Too much for you? I plead The Twinkie Defense.
My defense is that yes, things like this aren't good for us all the time - but Twinkies make you happy.
Guys, did you hear? This childhood icon is in danger.
Jason always surprises me with a sweet treat at the start of my birthday month. The first couple years we were dating, it was a Twinkie. He even topped it with a lit candle. I rarely had Twinkies as a kid, but those Twinkies from Jason are my nostalgia.
I adapted my cake recipe to make a three pack of Twinkies. Vegan, gluten free, will only last a day Twinkies. Okay, maybe two days. Sorry, these won't last as long as the legendary original.
Or perhaps they will - these are so easy to make. You don't need a special shaped mold, you just need this.
Twinkie cake
makes three Twinkies
gluten, dairy and soy free, vegan
2 tablespoons chia seeds
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon water
¼ cup butter (Earth Balance Soy Free)
1 tablespoon coconut spread (or use more butter)
⅓ cup maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup flour (gluten free AP)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Combine chia and water, set aside to gel. Cream butter, coconut spread, maple syrup and vanilla. Add chia, combine completely. Add flour and baking soda, combine.
Divide batter between three Twinkie molds. Bake at 350 for 25-27 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes clean. Cool completely.
This cake is not as spongy as a typical Twinkie - cut holes in the bottom to fill with your favorite whip.
You know when you pull a Twinkie off the white strip of paper, and some of the cake is left on the paper? That was always my favorite part. These Twinkies do the same thing!
Live on, little Twinkie.
Cara says
Wheel of Fortune is coming to Portlandia!!! Eeeeeee. I'm bringing the Twinkies!!!
spabettie says
I KNOW!! this is the one I tried out for back in September!! 🙁 I have written them to try to get an audition, I KNOW they'd love me!! (it's all about personality, not skillz even though mine are DOPE).
we WERE watching at the same time!! yeee! XO
Cara says
I was wondering about that. It feels so long ago, however, that I thought, for sure this must be a different trip. Vanna and Pat sure plan far in advance. Not sure WHY they didn't ask you to be on there, let alone star in it, for reals. I'd be doing the robo cop for you the entire time 🙂
spabettie says
I know, I am super bummed. the tryouts are SO fun, though - if they are ever in your area you NEED to go. you stand around in line a long time, then the chances of you actually getting picked to get onstage to try out are next to nothing, but you get to see people go through a "mini game" and you can meet the guy who plays "Pat" on the road - he is crazy awesome. I am jealous of his job.
one day... one day... I WILL be on Wheel. 😉
Gloria says
these are so fun!! I would take this over a twinkie any day!!
Dorry says
I love that you created a twinkie with real ingredients! amazing. I can't recall the last time I ate a twinkie, but it's been at least 20 years. I'd gladly sample one of these, though!
spabettie says
kinda fun, right? I never had them as a kid, so I cannot recall my first Twinkie either! but the ones Jason used to get me for birthdays were the best... 🙂
Liz (Little Bitty Bakes) says
Twinkies are totally going to be sold at our dream bakery 😉 Love the homemade mold, too!
spabettie says
yes Yes YES!! we could get a real mold, though...
Gregory G says
you are too cute. I should have known!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
When we were registering for our wedding, the one and only thing my husband wanted to scan was the Twinkie maker set from bed bath & beyond. I wouldn't let him and he still to this day talks about it. Maybe this is the solution! 😉
spabettie says
aw! you should TOTALLY make these for him - maybe a surprise for Valentines Day?? the molds are SO easy to make, just double up the tin foil and they are strong! They end up looking pretty good if you kindof shape them round...
Char @ www.charskitchen.ca says
omg, my hero. I have all the ingredients! Just wish I had a Twinkie mold 😀
spabettie says
do you have tin foil?? seriously, they are SO easy to make!! DO IT 😀
Alisha says
So how do you get the whip in through the holes? And I can't find the vegan whip recipe... :/
They look soo tasty though!
spabettie says
hi Alisha, I cut three small holes in the bottom of the cakes (these are not as spongy as real Twinkies, more dense, especially being gluten free)and sprayed the whip in the holes... and the whip I used was store bought Soyatoo Rice Whip 😀
Alisha says
How do you cut the holes? I saw in the picture but I'm still slightly confused.... Do you scoop out the cake? Or do put holes in the ends/ sides of the cake? Or do you cut it in half? >.< I'm lost. I apologize. ahahah. New to the whole vegan pastries thing... 😉
spabettie says
hi Alisha! I cut the Twinkie in half just for the photo - so don't think about that.
so, think about what a Twinkie looks like, you know the bottom, where you can see the white filling spots? on the bottom of these Twinkies, using a small knife I carved three small holes down the middle of the Twinkie, and yes I scooped out the cake - this recipe is more dense than a spongy Twinkie, I had to make room for the filling. Then I just filled the holes... I only cut it in half for the photo purposes 🙂
hope that helps? if not please do let me know... I hope these questions mean you are going to make these?? enjoy!
Alisha says
Haha, I am definitely going to try and make them!! And I don't want to mess it up, that's why I'm asking all the questions 😉
So you just cut the holes in the bottom of it or out of the middle/ sides of it? I think it makes sense now... Hopefully...
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
Did you hear that Hostess filed for bankruptcy the other day? I think you have a new business plan! I've made a vegan version from a Wheeler's Ice Cream cookbook and I really liked it. The boys keep asking me to make them again. I need to give these a try now that you made them GF! Until about a year ago, my boys had never had a twinkie and really didn't know what they were. I'm either a good mother or a bad mother depending on how you look at it. These look sinfully delicious!
spabettie says
I heard that this morning!
I never had Twinkies as a kid either - not at my house anyway. of course back then, I coveted all the bad stuff at my friends houses - white spongy bread, sliced cheese wrapped in plastic, Kool Aid!! Now I appreciate that everything was homemade at our house, though 😀
spabettiemom says
THANKS, SWEETIE.....I totally 404'd it again; so I have no idea where my first one went.....OOPSIE!!!!!
spabettie says
so yeah, what I meant to say - A GOOD MOTHER! 😉
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
The funny thing is that they had the homemade version (healthy cause you know me) first and then once I explained the original version. I bought them when they asked for them and they prefer the homemade ones. I don't deny them, I just make my version first and then give them the chemicals...they're smart. They know what tastes better!
spabettie says
smart little Twinkies you have 🙂 (and a good cook you are!)
Amanda says
Gluten-free twinkies?!?!!? I am way too excited to try these, though I admit I've only had 1 or 2 regular twinkies in my life.
spabettie says
I know, these were SO fun to make. I was excited too. like giggling alone in my kitchen excited. 😀