Hostess is going out of business, but never fear, you can make your favorite snack cakes at home!
Homemade Twinkies, courtesy of allrecipes.com
Or in the spirit of Thanksgiving, try these pumpkin inspired Twinkies!
| Cake | Filling |
| 4 Eggs | ½ cup butter, room temperature |
| ½ cup butter, melted | 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature |
| 1 cup water | 5 cups confectioners' sugar |
| 1 (5.1 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix | 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed |
| 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix | 1 teaspoon vanilla extract |
Directions
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 10x15 inch jelly roll pans.
* To make single-use Twinkie molds, cut 12 pieces of aluminum foil 12 inches wide by 14 inches long. Fold each piece of foil in half lengthwise, then fold it in half again to create a rectangle that's about 6 inches long and 7 inches wide. Repeat to make a dozen rectangles.
Beat the eggs until combined; stir in the melted butter. Add the water, pudding mix, and yellow cake mix, stirring well to combine. The batter will be very thick. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, spreading it evenly.
Bake until the cakes spring back when pressed lightly with a finger or a tester comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.
To make the filling, combine the room-temperature butter, cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth. Stir in the whipped topping and vanilla extract.
When the cakes are cool, spread the filling mixture on top of one cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the first, and cut into bars. Wrap each bar in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.
Homemade Ding Dongs
Recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Beantown Baker
| Cake | Filling | Ganache |
|---|---|---|
| 2 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate | 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar | 1 cup heavy cream |
| 1 cups hot brewed coffee | 3 large egg whites | 1 Tbsp unsalted butter |
| 2 cups sugar | 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar | 12 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-ounce pieces |
| 1 2/3 cups flour | 1/8 teaspoon salt | |
| 1 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process) | ||
| 1 1/3 tsp baking soda | ||
| 1/2 tsp baking powder | ||
| 1 tsp salt | ||
| 2 eggs | ||
| 1/2 cup vegetable oil | ||
| 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk | ||
| 1/2 tsp vanilla |
| 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract |
|---|
*Filling Recipe from Epicurious, Ganache recipe from BeantownBaker
Directions:
Frosting Directions:
Ganache Directions:
Assembly: