Description
This homemade Twinkies recipe recreates the nostalgic vanilla sponge cakes filled with a light, fluffy meringue cream. Made from scratch using simple pantry ingredients, these treats feature tender, moist cakes baked in iconic Twinkie-shaped pans and filled with a silky vanilla meringue that’s both sweet and delicate. Perfect for satisfying your craving for classic Americana snacks with the freshness of homemade baking.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 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 (Meringue)
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 135 grams granulated sugar
- 40 millilitres water
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pans: Preheat your oven to 177°C (350°F) and generously spray Twinkie-shaped cake pans with non-stick baking spray to ensure easy removal of the cakes.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the sifted cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, whole milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Combine Mixtures: Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and whisk together until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.
- Fill Pans and Bake: Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, filling each cavity about two-thirds full. Bake for 15–20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, indicating the cakes are done.
- Cool Cakes: Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely before filling to prevent melting the filling.
- Prepare Meringue – Whip Egg Whites: Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on high speed until stiff peaks form, ensuring a stable meringue base.
- Make Sugar Syrup: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Then increase to medium-high and cook syrup until it reaches between 119°C and 121°C (245°F–250°F), the soft-ball stage.
- Incorporate Syrup into Meringue: With the mixer running on medium-high speed, slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the whipped egg whites. Beat on high until the meringue cools to room temperature and becomes thick, glossy, and stable.
- Fill Piping Bag: Transfer the finished meringue into a piping bag fitted with a #10 round tip, ready for filling the cakes.
- Fill the Cakes: Turn the cooled cakes over so the base is facing up. Insert the piping tip into three evenly spaced points on the base of each cake and pipe the meringue filling into the center and ends of the cakes. Be careful not to overfill to avoid bursting.
Notes
- Using room temperature eggs helps achieve better volume in the cake batter and meringue.
- Ensure the sugar syrup temperature reaches 119°C–121°C to create a stable meringue filling.
- Allow the cakes to cool fully to prevent the filling from melting or deflating.
- If you don’t have Twinkie-shaped pans, use mini loaf pans or small oblong molds as a substitute.
- This recipe requires care when handling hot sugar syrup – use caution to avoid burns.
