Hostess Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cup Cakes

I wasn't aware that Hostess came out with a line of limited edition cakes for the fall season until a noon-time browsing session through Target had me stumble upon the Hostess Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cup Cakes. Before I even looked at the nutrition label, I popped the box in my cart and off I went.

Hostess has always been a manufacturer of snack cakes I've enjoyed in my childhood (and adulthood). But with this launch, all I can say is these cupcakes spoke to the pumpkin lover in me. Opening the box I noticed a clear difference between these and your classic Hostess cupcakes. These particular cupcakes are packaged in the plastic wrapping, but there is no cardboard piece beneath the cupcakes as there are with other varieties. I also noticed that the cupcakes are darker than the original which would make sense considering it's pumpkin spice. But one of the clear giveaways was that each of the cupcakes seem to be baked unevenly. Almost like they were scooped into baking containers at an angle and popped into an oven to be quick-cooked and baked off at an angle.

Cupcake angle aside, these are pretty good. The cupcakes are a smooth pumpkin spice flavor, which was smooth and flavorful. They're lightly frosted with a cream cheese-like flavored frosting, which along with the cream filling give the cupcake a decent amount of sweetness. The frosting is then decorated with fall sprinkles. Overall, they're pretty good and were a nice snack to have on hand when in the mood for something sweet but in a portion controlled option.

If you're interested, there is also a limited edition Candy Corn variety available for the holiday season.

A serving, 1 cake, is 160 calories or 4 points plus values.

Betty Crocker Watermelon Cupcakes

Spring and summer months my favorite fruit is hands down, watermelon. I find myself trying watermelon flavored items – cookies, candies, ice creams, etc.  Needless to say when I spotted this Betty Crocker Watermelon Cupcakes boxed cake mix at Target … I had to purchase it. I mean, what could be the worst thing that happened?

As with any boxed cake mix, whipping it together is easy breezy … especially if you’re skipping the eggs, water and oil and simply using diet soda or soda water. Once combined, the mixture definitely has a watermelon scent to it. My cupcakes baked up in 10 minutes.

In stores, Target was also selling a watermelon flavored frosting. Since I felt it would be too much of one flavor, I opted to use cool whip as a frosting. 2 tablespoons of cool whip per cupcake and they were perfect. They definitely have a watermelon flavor and scent to them. It has that Jolly Rancher flavor vibe to it, but not overwhelmingly artificial. There is “watermelon seeds” running throughout the batter – but they’re more like black funfetti beads.  Overall this is a unique and fun cake mix that is definitely good for a summer party/barbecue.

If the mix is made with diet soda or soda water (making 24 cupcakes) each cupcake is 65 calories or 2 points plus values. Or if you make giant cupcakes (12 servings) it’d be 130 calories or 4 points plus values.

Hungry Girl Gooey Butterfinger Cupcakes

Along with the popcorn balls for Halloween, there were also cupcakes for dessert to share with my little ghouls and goblins - Hungry Girl Gooey Butterfinger Cupcakes that is.  In the e-mail I received from Hungry Girl they looked delicious and seemed super easy to whip together … so I had to give them a go.

I really do enjoy making lighter versions of desserts because typically the crowd eating them truly have no idea- and this recipe certainly is one of those. The cupcakes took no time to whip together and then bake up.  Once they were cooled I topped them with the marshmallow fluff glaze, then sprinkled each cupcake with some of the chopped up Butterfinger candy bar. Simple, easy peasy and they really do look a little bit fancy.

The downside – I found the next day the candy bits sucked up all the marshmallow topping. They looked like chocolate cupcakes with wet caramel colored bits on top of them. Definitely not something you’d want to present to guests so sadly I ended up having to throw the remaining cupcakes away because nobody was eating them.  So with that I say – make this recipe the day you plan on serving them.

The recipe made 12 cupcakes and each cupcake was 127 calories or 3 points plus values.

You can find the recipe here: http://www.hungry-girl.com/weighin/show/2753

Cupcakes from Eat Cake!

If you’re a fan of cupcakes and a fan of Food Network then you may have seen an episode or two of Cupcake Wars.  I admit, I’ve seen a few Cupcake War episodes in my past and I have a slight love of visiting spots that have been featured on the Food Network – primarily out of curiosity to “see what the fuss is all about.”

Almost 2 years ago my boyfriend and I stumbled upon this little bakery in Newburyport called “Eat Cake.” I was intrigued because there was a Food Network sign in the window and a little blurb about the shop being featured on Cupcake Wars. I was suddenly transformed to a magnet and the cupcake shop was my large piece of metal.  Heading inside the shop they typically have 5 variation of flavored cupcakes of the day.  You never know what you’re going find unless you go there or visit their Facebook page to see what the flavors of the day are.  Each cupcake is also $3/ea which is a bit pricey but for the experience and the different flavors, it’s worth it once in a while.

Popping into the shop the cupcakes are the main attraction.  The countertop is lined with glass covered cake pans with cupcakes piled high with buttercream – all assorted in flavors.  In front of the counter is a chalkboard which has the daily menu printed on it – to help make choosing easier. Or in my case, a little more difficult.

After giving the cupcakes a once over, my boyfriend and I decided on three. One cupcake he really wanted, one I really wanted and one we each wanted to try.  So 3 cupcakes we got were:

Coconut-Coconut Goo- Vanilla Butterceam.  Our pick. This cupcake was a vanilla cupcake, which was topped with a coconut “goo” which really reminded me of the inside of a mounds bar, just stickier.  It was then topped with a vanilla buttercream and garnished with toasted coconut.  It was moist and delicious, but definitely sweet.

Chocolate Fudge – Strawberry Buttercream. My boyfriends pick. This was a chocolate cupcake dipped into a fudgy chocolate, then topped with a strawberry buttercream and garnished with shaved chocolate pieces. My boyfriend enjoyed it as he’s a chocolate cake fan. His was actually not as sweet as one would suspect and it was undoubtedly moist.

Hummingbird Cake – Honey Cinnamon Buttercream. My pick. I have been eyeing a hummingbird cake recipe online for months – the only thing holding me back from making it being the fact I don’t have pecans in the house. So when I saw this listed on the sign, I immediately wanted it. The cupcake is a classic hummingbird flavored cake – bananay, cinnamonny, nutty and just delicious.  The buttercream was sweet with a cinnamon flavoring to it. Undoubtedly delicious. It reminded me of banana bead in a light and airy cupcake form.

I at first estimated each cupcake being 9 points plus values. After taking a bite, I decided to roll those estimates up to 12 points plus values.  Sure, it was high for a dessert … but it was worth it.

QUESTION:

What is the best cupcake you’ve ever tried?