Yes. I did.
I made Twinkies.
And yes, they are moist little sponge logs that taste rich with butter and vanilla. Yes, they have billowy puffs of sweet marshmallow cream piped into their bellies.
Oh, and for the record, yes, I ate them as a twin pack. Hostess told me to.
Mmhmm yes, after serving them on an empty, slippery butter wrapper. Presentation is everything.
And though I don’t need to tell you, yes, gluttony loves company. Make them.
If you’re a normal human being, unlike me, you’ll think about investing in a Twinkie pan. If you’re somewhat masochistic and like living on the edge, you’ll consider making your own Twinkie cake baking cups as I’ve done here. You’ll swear a bunch, tell your boyfriend that life is harder than you thought it ever could be, and then you’ll wish you’d made cupcakes instead. But if you remain cool, calm, and collected, you will have sweet cream filled crumb cakes on your kitchen counter in about 45 minutes. A very good thing.
Start by folding a small sheet of aluminum foil (preferably heavy duty) in half so that it is roughly triple the size of an ordinary spice bottle. Mold the foil and press it firmly to seal around the bottle, leaving one side completely open for filling.
Now, carefully remove the spice bottle from the foil sling and press the foil all around with two fingers to seal the edges and create a smooth surface.
Spray the insides of the foil well with nonstick cooking spray. Set them aside while you make your cake favorite yellow cake batter.
Fill the oiled foil pans half full with cake batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool completely in their foil wrappers on a wire cooling rack.
Using a clean nail or a toothpick, make three holes in the bottom of the Twinkie. Start by inserting the nail halfway into the cake and winding it around to open up the center. Be careful not to rip the cake, you just want to create a little space inside to pipe the marshmallow cream filling.
Fit a pastry bag with a Wilton #12 tip (any small tip size you have will work) or snip the very corner off of gallon sized plastic bag and fill it with fluffy marshmallow frosting. Insert the tip into each of the three holes you created in the bottom of the cake, squeezing a few teaspoons of frosting in each. Be gentle so that you do not push so much frosting in the cake that they burst open. The cake is fragile.
Twinkie Marshmallow Cream Filling
recipe slightly adapted from Todd Wilbur, as seen on Joy the Baker
makes about 3 cups
2 teaspoons very hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups marshmallow cream (one 7-ounce jar)
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix the water and salt in a bowl and allow to cool. In a separate large bowl, beat the marshmallow cream, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until well combined and light. Beat in the salt water until the mixture is fluffy.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a Wilton #12 tip with the cream and pipe a few teaspoons into each of the three holes created on the underside of each cooled Twinkie cake.
I have no shame. I think a twinkie is fabulous!
Do you remember the commercials about how the creme got in the middle? The answer was “it’s just born there!” :)
Totally remember those commercials! Haha, thanks for the pleasant reminder :)
No joke, I saw that first photo and thought, “You didn’t.” And then I read your first words. It’s like you’re reading my mind.
I love that you made your own twinkie pan. What a great idea!
i’m not a twinkie fan, but can i just say how impressed i am that you made these?!
That’s awesome! Who needs a twinkie pan—when you’ve got tin foil!
These look SO much better than the packaged version!
i would never invest in a twinkie pan myself, my husband has a low tolerance for unused kitchenware. that being said, these are adorable and clearly display the how subpar the hostess twinkies are in comparison to your creations.
I love all these recreations of the Hostess treats. I’m going to throw some suggestions in the suggestion box. It would be awesome to recreate…
–The Swiss Cake Roll
–The Oatmeal Cream Pie
–The Starcrunch
You’ve conquered Hostess. It’s time to take down that smirking Little Debbie!!
Wow, these look phenomenal! The best part is that you made your very own Twinkie pan – how creative. You are just too cute. Glad you got through the hard, stressful part and were able to enjoy them at the end : )
That is some determination with the tin foil! But they turned out so pretty! :) I am always amazed at how professional your homemade versions of store bought desserts look!
OK! twinkies got me into the shape I’m in. I guess now is the time to learn how to eat just 2! Neat idea with the tin foil.
Totally love this!
OH…no…..you…didn’t. I just polished off the last of my Milano-esque cookies. Now I guess I have to make Twinkies tomorrow to satisfy this hellish craving in my soul FOR MORE MARSHMALLOW FLUFFY STUFF.
Amanda, there will never been enough marshmallow fluff in the whole wide world. NEVER ;)
Oh, well I’ll make it my solemnly sworn duty to ensure that I either deplete the world supply…or eat so much that I can never ever look it in the face again. Either way I’m ok.
Oh noooo you didn’ttttt!!! Can you come bake for me… pleaseeee? These look wonderful :)
Thanks Stephanie! I will bake for you anytime :)
Too cool! I would love to make homemade twinkies! Every once in a while I crave them something fierce!
Your twinkies are absolutely perfect!
:-) Mandy
Thank you Mandy!
Must have these. I’m coming to Seattle and stealing them from your pantry!
These look awesome Andrea!! They could definitely be dangerous though haha.
This is super clever!
No way!?! Homemade twinkies?? You’re my hero!
It was only a matter of time… :)
Utter brilliance. Those look delicious!!
My dad lived on Twinkies. That may be why he’s not with us anymore but oh well. I’ll give these a try for old time’s sake.
I teach ESL through cooking… I’m going to try this recipe with my class! I’ll let you know how it goes.
Oh how wonderful! Thanks Patricia :)
It was fantastic! They loved it and it was very kid-friendly with just enough messy to make it fun.
YAY!! Thanks Patricia! So happy to hear it :)
looks great
love the idea, i remember when they came out with strawberry filled twinkies and they didnt last long now i can make my own…lol i do have a few ideas i wanna try maybe chocolate twinkies, or dip them in orange glaze
Use non-stick Reynolds foil and no need to grease?
Hey there,
No, it’s best to spritz the foil cups with nonstick cooking spray. “Spray the insides of the foil well with nonstick cooking spray. Set them aside while you make your cake favorite yellow cake batter.”
Hope you make them and like them!
:)
andie
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Just made these tonight and they tasted amazing, a definite keeper, thanks for sharing!
PLEASE share the recipe for the delicous looking twinkie CAKE !
jtd52@aol.com
This is perfect BUT I see no way to print the Recipe.
Seriously? It’s 2012 and you haven’t discovered how to print pages off of the internet or how to copy and paste into Word or how to screen shot a page? Better yet, grab a pen or pencil and write it down on paper.
right click and select print.
OR
select text you want, then place in a Word, or Word Pad document, then print
I STILL WANT THE CAKE PART OF THE RECIPE !
I am going to try this!! No shame in my game…I love Twinkies!
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I love your idea and instructions for making your own Twinkie pans from foil. I posted a Gluten Free Twinkie recipe on my blog last week and put in a link to your post so people can make their own pans. Your Twinkies look great, but I must make mine gluten free. Thanks for posting this.
What did you use for the actual Twinkie batter? Just Yellow Cake Mix?
I tried 3 Twinkie recipes. First two were terrible. The cake was not right. First one used pound cake mix – not good. Second one was homemade recipe not good. Third try was the closest make with yellow cake mix adding vanilla pudding mix to it. It is the best so far. So I was hoping you would share your cake recipe so I could see if yours is better than the third one I tried. Yes, I bought the Twinkie pan it is very nice! Once I get the right recipe I would like to make occasionally. Thank you, Maria