These homemade Twinkies rival the real deal much-loved junk food from the past. With a traditional light, moist sponge cake in the familiar oblong shape with a sweet, fluffy marshmallow cream filling, this version is just like the one from your childhood, but better. Without the super-powered preservatives, they won’t last through a nuclear bomb like the real thing, but they’re made with real, unprocessed dairy and eggs and whole-grain flour for a sweet nostalgic treat that you’ll certainly gobble up in no time.
This iconic snack was never a regular fixture in my childhood, but they were my Grandfather’s favorite guilty pleasure.
Makes about 1 dozen
Ingredients
Twinkie Sponge Cakes
1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 Tbsp whole milk
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar, separated
¼ tsp cream of tarter
Twinkie Marshmallow Cream Filling
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
½-1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¾ cup Marshmallow Fluff
2 Tbsp heavy cream
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
Directions
Twinkie Sponge Cakes
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a canoe cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Cover to keep warm.
Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and reserve the yolks in a separate bowl. Beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the cream of tartar and continue to beat until the egg whites reach soft, moist peaks.
Transfer the beaten egg whites to a separate large bowl and add the egg yolks to the bowl of the stand mixer (there’s no need to clean the bowl). Beat the egg yolks with the remaining 5 tablespoons of sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is very thick and a pale lemon color, about 5 minutes. Add the beaten egg whites to the yolks, but do not mix.
Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg whites and then mix everything on low speed for just 10 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer, make a well in one side of the batter, and pour the melted butter mixture into the well. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the batter until there are no traces of flour and the whites and yolks are evenly mixed, about 8-10 strokes.
Immediately scrape the batter into the prepared pan, filling each well with about ¾-inch of batter.
Bake until the cake tops are light brown, feel firm, and spring back when touched, about 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow the cakes to cool completely in the pan.
Twinkie Marshmallow Cream Filling
Using an electric handheld mixer, beat together the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and marshmallow Fluff until combined. Add the cream, vanilla, and salt and beat just until smooth.
Twinkie Assembly
Just before filling, remove the cakes from the pan. Using the end of a chopstick, poke three holes in the bottom of each cake. Wiggle the tip of the chopstick around to make room for the filling.
Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip about ¼-inch wide. Pipe the frosting into the holes in the bottom of the cakes. The cakes will swell slightly as the holes fill up. (I used a kitchen scale to weigh each Twinkie to ensure they all contained an equal amount of filling.)
In my opinion, these taste best after resting in the refrigerator overnight.