Description
This Homemade Twinkies recipe guides you through baking soft, golden vanilla cakes filled with a fluffy, sweet meringue cream. Perfect for recreating a nostalgic treat, these Twinkies offer a deliciously light texture with a rich vanilla flavor and an irresistibly creamy inside.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake Ingredients
- 250 grams cake flour, sifted
- 225 grams granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 120 millilitres whole milk
- 160 millilitres vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Filling Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 135 grams granulated sugar
- 40 millilitres water
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pans: Preheat the oven to 177°C (350°F). Generously spray Twinkie-shaped cake pans with non-stick baking spray to ensure easy cake release.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt to evenly distribute the leavening agents and seasoning.
- Combine wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, whole milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract thoroughly until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous.
- Make batter: Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is smooth and free of lumps, ensuring a light texture for the cakes.
- Fill pans and bake: Spoon the batter into the prepared Twinkie pans, filling each cavity about two-thirds full. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, indicating the cakes are cooked through.
- Cool cakes: Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely in the pans before removing and filling to avoid breaking.
- Prepare meringue filling: Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment on high speed, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, creating the base for the creamy filling.
- Make sugar syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water and stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and cook the syrup until it reaches 119°C–121°C (245°F–250°F), forming a perfect sugar syrup for the meringue.
- Combine syrup and egg whites: With the mixer running on medium-high, slowly pour the hot syrup into the whipped egg whites. Continue beating on high speed until the meringue cools to room temperature and becomes thick and glossy, ensuring a stable, sweet filling.
- Prepare to fill cakes: Fill a piping bag fitted with a #10 round tip with the prepared meringue to allow precise injection of the filling into the cakes.
- Fill the Twinkies: Turn the cooled cakes over and insert the piping tip into three evenly spaced points on the base of each cake. Pipe the filling into the center and both ends carefully, avoiding overfilling to maintain the cake’s structure.
Notes
- Room temperature eggs help to incorporate air for fluffier cakes and stiffer meringue.
- If you do not have Twinkie-shaped pans, you can use small loaf pans or cupcake molds but adjust baking time accordingly.
- The sugar syrup temperature is crucial for stable meringue; use a candy thermometer for accuracy.
- Ensure cakes are completely cooled before filling to prevent the filling from melting.
- Store filled Twinkies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days for best freshness.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
