It took some tinkering before these sno balls 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 1950 that the icing on the cake, so to speak—that is the crème 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.–David Leite
Sno Balls FAQs
Sure. A regular cupcake pan with six wells will do the trick. Just make sure the swirl the frosting to make a dome shape.
Because the filling and frosting are Italian meringue, the sno balls will last up to 2 days light covered in the fridge. But we bet they won’t last that long.
Homemade Sno Balls
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, 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 egg
- 1 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, preferably Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut
- 6 drops red food coloring
Instructions
Make the cakes
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour the molds.
- 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.
- Divide the batter evenly among the molds, filling them almost to the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 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
- 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 235°F to 240°F (112°C to 115°C) on a candy thermometer, about 3 minutes. This is known as the soft-ball stage.
- 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, 8 to 10 minutes. 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.
- Place the coconut in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add 3 drops food coloring, and pulse 15 times. Turn the coconut into a large bowl.
Assemble the sno balls
- 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.
An LC Original
View More Original RecipesNutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
These homemade sno balls were hands-down delicious. All three components—cake, filling, and frosting—are good on their own and together. Each component isn’t difficult to make. And everything comes together very quickly.
This is a really long, detailed recipe. It’s definitely a weekend project if you want to eat the cupcakes fresh, but you can also make parts of the recipe ahead, which would cut down on the feeling of how long it takes.
The snow ball cakes were so tender that they seemed to squish a little when I started taking them out of the molds. So I left some cupcakes in the molds until they were mostly cooled. This worked better than removing immediately.
I honestly loved the filling so much that I’d like to see more of it in the cupcake. You could get more coconut flavor by adding coconut flavoring along with the vanilla.
You could easily make the sno ball cakes the day ahead and refrigerate them. In place of using a pastry bag and tip to fill, you could use a knife, cut a small hole in a cone-like shape into the sno balls, remove the round, fill, and replace.
Is there something I can put in the snow balls that will make them last for 30-40 days?
Arlene, I guess the stuff that Hostess puts in theirs would do the trick. Alas, we know of no such way to make these homemade versions last that long. Usually with made-from-scratch cake you can freeze it, unfrosted, and then thaw it overnight at room temperature before frosting. But due to the shape of these, they may take up more freezer space than you’re willing to dedicate to the cause.
Nope. Real sno balls do not have a meringue filling, nor do they have a meringue coating. Should be cream filling (shortening or butter plus sugar; no egg whites) and marshmallow (NOT marshmallow creme) coating. Wish sites would stop wasting my time with misleading titles.
JenP, I’m sorry that you felt mislead. Perhaps calling it a “copycat recipe” is wrong, and I’ll fix that now. I will say “inspired” by the real deal. And thanks for bringing it to my attention, because I pulled up the ingredients list of the real snoballs, and I kinda like ours better.
INGREDIENTS: sugar, water, corn syrup, enriched bleached wheat flour [flour, reduced iron, b vitamins (niacin, thiamine mononitrate (b1), riboflavin (b2), folic acid)], coconut (sulfite treated), high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (soybean, cottonseed and/or canola oil, beef fat), mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, soy lecithin. contains 2% or less of: cocoa, palm oil, soybean oil, glycerine, sugar, cornstarch, pork gelatin, modified corn starch, glucose, cocoa (processed with alkali), baking soda, salt, whey, leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, cornstarch, and monocalcium phosphate), whole eggs, sugar, dextrose, wheat flour, enzymes, xanthan gum, cellulose gum, natural and artificial flavor. coatings contain: blue (fd&c blue 1 lake); green (yellow 5 lake, blue 1 lake); lavender (blue 2 lake, carmine, red 40 lake); orange (yellow 6 lake); pink (carmine, red 40 lake); teal (blue 1 lake, yellow 5 lake); yellow (yellow 5 lake).
This sounds fantastic and I want to try. Before I do, I would love to know; is it possible to store these for a couple days, or do they really need to be eaten immediately? If they can store, I’m assuming it’d be on the counter (well covered). Is that correct?
THANKS
Rebecca, you can make the cake domes ahead of time. But they should be filled in frosted the day you’re going to serve them. The frosting Is the fragile element.
Agreed! I’ve made the sno balls since I posted, and I see what you’re saying. The frosting really is the fragile part. That said, there were a couple sno balls left the next day, and they still tasted awesome after being stored in the fridge, loosely covered, overnight. The coconut and rich flavor of the cake went far to mask any second-day meringue frosting texture change. My family DID NOT notice at all, and I kept my mouth shut.
Rebecca, they look AMAZING! I’m so glad you like the recipe. And no one is the wiser, right?