Are you a fan of Twinkies like me? If so, give these homemade Twinkies a try. It is a great little copycat recipe for those famous snacks.
Growing up I ate a lot of those yummy Hostess Twinkies, with their light and fluffy golden sponge cake and delicious cream filling. Did you know you can make something very similar at home?
That’s right these homemade Twinkies are sure to please Twinkie lovers everywhere. While the sponge cake isn’t exactly the same, which is very hard to duplicate, it still tastes great! And these homemade Twinkies are so easy to make. If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get baking!
Step 1: Gather the ingredients
In order to make these copycat homemade Twinkies you need just a handful of ingredients:
- Pound cake mix – Or you can use this homemade sponge cake recipe.
- Water
- Egg whites
Filling
- Hot water
- Salt
- Marshmallow cream
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar.
- Vanilla extract
- Shortening or butter
Tools
- Aluminum Foil or Twinkie Pan
- Spatula
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Bowls
- Piping bag or zip lock bag with injection tip
- Kitchen spray
Step 2: How to make homemade Twinkies
Preheat the oven to 325 F/162 C. Then let’s make some homemade Twinkie pans. If you have a specialty Twinkie pan, then you can skip this part.
Take a large rectangle piece of aluminum foil and fold it over twice to make a smaller layered rectangle. Fold it around a spice container. Which happens to be fairly close to the size of a Twinkie. Once baked they do come out quite a bit larger than store-bought Twinkies.
After you fold it around the container, fold in the ends to completely enclose it. Remove the container and place it in a 13×9 inch baking pan.
There you go, you have several little Twinkie boat pans. Again if you already have a specific pan, you can just use that, instead of making these makeshift homemade pans. Lightly spray the pans with some oil to keep the cake from sticking when baked.
Step 3: Make the Twinkie cake batter
For the cake part of the Twinkies, you can use a variety of recipes. In this case, I used a modified pound cake mix. But you can use your favorite sponge cake recipe or mine if you like as well.
Pour the pound cake mix into a bowl, then add in the water and mix until well blended.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put the egg whites in a medium bowl. Beat the egg whites until you get stiff peaks. When you pull up the beaters, the peaks that are made should keep their shape.
Now fold the egg whites into the cake batter, creating a nice light and fluffy cake batter. Do not stir and don’t use a mixer, just use a spatula and fold them in, until just combined.
Step 4: Bake the homemade Twinkies cakes
Use a ladle or measuring cup and fill up the little mini pans about half full. This will make about 10 homemade Twinkies, depending on the size you make them.
Bake them in the oven, middle rack position, for 25 to 30 minutes until when you poke them in the middle with a toothpick, the toothpick comes out clean.
Once they are done baking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely. This will take about 30 to 45 minutes.
Step 5: Make the homemade Twinkies filling
In a large bowl add the salt to the hot water until dissolved. Then add the marshmallow cream, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and shortening or butter to the bowl. Mix everything together with a hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
The homemade Twinkies filling is complete. Scoop the filling into a pastry bag fitted with an injector tip. If you don’t have a piping bag you can use a zip lock freezer bag or something and snip off the corner. Twist the top and the bag is ready to go.
Take a homemade Twinkie and remove the aluminum foil from it. Use a bamboo skewer or chopstick, and poke three holes in the bottom of the Twinkie. Wiggle it at an angle so it makes the hole on the inside larger and creates a cavity.
Now all you need to do is pipe that filling into the Twinkie. You will notice the homemade Twinkies will get heavier as you fill them. You can wipe the excess filling off the top if you like or leave it as is.
Now the only thing left to do is take a big bite out of those homemade Twinkies. Enjoy!
How long do homemade Twinkies last?
They will last a few days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container. Or about a week in the fridge.
Here are some other recipes you may like:
Snickers Crisper Copycat Recipe
Homemade Twinkies Copycat
Equipment
- Aluminum Foil or Twinkie Pan
- Spatula
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Bowls
- Piping bag or zip lock bag with injection tip
- kitchen spray
Ingredients
- 1 16- ounce Pound cake mix or use a homemade sponge cake recipe (453g)
- 2/3 cup of water 158ml
- 4 large egg whites
Filling
- 2 tsp. hot water 10ml
- 1/4 tsp. of table salt 1g
- 7 ounce jar of marshmallow cream 198g
- 1/3 cup of confectioner’s sugar 35g
- 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract 2ml
- 1/2 cup of shortening or butter 95g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (162 C)Take a large rectangle of aluminum foil, fold it over twice so you are left with a small sturdy piece. Then fold that around a spice container. Fold in the foil of each end together sealing the ends. Place them in a 13×9 inch baking pan. Or skip this step if you have a Twinkie pan.Spray the pans with cooking spray.
- Then pour the cake mix in a large bowl and add your water to it. Mix until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks and place them in a medium bowl. Beat them with a mixer until stiff peaks form.Fold the egg whites into the cake batter, creating a light fluffy cake batter.
- Fill up the Twinkie pans about half way full. Now bake them for 25 to 30 minutes until when a toothpick is inserted it comes out clean. Once they are baked let them cool completely.
- In a large bowl, add the salt and the hot water and stir until dissolved. Then add the marshmallow cream, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and shortening or softened butter. Then with a hand mixer or stand mixer blend until well combined, scraping the sides as needed.
- Now let's fill up our piping bag with the filling. If you don't have a piping bag you can use a zip-locked bag. I also use an injection pastry tip. But you can use a normal tip too.
- Next, remove the cakes from their little pans and using a bamboo skewer or chopstick, poke three holes in what you want to be the bottom, and kind of wiggle it at an angle to create a cavity in the inside. Then fill up the holes with the filling. You can wipe off the excess if you like on the top or leave it as is. They are done. Time to bite into one and enjoy it!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This is so delicious! Everyone at my house was impressed!
Thank you, Toni!
I have never seen a recipe for homemade twinkies! I used to love them but won’t eat them now because of their ingredients.
Yeah these homemade ones are probably healthier than the store-bought ones haha.
Yummy! My husband is going to like this recipe! I can’t wait to give this a try! I’m so excited!
Thank you! 🙂