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4.91 from 11 votes

Gluten-Free Copycat Hostess Cupcakes

These Gluten-Free Copycat Hostess Cupcakes are a childhood favorite made better right at home. They're made with gluten-free chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade marshmallow fluff, then topped with chocolate ganache.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Servings: 16 cupcakes
Author: Lexi

Ingredients

For cupcakes:

  • 2-1/2 cups 240g almond flour
  • 3/4 cup 64g high-quality cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup 24g coconut flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 1-1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk of choice we use almond
  • 1/4 cup coffee see note
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Filling:

For Ganache:

  • 1/3 cup coconut milk
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips if dairy-free use dairy-free chocolate chips

To pipe swirl:

  • 1/4 cup white chocolate melted

Instructions

Prepare and cool cupcakes:

  • Pre-heat oven to 350ºF and line 2 muffin tins with 16 parchment paper liners.
  • In a medium bowl add almond flour, cocoa, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. (see note)
  • In a large bowl whisk eggs. Add in coconut sugar, milk, coffee, avocado oil and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
  • Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and whisk to combine completely.
  • Divide batter evenly between 16 cupcake liners bake in pre-heated oven for 16-18 minutes  minutes, or until a toothpick inserted and removed is clean of any wet cake batter.
  • Let cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.

Make the filling:

  • Make 1 batch of Homemade Marshmallow Fluff and that post will have everything you need to know in it about doing so. You will have more than you need for this recipe but it is almost impossible to get egg whites to whip up if it is less than 3, so you'll need to make the whole batch.

Make Chocolate Ganache:

  • Place mini chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.
  • Heat coconut milk until it is very hot (but not boiling) either in a microwave or in a very small pot over a low flame.
  • Pour over chocolate and shake the bowl to make sure the chips are covered by the hot milk. Let sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
  • Whisk the chocolate and coconut milk together until a smooth ganache is formed. It is best to do this right before assembling the cupcakes because you'll want the ganache to be warm, but not hot.

Assemble the cupcakes:

  • Cut out a well from the cooled cupcakes with a knife and set aside the top. Using a spoon scoop out a teaspoon sized amount of cake to create a larger hole, and discard the cake scraps. Using your fingers gently press the sides of the hole until it is set and there are no loose crumbs. 
  • Fill a pastry bag with the marshmallow cream and cut out a small hole. Fill the cupcakes and place the reserved cut top back on the cupcake and gently push it down so it's flat.
  • Dip the top of each filled cupcake carefully into the glaze, and gently lift it up to let to let the excess glaze drip off and than quickly flip it back right side up on a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To pipe the swirl either fill a pastry bag with melted and slightly cooled white chocolate, or you can use extra marshmallow fluff and make 4-5 swirls on the top of the cooled cupcake.
  • Enjoy cupcakes within two days. They can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container.

Notes

If your almond flour and cocoa powder is really lumpy you should sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
You can skip the coffee and just increase the milk by 1/4 cup.
If your chocolate ganache ever gets too cold you can gently rewarm it it over a double-boiler or in the microwaves for 10 seconds at a time.
If you would like to make less chocolate cupcakes, you can use these ingredient amounts:
1-1/4 cups (120) almond flour
⅓ cup plus 1 tabespoon (35g) high-quality cocoa powder
1/4 cup (24g) coconut flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup milk of choice
2 tablespoons cup coffee (see note)
2 tablespoon cup avocado oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Nutrition

Serving: 16g | Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 20.3g | Protein: 3.7g | Fat: 7.4g | Saturated Fat: 3.1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 163mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16.3g