Hostess CupCake facts for kids
The Hostess CupCake is a very popular American snack cake. It's made by Hostess Brands and is now owned by The J.M. Smucker Company. The most common kind is a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing. It has a creamy vanilla filling inside and seven special white squiggles on top. Other flavors have been made too! Many people believe it was the first cupcake ever sold in stores, making it a famous American treat.
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History of Hostess CupCakes
Hostess CupCakes were first sold on May 10, 1919. They were originally called "Chocolate Cup Cakes." Some people say they were the first snack cake ever made for sale! Back then, you could buy two cupcakes for just five cents.
In the early years, Hostess tried different flavors. They had cupcakes with vanilla or malted milk icing. In the 1940s, an orange cupcake was even created. It had orange cake and orange icing!
But the famous white squiggles and creamy filling weren't added until 1950. A person named D.R. "Doc" Rice helped make these changes. He got the idea for the filling from a machine used for Hostess Twinkies. The squiggles were added to make Hostess CupCakes special and easy to spot. The cake recipe and chocolate icing were also made even better!
Other flavors of Hostess CupCakes have included golden (vanilla cake with chocolate icing) and strawberry.
Hostess CupCakes are very popular! In 1988, 400 million were sold. By 2011, over 600 million CupCakes were sold each year. The company faced some challenges in 2012. However, it was bought by a new group, Apollo Global Management. They started selling Hostess products again in July 2013. Later, in September 2023, The J.M. Smucker Company bought Hostess.
How Hostess CupCakes Are Made
These tasty cakes are made from a mix of flour, sugar, cocoa, and water. They are baked in large trays for about 17 minutes. This happens in a long oven that can make 11,000 cupcakes every hour!
After the cakes cool down, they get their vanilla cream filling. A special machine injects the cream into the top of each cake. Then, they move along a conveyor belt to be covered with chocolate icing. Another machine then adds the famous white squiggles on top. Finally, the cakes are cooled again and wrapped up, ready to be enjoyed!
Hostess CupCakes Branding
For a while, Hostess CupCakes were advertised by an animated character called Captain Cupcake. He appeared in commercials with Twinkie the Kid and Fruit Pie the Magician. One popular saying used to sell them was "You get a big delight in every bite." Many commercials also featured the question, "Hey! Where's the cream filling?"
In Mexico and other parts of Latin America, Hostess CupCakes are sold as "Pingüinos," which means "Penguins." They are made by a company called Marinela.
Popularity of Hostess CupCakes
Hostess CupCakes are a big part of pop culture. One survey showed that 97% of people had heard of them. At least 71% of people said they liked them! People born between the mid-1960s and early 1980s (Generation X) especially love them, with 75% saying they are fans. Hostess CupCakes are ranked among the most well-known food and snack brands. Many food bloggers also share recipes to make homemade versions of Hostess CupCakes.
Other Flavors of Hostess CupCakes
Standard Flavors
Besides the classic chocolate, these Hostess CupCake flavors are available all year in boxes of eight:
- Golden CupCakes (vanilla cake with chocolate icing)
- Orange CupCakes
- Birthday CupCakes
- Strawberry CupCakes (these used to be only for a limited time)
Limited Edition Flavors
These flavors are or have been available for a "Limited Time Only" or as "Seasonal" products. They usually come in boxes of eight. Most of these flavors were first introduced after Hostess was bought by Apollo Global Management in 2013.
- Iced Lemon CupCakes (lemon cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles)
- Red Velvet CupCakes (red velvet cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles)
- Sea Salt Caramel CupCakes (caramel iced yellow cake with sea salt topping and caramel filling)
- Sundae CupCakes (chocolate cake with vanilla icing)
- Unicorn CupCakes (yellow cake with blue-colored, sprinkled icing and vanilla filling)
- Dark Chocolate Raspberry CupCakes (dark chocolate cake with chocolate icing and raspberry filling) – available around Valentine's Day
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry CupCakes (strawberry cake with chocolate icing) – available around Valentine's Day
- Shamrock CupCakes (chocolate cake with mint filling) – available around St. Patrick's Day
- Key Lime CupCakes (chocolate cake with mint filling) – available around St. Patrick's Day
- Spring CupCakes (yellow cake with pink-colored, vanilla icing) – available around Easter
- Baseball CupCakes (yellow or chocolate cake with vanilla icing) – available during baseball season
- Star Spangled CupCakes (yellow cake with blue-colored icing) – available around the 4th of July
- Candy Corn CupCakes (yellow cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles) – available around Halloween
- Caramel Apple CupCakes (caramel apple cake with filling) – available around Halloween
- Pumpkin Spice CupCakes (pumpkin spice cake with filling) – available around Halloween
- ScaryCakes (chocolate cake with orange colored icing) – available around Halloween
- HolidayCakes (yellow cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles) – available around Christmas
