Twinkie Cupcakes

Remember when the Twinkie was dead for a while?  People were buying them by the case to stock up for some sort of baked goods armageddon.  And then the Twinkie came back and all became right with the world.  Well, Color Me Meg has a cupcake recipe for all the Twinkie fans.  You might want to keep this one around in case the Twinkie comes under fire again.  You just never know.

Twinkie Cupcakes

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup cake flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces

Filling:

• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 c whole milk
• 1/2 c butter
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup marshmallow spread
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

To make the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350. L
2. ine a muffin pan with cupcake liners; set aside.
3. Whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract; set aside.
4. In an electric stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. while mixing on low, add the butter one piece at a time, mixing until the dough comes together crumbly.
5. Add 1/2 of the egg mixture and mix on low until incorporated, then increase to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.
6. Slowly add the remaining egg mixture, with the mixer on low, until incorporated.
7. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 20 seconds.
8. Put 3 tablespoons of batter in each cupcake liner.
9. Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. cool completely before filling and frosting.

To make the filling:

1. Whisk together the flour and the milk in a small sauce pan. heat on low-medium, whisking continuously until it starts to thicken.
2. Let it cook, while stirring with a rubber spatula, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan.
3. Continue to cook until the mixture has the consistency of thick pudding.
4. Put mixture in the fridge until cooled completely.
5. In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar using the whisk attachment for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy.
6. While beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla.
7. Mixture will separate and look messy, keep beating! Continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy (about 7-8 minutes).
8. Note: I used a 1 in cookie scoop to take out the inside of each cooled cupcake and to scoop the perfect amount back in them.

To make the frosting:

1. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and marshmallow until light and fluffy, {about 5 minutes}.
2. Add sugar, beating until combined. stir in 1 tablespoon of cream and the vanilla, then beat on high speed for 4 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add more cream, up to 1 tablespoon.