DIY Twinkies from Joy The Baker

Homemade Twinkies

This endeavor was in no way glamorous. If nothing else, these Homemade Twinkies highlighted my ability to make something from nothing. I knew I wanted to make Twinkies, which if you aren’t familiar with, are white cake like treats with a light marshmallow-ish cream center. Amazon sells do-it-yourself-Twinkie-pans, but sometimes I prefer the uphill battle.

So when the need for a Homemade Twinkie strikes, I get out my roll of foil and spice bottle, and I make my own pan. Well, I’m being generous in calling it a pan. I essentially made foil boats for cake batter. I know. Kinda madness. I didn’t dream this notion on my own- thank you YouTube.

I’m almost embarrassed to share this with you…. they were so tasty, but the road getting there wasn’t so glamorous. Sometimes these things happen in my kitchen.

So there’s kind of a lot of things going on with these Twinkies. I’m making foil cake pans, cake batter, and filling. If you’re feeling the spirit and want to make these little gems, I have a step by step picture making extravaganza below. But also, jump on over here and watch Todd Wilbur’s masterful work with the homemade Twinkie. He’ll show you how to make the foil cake pans and how to properly fill them. Just thought you might appreciate the video example.

After much thought and foil folding. I’ve decided that next time I want Homemade Twinkies. I’m just going to buy the pan. Really.

Twinkie Cake

makes about 12 Twinkies

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 cup milk

Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute in between each addition. Beat in vanilla and almond extract. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture alternately with the milk in 3 batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until just incorporated.

Spray prepared Twinkie tins with nonstick spray and divide the batter between the cups. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until the cakes are just slightly golden and a pick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before filling with marshmallow cream.

Twinkie Cream

recipe from Todd Wilbur

2 teaspoons very hot water

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups marshmallow cream (one 7-ounce jar)

1/2 cup shortening

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the salt and the how water in a small bowl and mix until the salt is dissolved. Let the mixture cool.

Combine the marshmallow cream, shortening, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a medium sized bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Add the salt solution to the filling and beat to combine.

Scoop into a pastry bag with a small tip and pipe into cooled Twinkie cakes. Flip them over so the browned bottoms of the cakes are on top, and the filling side is on the bottom. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and give them to all your friends!

Take a 12 to 14-inch piece of foil and fold it in half.

Cut that in half.

Center a round spice jar on the foil.

First fold the foil up around the top and bottom of the spice jar, and then fold the side up. Now we’re cookin’.

Remove the spice jar. And continue the process until you’ve made 12 Tinkie boats.

Give the foil a spray with nonstick cooking spray and fill with cake batter- about 3/4-inch deep with batter.

Once baked, remove from the foil and cool completely. Poke 3 holes in each cake to make room for the marshmallow filling.

Put marshmallow filling in a pastry bag with tip and pipe into the Twinkie cakes. Filling may puff out of the cakes, or split the cakes slightly. Don’t worry, the cakes will be wrapped in plastic wrap and all the goodness with be contained.