High Altitude Homemade Chocolate Hostess Cupcakes

These homemade high altitude hostess cupcakes feature moist chocolate cupcakes, filled with fluffy marshmallow cream filling, dipped in rich chocolate ganache, and decorated with the iconic curly white icing on top. You’ll love this delicious homemade version of a classic childhood treat!

You might also love these high altitude recipes for homemade chocolate fudge pop tarts, the best chocolate sheet cake, and chewy chocolate chip blondies.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Better than Store Bought. Like so many people do, I have fond memories of eating certain childhood treats, especially oatmeal cream pies, jelly filled Swiss cake rolls, and chocolate hostess cupcakes. I dare say my homemade hostess cupcakes taste so much better than store bought, and they don’t take that much effort to make.

Moist for Days. The chocolate cupcakes are fluffy, soft and moist on their own, but they’re really something special with the creamy marshmallow buttercream filling. And the not-too-sweet chocolate ganache is a nice balance for the sweet filling.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

• Chocolate Cupcakes. My chocolate cupcakes are quick and easy to make, moist and chocolatey, and perfected for high altitude. They’re a great base recipe for so many other flavor combinations.

Marshmallow Filling and Icing

• Butter. Use salted or unsalted butter, whichever you prefer.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
• Meringue Powder. Adds stability.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Marshmallow Fluff or Creme. Hostess cupcakes are known for their sweet marshmallow cream filling. While you could make your own marshmallow fluff, buying it makes this recipe a bit easier. You’ll basically be making a batch of American buttercream, and then adding the marshmallow fluff.

Ganache

• Chocolate. I recommend chopping up a bar of good quality dark chocolate, around 55% cacao. This will melt more smoothly than chocolate chips, making for a smoother finish on top of your cupcakes. I love Chocolove chocolate for baking (and eating).
• Cream. Be sure to use heavy whipping cream, not light cream or half and half. The high fat content is necessary for a thick, rich ganache that sets up with a fudge like consistency.

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

• Bake the chocolate cupcakes as instructed. Cool the cupcakes completely before filling.

Marshmallow Filling

• With an electric mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and meringue powder and beat on low for 1 minute until combined. Add the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium and beat for several minutes until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl down occasionally.
• Add the marshmallow fluff, and beat until well combined.
• Use a cupcake corer or sharp knife to remove the centers of the cooled cupcakes.
• Fit a piping bag with a coupler and tip 12, and fill with the marshmallow filling. Pipe the filling into the center of the cupcakes. You’ll also be using the marshmallow filling for the curly icing on top, so set it aside until needed.
• Take the centers of the cupcakes that you removed, and press a small piece of cake back on top of the filling to seal the top, before you dip them in the ganache.

Ganache

• Finely chop the chocolate and scrape it into a bowl.
• Pour the cream into a small saucepan, and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Remove the cream from the heat, and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate and cream sit for 3 minutes, then stir with a spatula until smooth.

• Dip the tops of the cupcakes into the warm ganache. After dipping all the cupcakes, use a spoon to spoon any remaining ganache on top of the cupcakes, then smooth it out with a small icing spatula.
• Let the ganache set for about 15 minutes, before adding the icing. The ganache will remain fairly soft for several hours, before it firms up into a fudge-like consistency.

Icing

• Take the piping bag of marshmallow filling and switch to tip 3.
• Practice piping the curly icing a few times on a plate to get the hang of it, then pipe the icing on top of the cupcakes.

Icing Notes

• The marshmallow filling/icing will not harden or set on top of the cupcakes, and will remain a little sticky. Marshmallow can also get a bit “weepy” after 12-24 hours as it’s exposed to air, and won’t look quite as clean and sharp as it does when it’s freshly piped. If you’re making the cupcakes in advance, just keep the tip of the piping bag covered, and wait to add the curly icing until you’re ready to serve them.
• If you need a more stable and set icing on top, consider just using vanilla buttercream without the marshmallow fluff, which will crust over and stay put on the ganache.
• You can also make a small batch of royal icing to use.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store leftover hostess cupcakes?

Store your cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Will this recipe work with whipped cream filling?

Absolutely. As an alternative to the marshmallow buttercream filling, you can make a stabilized whipped cream and pipe that into the cupcakes. However, the whipped cream will not work for the curly icing on top. Chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream filling should be kept in the refrigerator.

Can I use chocolate chips for the ganache?

When making ganache, I always recommend chopping up a bar of good quality chocolate, rather than using chocolate chips. Chocolate chips contain ingredients that prevent them from melting as smoothly, and they make an inferior ganache, which doesn’t always thicken and set up correctly. I like to use Chocolove 55% Dark Chocolate when making ganache.

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