Twinkies
intro
Fluffy golden sponge cakes filled with smooth, sweet vanilla cream, the iconic nostalgic American snack cake made fresh from simple pantry ingredients.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and pan
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Generously coat a 12-cavity canoe-shaped Twinkie pan with 15ml (1 tablespoon) nonstick cooking spray, then use the reserved 1 teaspoon (3g) of cake flour to lightly dust the pan, tapping out all excess to prevent cakes from sticking during baking.
Mix dry sponge ingredients
In a medium glass mixing bowl, combine the remaining 180g cake flour, 200g granulated sugar, 4g baking powder, and 1g fine table salt. Whisk steadily for 30 seconds until the dry ingredients are fully blended, with no clumps of baking powder or flour visible.
Combine wet base batter
Add the 4 separated egg yolks directly to the dry ingredient bowl, placing the whites into a completely clean, grease-free stainless steel bowl. Add 120ml room-temperature whole milk, 57g cooled melted butter, and 5ml vanilla extract to the dry ingredients and yolks. Whisk on low speed for 1 minute until the batter is completely smooth, with no streaks of flour remaining; do not overmix to avoid a tough sponge.
Whip and fold egg whites
Use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat the reserved egg whites for 2–3 minutes, until they form stiff, glossy peaks that hold their shape straight up when the mixer beater is lifted. Gently fold 1/3 of the beaten whites into the base batter to lighten its texture, then fold in the remaining whites in two equal additions, mixing only just until no white streaks remain to preserve the batter’s airy lift.
Bake the sponge cakes
Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared pan cavities, filling each to 2/3 capacity (approximately 3 tablespoons of batter per cavity). Bake for 14–16 minutes at 175°C (350°F) until the cake tops are pale golden and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean with no wet batter attached. Let cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely for 30 minutes before filling.
Make vanilla cream filling
While the cakes cool, prepare the filling: use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat 113g softened unsalted butter for 2 minutes until it is pale, light, and fluffy. Add 213g marshmallow fluff, 130g sifted confectioners’ sugar, and 5ml vanilla extract, then beat on medium-low speed for 2 additional minutes until the filling is completely smooth, creamy, and free of sugar lumps.
Fill and finish Twinkies
Transfer the finished cream filling to a piping bag fitted with a small 6mm round piping tip. Poke 3 evenly spaced, 2cm-deep holes into the flat bottom side of each fully cooled cake. Pipe roughly 1.5 tablespoons of filling into each hole, stopping when the cake feels slightly heavy and a tiny amount of cream peeks out from the holes. Flip cakes right-side up before serving.
Tips
2.Never fill warm or partially cooled cakes, as residual heat will melt the marshmallow cream filling, causing it to run out of the fill holes and create soggy cakes.
3.Store homemade Twinkies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days; for longer storage, refrigerate for up to 1 week, and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to restore the soft, fluffy texture.
OMG I made these for my kid’s soccer team potluck last weekend and they were gone in 10 minutes flat! I was worried the vanilla cream filling would be too runny but it set perfectly, and everyone kept asking if I snuck store-bought Twinkies lmao. Only note: make sure you give the cake enough time to cool completely before piping the filling, I rushed the first batch and oozed everywhere 😂
Okay as someone who burns boxed brownies half the time, I was shocked these turned out as good as they did! The recipe says medium difficulty and I was intimidated by the 1hr40min cook/prep time, but the steps were super straightforward. The cake is so much fluffier than the store-bought version, I’ll never buy a pack again.
Made these for a trailhead snack share last week and they held up way better than I thought they would in my pack. Not too sweet, perfect portable size, held up to being jostled around for 4 miles. 10/10 will make again for our next group hike.
Game. Changer. I’ve been chasing that classic childhood Twinkie taste for years since they changed the recipe a while back, and this is EXACTLY it. The cream filling has that perfect light, not-too-buttery taste I remember, and the sponge cake has that soft, springy texture. Only complaint is I ate 3 straight out of the pan and gave myself a sugar rush oops.
Brought these to my office potluck yesterday and half my coworkers asked for the recipe before I even left the break room. I did a little twist and added a tiny bit of banana extract to the filling to make those old banana-flavored Twinkies I loved as a kid, and it slapped. Heads up: these do take almost the full listed time so don’t start them an hour before you need to leave like I almost did lmao.
Tried making these gluten free by swapping in a 1:1 GF baking flour and they still came out pretty great! The texture was a tiny bit more crumbly than regular but the flavor was spot on. Super happy I can enjoy a homemade Twinkie without the gluten bloat.
My kids went absolutely feral for these. I’ve been trying to make more homemade snack staples instead of buying processed stuff for their lunch boxes, and these are going into the regular rotation. The only issue I had was my piping tip was too small so the filling didn’t get all the way to the ends of the cakes, so the first couple bites were just plain cake. Still a hit though!
I really wanted to love these but I messed up the meringue part of the cake I think? My sponge came out really flat and dense, not light and fluffy like the pictures. The filling was amazing though, so I know I did that part right at least. Any tips for getting the cake to rise properly?
SO good. I know these are a dessert but I ate two alongside my brisket sandwich last night and zero regrets. The sweet vanilla cream pairs weirdly well with smoky BBQ, don’t knock it till you try it.
I made these for my grandma’s 80th birthday party since she used to pack Twinkies in my dad’s school lunches back in the 70s, and she teared up when she tried them! Said it tasted exactly like the ones she bought at the corner store when my dad was little. Total hit across every generation at the party, from my 8 year old niece to my 92 year old grandpa.
Pro tip: add a teaspoon of instant espresso powder to the cake batter! It doesn’t make it taste like coffee, it just makes the vanilla flavor taste so much richer and deeper. I did this on a whim with my second batch and my roommate said they were better than any gas station snack cake he’s ever had.
I was worried this would be too fussy for a casual weekend bake, but it was actually really fun! The piping part felt fancy even though it was super easy once I got the hang of it. My only heads up is the filling makes a little more than you need, so save the extra to dip fruit in or spread on toast, it’s chef’s kiss.
These were SO good, but I wish the recipe noted how long you need to let the filling chill before piping! I mixed it up and tried to pipe it right away and it was super runny, made a huge mess all over my counter. Once I stuck it in the fridge for 20 minutes it was perfect, though. My kids ate 2 each after school and didn’t even complain that they weren’t the store-bought kind.
Made these for my dorm floor snack night and everyone thought I ordered them from a fancy bakery! I don’t have a stand mixer so I used a cheap hand mixer and it still worked fine, just took a little extra arm muscle to whip the egg whites. 10/10, way cheaper than buying snack cakes for the whole floor.
Made these for my neighborhood block party last weekend and they were a total hit! I added a little dusting of cocoa powder on half the batch for a chocolate twist, and both versions were gone before the burgers even came off the grill. Will absolutely be adding these to my go-to summer party recipe list.