Vanilla Snack Cakes - or Twinkies in case of emergency!

Missing your Twinkies?  Don't want to pay $50 for a box of six on eBay? There are several recipes on the web for replacing Twinkies if the Hostess recipe isn't sold and baked goods returned to store shelves.  It will take a 'canoe' pan, available through Amazon.com and one of several recipes.  The following recipe from Simple Math Bakery appeared to be one of the better ones.  It was an adaption from King Arthur Flour, which has a more complete explanation of how and why the cake and filling are done a bit differently.  Please take a moment and visit those sites - they have some good recipes in both!!

I entered their information into my Pepperplate.com and copied that here:

YIELD

 24 Snack Cakes

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INGREDIENTS

• Snack Cakes

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup cold water
  • 1 teaspoon Princess flavoring (from Amazon.com) (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
  • 7 eggs, separated

• Filling

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup milk (Simple Math Bakery used soy milk)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

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INSTRUCTIONS

• Snack Cakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a canoe pan or muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they are very stiff. They should hold their shape when removed from the bowl. Set aside.
  3. Combine the flour, corn starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together or beat on low speed for a minute, until combined. Add oil, water, Princess [or vanilla] flavoring, and egg yolks. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
  4. Using a rubber spatula, gently scoop 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Fold the egg whites in by slicing the spatula through the center of the bowl, gently scooping batter from the bottom and wrapping it over the top. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn and repeat until the egg whites are barely visible. Repeat this process with each remaining 1/3 of the egg whites.
  5. Spoon the batter into the pan, filling the wells 2/3 full. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until cakes are golden brown and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cakes will puff up when cooking, but will settle as they cool. Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently remove them from the pan using a rubber spatula. Allow them to cool, flat side down, directly on the cooling rack.

• Filling

  1. In a small saucepan, heat the flour and milk over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture becomes a paste (about 5 minutes), remove from heat and allow to cool for 1 minute. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and set aside to cool completely.
  2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
  3. Use the pastry filler that comes with the pan (or a pastry bag with round tip) to fill the cakes. Place the tip about halfway into the cake and squeeze gently. Holding the cake in your palm while filling it will allow you to feel when it is full. Fill each cake 3 times to ensure that each bite contains cream filling!

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NOTes

Tips from King Arthur Flour:  To make snack cakes as cupcakes, prepare cupcake pans with cooking spray. Baking time will increase to 15-18 minutes. Cool and fill as directed.

For Banana Split Snack Cakes, replace the Princess Cake Flavoring with 3/4 to 1 teaspoon banana flavoring to taste. Prepare the batter and bake as directed. Fill one section of the cake with chocolate icing, one section with strawberry jam, and one section with vanilla filling, or pineapple dessert topping. True banana split taste in a handy portable snack cake. Grab one and split!