The Twinkie was invented in 1930 by the late James A. Dewar, then the Chicago-area regional manager of Continental Baking Company, the parent corporation behind the Hostess trademark. At the time, Continental made "Little Short Cake Fingers" only during the six-week strawberry season, and Dewar realized that the aluminum pans in which the cakes were baked sat idle the rest of the year. He came up with the idea of injecting the little cakes with a creamy filling to make them a year-round product and decided to charge a nickel for a package of two.
But Dewar couldn't come up with a catchy name for the treat - that is, until he set out on a business trip to St. Louis. Along the road he saw a sign for Twinkle Toe Shoes, and the name Twinkies evolved. Sales took off, and Dewar reportedly ate two Twinkies every day for much of his life. He died in 1985.
The spongy treat has evolved into an American phenomenon, from which nearly everyone has slurped the creamy center. Today the Twinkie is Continental's top Hostess-line seller, with the injection machines filling as many as 52,000 every hour.
You will need a spice bottle, approximately the size of a Twinkie, ten 12 x 14 -inch pieces of aluminum foil, a cake decorator or pastry bag, and a chopstick.
Cake Nonstick spray 4 egg whites one 16-ounce box golden pound cake mix 2/3 cup water Filling 2 teaspoons very hot water 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups marshmallow creme (one 7-ounce jar) 1/2 cup shortening 1/3 cup powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (See Tidbits)
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Fold each piece of aluminum foil in half twice. Wrap the folded foil around the spice bottle to create a mold. Leave the top of the mold open for pouring in the batter. Make ten of these molds and arrange them on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan. Grease the inside of each mold with a light coating of nonstick spray.
3. Disregard the directions on the box of cake mix. Instead, beat the egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl combine cake mix with water, and beat until thoroughly blended (about 2 minutes). Fold egg whites into the cake batter and slowly combine until completely mixed.
4. Pour the batter into the molds, filling each one about 3/4 of an inch. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
5. For the filling, combine the salt with the hot water in a small bowl and stir until salt is dissolved. Let this mixture cool.
6. Combine the marshmallow creme, shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy.
7. Add the salt solution to the filling mixture and combine.
8. When the cakes are done and cooled, use a skewer or chopstick to make three holes in the bottom of each one. Move the stick around inside of each cake to create space for the filling.
9. Using a cake decorator or pastry bag, inject each cake with filling through all three holes.
Makes 10.
Tidbits
A few years ago, I improved my recipe for the Twinkie Creme Filling. You can get my updated clone recipe here.
Rate and Review
Pam Submitted on 03/04/13
Taste nothing like a twinkie! Why the reciepe calls for pound cake when a twinkie is a sponge cake is beyond me and the filling is just ok! Save your money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mia Powell Submitted on 12/02/12
With Twinkies now off the market, I'm surprised there aren't more recent reviews for this recipe. I bought an official Twinkie pan off of Ebay. I used this recipe and was disappointed. I would not make this again using the cake portion of the recipe (it's good but it's nothing like a Twinkie). I'm actually surprised at the many positive reviews saying it taste like a Twinkie. The cream filling is similar to real Twinkies, however, the cake is not at all like a real Twinkie.
Cesar Rubio Submitted on 08/27/09
This recipe is great. I Love Twinkies and now I'm never buying them again. These homemade Twinkies taste way better than the store-bought ones in the package.
Aspen P. Submitted on 08/08/09
I'm so excited to make these again! They were perfect, in fact, my twelve-year old daughter loved making these and it was easy so all I had to do was make sure she didn't burn herself. :D Plus the real things have partionally hydrogenated lard which is basically animal fat that they make even worse for you. These are perfect!
Austin Submitted on 05/28/09
Im only a kid and I was able to make these no problem. If you don't have a pastry gun cutting the corner off a ziploc bag works well. They were every bit as good as store bought ones. The only difference was these were a little lighter depending where they were in my oven.
Wealthan P Submitted on 01/27/09
Love it... I'm only 12 and i made it =D...
I'm gonna make a few petrified twinkies now...
Donna P Submitted on 01/04/09
I put the cake batter in small muffin tins and then made a cavity in the bottom for filling. Make sure the shortening you use is fresh and moist. What I used was dryer and dried out the filling some. They end up being just a bite. perfect for a snack. Much more magageable for kids and portions. I also like the little bit crispier edges that u get in the muffin pan. This is great!
sarahliquid Submitted on 12/31/08
The cake was ok, but adding the water at the end of the filling directions ruined what was a perfectly good filling. Next time, no water.
Also, I had underestimated 3/4 in. I'll fill them about half way next time.
My boys loved them anyway.
Mauricio Submitted on 12/28/08
.... followed instructions to the tee. Perfection! The key was to use an electric beater . . . on high. I'll never buy Twinkies again! Included my 5yr old in the mix and was a perfect night and very spongy twinkie!!!
Vikki Submitted on 12/26/08
I loved it! so delicious! It was absolutely amazing. Those who said it didn't taste like a twinkie, you did not do it right. I bought twinkies, and made them, too. I compared them. Absolutely perfectly the same.
Meggggggy Submitted on 12/23/08
I LOVE TWINKIES, and when I saw this recipie, I went crazy, I THINK THEY CAME OUT AMAZING!!!
Kathy Submitted on 12/23/08
I saw the video for this recipe and HAD to try it. It was so simple, and my kids liked them more than the store bought ones. I loved them as well. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!
Katie Submitted on 12/11/08
This is definitely a clone of a Twinkie!! The texture is just right!!
Emily Submitted on 06/15/08
Doesn't taste like a twinkie. Cake is more dense and not as sweet as twinkie and the filling goes flat quickly and doesn't taste like twinkie cream. It all tastes good together, but it's not a clone.
Michele G. Submitted on 06/04/08
I made the cake into a 8 inch round, sliced it through the middle and put the cream inside. Then I covered the whole thing in more cream and dreached it all in chocolate ganache...chocolate covered twinkie cake!
Lori Steidl Submitted on 05/30/08
These are soooo good...much better than the store-bought ones. We used the mold we have for making hot-dog buns.
Michele Submitted on 05/28/08
It was good but did not taste like a twinkie at all! It was very cakey, not spongy like a twinkie and the filling did not taste like it.
DeNise Submitted on 05/27/08
I think this 'cake' was one of the best I have ever made, I will use it for other things. So spongy! Great taste. For some reason my filling came out very runny! I cook all the time, so can not figure out what I did wrong, I added extra pwdr sugar trying to firm it up a bit.... I found that I did not make my cavities deep enough in the twinkies, so be sure to dig to the top, I stopped in the middle.
