Homemade Ding Dongs/Devil's Food Cupcakes

Haha. Ding Dongs. Makes me laugh... I have honestly never eaten a Ding Dong before. Maybe a Ho-Ho once in awhile. I was browsing for a "healthy" dessert over at CookingLight.com and found a recipe that would please those around me. I tend to bake for others because it makes me happy (and also keeps me skinny...) ! Cooking Light calls these "Devil's Food Cupcakes" but Ding Dongs are funnier to me.

It was a new adventure for me making the Marshmallow creme (for the center filling). I had marshmallows around, but I decided to make the creme from a recipe I found over here. The recipe was successful, but I used my Agave syrup instead of Corn-Syrup and it def overpowered the rest of the flavors. Remember Laura, Agave syrup is MUCH sweeter! You don't need that much! When will I learn? So, to remedy this, I melted some marshmallows with a little butter in a pan (not very Cooking Light like) and gradually added the marshmallow mixture I made up prior. This brought back the marshmallow-y flavor I had before the Agave mishap! I think what I did was a little unconventional, but I was trying to reverse sheer boobery! Next time I would let the creme sit in the fridge a little longer so it could harden up a little before filling the cupcakes.

Recipe to follow...

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Marshmallow Filling

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (3/8 lb.) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow cream (I made my own using the link found above)
• Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (see below )

Preparation

1. In a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

2. In another bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in half the flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in milk just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture and stir just until incorporated. Spoon batter equally into 16 muffin cups (1/3-cup capacity; cups should be almost full) lined with paper baking cups.

3. Bake in a 350º regular or convection oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed in the center or a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pans on racks for 5 minutes; remove cupcakes from pans and set on racks to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

4. With a small, sharp knife, cut a cylinder about 3/4 inch wide and 1 inch deep from the center of the top of each cupcake. Trim off and discard about 1/2 inch from bottom of each cylinder. With a knife, hollow out a small cavity inside each cupcake.

5. Spoon marshmallow cream into pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Twist end of bag tightly to secure. Place tip in cavity of one cupcake; without moving tip, squeeze filling into cavity, to 1/4 inch from top. Repeat to fill remaining cupcakes. Insert cake cylinders into holes.

6. Spoon chocolate cream cheese frosting into another pastry bag, fitted with a 3/4-inch star tip, and pipe onto tops of cupcakes, or spread on cupcakes with knife.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

Preparation

In a bowl, with a mixer on low speed, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. In another bowl, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa. Beat into cream cheese mixture until frosting is smooth.