Homemade Sno Balls

These homemade sno balls are our take on Hostess Sno Balls and are made with chocolate cake, a meringue filling and frosting, and fuzzy pink coconut. They taste almost like the real deal–but are way better for you–and are perfect for any occasion but are especially well-suited to birthday parties, spring, showers, and Easter.

It took some tinkering before these snowballs domes of fuzzy Day-Glo pinkness became the Marilyn Monroe of the snack rack. Hostess Sno Balls were originally chocolate cupcakes covered with ho-hum white marshmallow and shredded coconut, hence the name. But not long after, Hostess decided to jazz them up by tinting the shreds of coconut feather boa pink. It wasn’t until that the icing on the cake, so to speak—that is the cream filling as well as frosting— was added.

Although Sno Balls still turn heads after all these years, I’ve given them a face-lift using a richer, moister, more sophisticated cake made from Dutch-processed cocoa that’s slathered with an ethereally light Italian meringue.

Homemade Sno Balls

1 Hr

6 marvelously pink cakes

Equipment:

Domed cupcake pan with six 1/2-cup molds (each 3 1/2 inches in diameter by 1 1/2 inches deep)

Ingredients

For the cake

1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz), at room temperature, plus more for the molds

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the molds

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg1 large egg yolk

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon chocolate extract (optional)

1 teaspoon powdered instant coffee dissolved in 2/3 cup boiling water

For the filling and frosting

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

6 drops red food coloring

Directions

Making the cakes

1. Heat the oven

Butter and flour the molds.

2. Beat the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. Add the egg and then the yolk to the butter and sugar mixture, scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the sour cream and chocolate extract, if using, and mix until combined. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the instant coffee mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the molds, filling them almost to the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, to minutes. Set the molds on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Run the tip of a knife around the rim of each cake and lift out. Place the cakes on the wire rack to cool completely. Make the filling and frosting

4. While the cakes cool, in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until the syrup registers  on a candy thermometer, about 3 minutes. This is known as the soft-ball stage.

5. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until frothy. Add the salt and beat until the whites are glossy and hold soft peaks. When the syrup is at the desired temperature, carefully pour it in a very thin stream down the side of the bowl into the egg whites with the beater still on high speed. Continue to beat until the mixture cools. Beat in the vanilla. Scoop out and reserve about 3/4 cup of the meringue. Add 3 drops red food coloring to the remaining meringue in the bowl of the stand mixer and mix until combined.

6. Place the coconut in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add 3 drops food coloring, and pulse times. Turn the coconut into a large bowl.

7. Using a serrated knife, carefully slice off the top third of each cake, keeping each top alongside its cake. Pinch about a tablespoon and a half of cake from the inside center of each cake and set aside for nibbling. Fill the hole with a dollop of the reserved white meringue and replace the top. Thickly frost the top of the cakes with the pink meringue. Then generously sprinkle each cake with coconut until completely covered. Tamp down gently on the coconut to maintain the domed shape. Serve at once.