Who doesnt love Twinkies?

When I saw this recipe for a homemade Twinkie ( or sponge cake as I believe they referred to it as) I shot it right to the top of the list. A twinkie? Really? A homemade version? Say it aint so! Oh but it is......it is so.....& it's right here, for you...

Twinkie, Twinkie little cake

How I know I cannot wait....... lets get to the recipe!!

Its worth every minute and genuinely tastes like a Twinkie. I discovered this on the King Arthur Flour website.

Vanilla Snack Cakes ( a.k.a. TWINKIES!!!)

2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour Blend ( obviously, it doesnt have to be KA brand. I used Softasilk. If you dont have cake flour, no worries, you can easily substitute AP flour and corn starch. I measure 1 cup of AP flour and remove 2 tablespoons, then I add 2 tablespoons of corn starch to the flour.)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup cold water
7 unbeaten egg yolks
1 teaspoon Princess Cake and Cookie Flavoring for true snack cake taste OR 1 teaspoon vanilla
( I had this in the pantry, I purchased it from Lorann Oil & I love it, but regular vanilla will work just fine)
7 egg whites, beaten very stiff

Snack Cake Filling
2 tablespoon King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons salted butter
4 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
dash of salt (optional)

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350º. Line cupcake pan with wrappers.

2) Place all ingredients except beaten egg whites into a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.

3) Working in thirds, fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Take care to keep the batter light; fold, don't beat.

4) Fill each cupcake 2/3 full. The cupcakes will puff a bit during baking,
but will shrink back during cooling. Bake the cakes in a preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, until golden brown.

5) Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, start the filling.

6) In a small saucepan cook flour and milk over medium heat until a paste forms. Stir constantly and do not allow mixture to brown. Remove from heat and let cool 1 minute. Add Princess emulsion and stir until smooth. Press a piece of plastic wrap down on the surface of the paste to avoid forming a skin and set aside to cool completely.

7)In the bowl of your mixer beat butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy, scraping bowl to fully incorporate ingredients. Add cooled flour/milk mixture and continue to beat 5 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy.
Use to fill cupcakes. Filling will remain creamy; store at room temperature 3-4 days.

8) To fill cupcakes: Place about 1 cup of filling into a clean pastry bag fitted with a round pastry tube, ( I used bismark tip) Gently insert the tube into the top of the cupcake,
about halfway through the cake. Using gentle pressure, squeeze a small amount of filling into the cake. You'll feel the cupcake expand under your fingers. Do not overfill, or the cake will burst.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and i'd love to see pics if you find the time to make them. Of course, I highly recommend trying them. After all, they are TWINKIES!!!!!!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, im always happy to help if I can.

Thanks for stopping by !!

caramel layer cake- O....M.....G ! ! !

Once upon a time there was an absolutely fabulous cake. A caramel cake. A caramel cake with 3 layers of caramel-y goodness!! Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness ( channeling my best Annie character) Did I mention there's caramel? Lots of caramel? Mmm-mmm- good!

Cake

1 cup whole milk
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened & cut into pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream

Frosting

3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream


Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter (or spray) three 8-inch cake pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and flour the pans, tapping out the excess.
2.In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of the milk with the egg whites and vanilla extract. In a
standing mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.
Add the butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of milk. Beat at low speed until blended, then beat at
medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg white mixture in 3 batches.

3.In another bowl, using an electric mixer (or, if you only have a mixer like me, transfer the batter to a large bowl, clean and use again for the next step) beat the cream until soft peaks form. Stir 1/3 of the whipped cream into the batter, then fold in the rest. Divide the batter between all 3 pans & smooth the tops. You can use a small offset spatula, I find it works best for this.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Unmold the cakes and peel off the paper.
Invert the cakes and let cool completely.

4. In a saucepan, stir 2 1/2 cups of the sugar with the corn syrup and milk. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Keep warm.
5. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a deep, heavy saucepan. Cook the sugar over moderate heat, swirling occasionally, until an amber caramel forms. Carefully pour the warm milk mixture over the caramel.
Cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the caramel dissolves.
Stop stirring and cook until the caramel registers 235° on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.
Stir in the butter, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream. Strain the caramel into the bowl of a standing mixer.
Let cool for 15 minutes.
6. Beat the caramel at medium speed, gradually adding the remaining 1/4 cup of cream, until creamy, about 15 minutes. MAKE SURE ITS COOL BEFORE PUTTING IT ON THE CAKE, IT WILL DRIP TO BEGIN WITH, BUT YOU WILL LOSE A LOT IF ITS STILL WARM.
7. Set 1 cake layer on a plate. Pour enough icing over the layer to cover the top. Top with a second cake layer
and cover it with icing. Add the final cake layer and pour the rest of the icing over the top of the cake,
letting it run down the sides. Working quickly, use an offset spatula to spread the icing gently around the cake.
Let the cake stand for 2 hours to set the icing before serving.

This cake is actually better the next day. I had a hard enough time waiting 2 hours, so im just letting you know!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, please let me know if you have any questions, i'm always happy to help.