marshmallows or 24 large ones*)
- 3 tablespoon (42g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (237ml) 35% heavy whipping cream
Ganache Icing:
- 5 oz (142g) semisweet dark chocolate* (I love these couverture chocolate chips)
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tbsp (95ml) 35% heavy whipping cream, cold from the fridge
- 1 teaspoon (7ml) honey or corn syrup
*I find the larger marshmallows melt more smoothly and have a better consistency. Quality matters here.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 8x8-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang at each side so you can easily remove the cake afterwards. Secure the sides down on the edge of the pan with ¾-inch binder clips if desired.
- Make the cake. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl. Add sugar and salt, then whisk to blend evenly.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then add oil, beaten egg, milk and vanilla extract and slowly whisk it in until combined and the batter starts to come together, but it will still look dry. Then, add the hot coffee or water and whisk until smooth. The batter will be thin.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan using a small offset spatula and bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan. Trim the top of the cake to level it out and make it flat if necessary, but I never need to because it always bakes up nice and flat.
- Meanwhile, make the marshmallow cream filling. Place marshmallows in large heat-safe mixing bowl. Pour melted butter over them and place the bowl in the microwave for 2-3 minutes on medium power stirring after every 30 seconds. Near the end, the marshmallows will puff up a lot, but be careful not to over-heat them or the sugar will burn. Remove the bowl and stir stir vigorously with a spatula until it becomes smooth and flowing. Set it aside and let cool for 5-10 minutes until it comes close to room temperature. It must be cool or it will melt the whipped cream, but if it cools to much it will harden. NOTE: if your marshmallow mixture is not melting down smoothly, see the FAQ section above for troubleshooting.
- While it is cooling, pour cold cream into a mixing bowl and whip until it holds stiff peaks using an electric hand mixer. Add about ½ cup of whipped cream to the bowl with the cooled marshmallow mixture and mix it in with the electric hand mixer to loosen it up. Then, switch to a spatula and fold in the remaining whipped cream in 3 separate additions to ensure it stays fluffy. Place it in the fridge and chill for 15 minutes.
- Use a serrated knife to slice the cooled chocolate cake in half horizontally. You will have two thin layers. Reserve about 3 tablespoons of the marshmallow cream filling and then spread the rest evenly over the bottom cake layer using an offset spatula. Place the second cake layer on top and refrigerate while you make the ganache topping.
- Make the ganache icing. Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat cream with honey or corn syrup in a small saucepan or in the microwave until it comes to a gentle boil. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate, cover the bowl and let stand for 2 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth and glossy.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and pour the ganache over top, spreading it out cover the surface and letting it drip down the sides a bit. Work quickly as the ganache will set fast over the chilled cake.
- Once the ganache sets, fill a small piping bag or zip-top bag with the reserved marshmallow cream. Fit the bag with a small round nozzle or cut off the tip, then pipe a string of loops across the cake in three rows as demonstrated in the video. Slice and enjoy!
