Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Homemade Hostess Snow Balls

I decided to look into a recipe for homemade Hostess Snow balls. I wanted to make these for my Father-in-Law as a special treat (one of his favorites). I came across a few different recipes and decided to try this one. I have to admit that I have never had a real Hostess Snow Ball, I didn't even know what was under all that coconut. I found out that it is chocolate cake, with a cream filling, marshmallow frosting, covered in coconut...sounds delicious to me. When I told my husband that I never tried one before, I also admitted that I have never tried a Twinkie before either. The look on his face was pure disgust. The same look he gave me when I told him I have never had a fast food hamburger before, followed by a "You are not a true American"   Oh well, its too late now, I have to be on a Gluten Free Diet. Which brings me to another point,  I didn't get to try this recipe. I did however, get great feedback and it's definitely a recipe worth making again. I think it would be a GREAT dessert for a children's birthday party. You can make the coconut any color you like, which is really fun for kids. I did get to taste the marshmallow frosting which was addicting :) Now that Hostess has gone out of business, you can have a Snow Ball anytime..enjoy!!!

Homemade Snow Balls (Original recipe comes from Bakingbites.com)
Makes 24 
























Ingredients for Cake:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly grease two 12 cup muffin tins (do not use wrappers)

2. In a large bowl on a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, followed by the milk, then finished with remaining flour. Stir well between each addition and mix until no streaks of flour remain.

4. Evenly distribute between muffin cups. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then turn cupcakes out on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

5. Once the cupcakes are cooled, prepare them for filling by cutting a circle on the top of the cupcake 1" across by 1" deep. Trim off the pointed end of the cone shaped piece you cut from the cupcake to leave a flat circle of cake. Set them aside for later use.

Ingredients for frosting: (you will need a candy themometer)
6 large egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut

1. Put the egg whites in a bowl of electric mixer.

2. Combine sugar, cream or tartar and water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cool until syrup reaches 242 degrees F. (Use candy thermometer)

3. As syrup cool near correct temperature, begin to beat egg white to soft peaks. Slowly stream in the hot sugar syrup, followed by vanilla extract. Beat for about 10 minutes after everything is incorporated, or until frosting reaches room temperature.

4. Meanwhile, process the coconut in the food processor until very fine. Add a drop or two of food coloring. Pour coconut onto a piece of wax paper or into a shallow dish.

To assemble:

Place 1 cup of frosting into a piping bag and pipe the filling into each hollowed out cupcake. Top each cupcake with reserved flat circle of cake to plug the hole.

Using a butter knife or offset spatula, frost the sides and top of each cupcake, making sure not to leave any exposed cake (except for the bottom) (This can get a bit messy but its worth it) Gently roll the frosted cupcake in coconut and place unfrosted-side down on platter  Repeat for all cupcakes.

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