Everyone's got a favorite

Hostess® snack cake, that is. Mine happens to be the rare and elusive Orange Cup Cake. Okay, so it's not the healthiest choice one could make, what with it's scary-long list of ingredients, artificial flavors & colors, and enough sugar to send a panda into a diabetic fit. But sometimes...you just want it, you know? Behold, my take on two childhood favorites: the (in)famous Hostess® Cup Cake (often mistakenly referred to as a Ding Dong, which is a similar yet entirely different beast) and the Twinkie® ...in cupcake form.

As usual, I take requests whenever a company event arises, and these two garnered the most votes for our Labor Day cookout. I'm actually quite pleased with how they came out, despite the fact that I veered from the classic canoe-shape for the cupcake on the right (which incidentally only has marshmallows on top to help disguise my messy cupcake filling technique). Ideally I would've used half a large marshmallow, but it was late and the minis were all I could find in my baking stash.

Wanna make some? You'll need two dozen of your favorite cupcakes, made using your favorite recipe or my favorite--from a box. Use cupcake liners or not; it's more authentic without, but then you're stuck with the tedious task of greasing and flouring your muffin tins. Once cool, use a pastry bag (or large zip-top bag) fitted with a large star tip to fill them with "Hostess® Twinkie Creme Filling" found on the Top Secret Recipes site. For the chocolate top: melt 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup shortening, and 3 Tablespoons corn syrup together and spread on cupcakes. Finish with an icing squiggle, if desired. Don't try to make 7 loops on top unless you've got crazy good piping skills, which I don't. That and I think Hostess® has trademarked "the look."