Like Hostess Chocolate Cream Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two standard 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Mix together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or any large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed either with a stand mixer or a hand mixer for 2 minutes. Turn off mixer. Stir in boiling water and incorporate with all ingredients with a large spoon or ladle (batter will be thin).

Divide batter evenly among lined muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 of the way.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Allow to cool completely before filling and frosting.

For the filling:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on low-medium speed. Once blended, add Marshmallow Fluff and cream and increase the speed to medium-high. Beat for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a round 1/4-inch tip, and fill bag with all but 1/4 cup of the filling. Put the extra 1/4 cup in a pastry bag fitted with a smaller round tip or a zip-lock with a tiny corner snipped and keep aside.

For the ganache icing:
Pour the cream into a glass bowl. Bring to a boil in the microwave by cooking for 1 minute increments until it begins to bubble. Don’t let it boil over.

Remove the hot cream from the microwave. Add the chocolate and butter and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let it stand for 1 minute, then open and stir with a spatula until chocolate is melted and smooth. If not, place it back in the microwave and heat on 50% power for 20 seconds intervals until blended and completely smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken for 10-15 minutes.

For the assembly:
Take the cupcakes, plunge the tip end of the larger filled pastry bag into the top center of the cupcake. Press and fill roughly about 2 tablespoons full or just until you feel the cupcake swell. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

Dip the top of each filled cupcake into ganache, flip and set aside. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Allow icing to set, about 20 minutes.

Take the smaller pastry bag/zip-lock bag of filling and pipe a continuing squiggle across the top middle of each cupcake.

Place any remaining cupcakes in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

Cake recipe adapted from Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate-Chocolate Cake; filling adapted from foodandwine.com.