Hostess Chocolate Cupcakes

Grain-Free Hostess CupCakes Copycat

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Vegan, Paleo, Primal, AIP

Print Recipe

Going grain-free can be difficult when you're out shopping. All the shelves are lined with processed foods, as well as gluten, grains, nuts... you name it! The snack aisle? Forget about it!
We LOVE Hostess CupCakes, and we're sure many of you do too! It's truly iconic, with its cute chocolate coating and swirls of vanilla icing. That's why we're bringing back this childhood favorite, grain-free and even more delicious than you remember it! Thanks to our premium Cassava Flour, you can enjoy these sweet snacks without the stomachache.

Ingredients

Cupcake

• 340 grams Otto's Naturals - Cassava Flour (or 2 1/2 cups, unsifted before measuring)
• 2 cups granulated maple sugar (or coconut sugar)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons Otto's Naturals Grain-Free Baking Powder**
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (sub carob for AIP)
• ¾ cup avocado oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups cold water (plus 5-6 Tablespoons more if subbing coconut sugar)

**Note: If you don't have baking powder on hand, you can also use 2 tsp. baking soda in the dry ingredients. Create one more well in the dries and add 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar to the well.

Ganache

• 1/4 cup milk (or any non-dairy milk)
• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (sub carob chips for AIP)

Vanilla Frosting

• Store-bought vanilla frosting or your favorite buttercream recipe

Instructions

Cupcake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare muffin pans with liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cassava flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cocoa.
3. Make two wells. Pour avocado oil into one well  and vanilla extract into the second well.
4. Pour cold water over all and stir well with a fork.
5. Pour into lined muffin tins.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool.
7. Once cupcakes are completely cool, cut a hole the size of a quarter in the middle using a knife. Remove the cake, squirt in frosting, and squish the removed cake center back over the frosting. Feel free to use half of the removed cake if it doesn't fit.
8.  Place stuffed cupcakes in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Ganache and Assembly

1. Place milk + chocolate on a stovetop over medium heat.
2. Stir continuously until creamy.
3. Use a spoon to spread the top of each cupcake with ganache.
4. Let sit until ganache has hardened a bit, about 5 minutes.
5. If you don’t have a pastry bag, add your choice of vanilla frosting into a Ziploc bag. Cut a tiny hole in one corner. Pipe circular swirls of frosting on top of the cupcake.
6.  Enjoy!

Baking Tips for the Best Grain-Free CupCakes

• If you are using coconut sugar instead of maple sugar, you will need to add the 2 cups of liquid PLUS an additional 5 to 6 Tablespoons of cold water to the cupcake recipe. Not adding the additional water when using coconut sugar will result in dryer, denser cupcakes.
• Be sure your milk doesn't get too hot when you're making the ganache. The milk needs to be hot enough to melt your chocolate but not boiling. 
• While we love filling the cupcakes with vanilla frosting, you can play by your own rules and use any filling you want - or even none at all!
• The cupcakes are best stored in your refrigerator for up to 5 days, but you can keep them on your countertop for 1 to 3 days. However, freezing isn't recommended.