Twinkie Cake

This is a cake my family eats around Christmas time, but it is great any time of year. From the top, it looks just like any other plain old cake. But inside it is filled with a cream filling even better than the stuff from Hostess. This recipe is made even better due to the fact that you can just make the filling and eat it straight. No more Twinkie sucking for the cream filling addict. It’s a fairly easy cake, but it looks like it took you all day to make. We always use store bought cake mix, but if you have a great chocolate or yellow cake recipe, feel free to use that instead.


Ingredients

Equipment

Procedure

Bake the cake mix following the directions on the box. I always choose the chocolate cake mix because I like the stark contrast between the dark cake and the white filling, but if you're a Twinkie traditionalist, go for a yellow cake mix. Be sure to coat the inside of the pan with butter and flour before pouring the batter in. This step is CRUCIAL because later the cake has to come out of the pan in one piece. When the cake is done, let it cool thoroughly before removing it from the pan.
While the cake is cooling, cook the milk and flour in a sauce pan over low heat until thick. Be sure to use a whisk and stir constantly, because left alone at just the wrong moment, this will clump like mad (and no one wants little clumps of flour in their Twinkie filling). This mixture will usually thicken just about the time it will start to boil. Take it off the heat and let it cool.
Put the butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and beat. Add the cooled milk mixture and whip until fluffy with the hand mixer. Here comes the most dangerous part. I have ruined many a cake durning this step because I was trying to rush it. Turn the cake out onto waxed paper. One way to do this is to put waxed paper over a cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet over the cake pan, waxed paper side down, and holding onto the edges of both the cookie sheet and the cake pan, flip the whole mess over. If you did this right, you should be able to remove the cake pan and have the cake sitting upside-down on the waxed paper. Now, using either a piece of string or a serrated knife, cut the cake in half so that the bottom of the cake is one piece and the top of the cake is the other. Put the bottom half of the cake back into the pan. Using a spatula spread the filling over the bottom layer. Place the top of the cake on the filling. If all went well, you should now have a beautiful chocolate (or yellow) cake overflowing with cream filling goodness. However, if something does go wrong and the cake breaks apart, don't despair. Just set the pieces next to one another in the pan, and throw a little extra frosting on the top. No one will be the wiser, and it will still taste great. Frost with store bought white or chocolate icing, or make your own. Cut and serve to your very happy guests or family.
Unlike real Twinkies, this cake will not last forever. Ideally, it should be made the same day it is going to be eaten. However, if this is not possible, or if there are leftovers, the cake may be kept in the refrigerator.


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