GLUTEN FREE CREAM FILLED VANILLA CAKES AKA TWINKIES with DAIRY-FREE INSTRUCTIONS

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     I had a hankering for Twinkies.  It must have been all the stories about Hostess going out of business and the Twinkie shortage panic that has been all over the news.  Also, I saw a pan that is used to make Twinkie shaped cakes and it started my wheels turning...I can make GF Twinkies and GF Chocolate Twinkies and GF Funny Bones...
In case you are from another country and never heard of Twinkies they are a popular snack cake here sold in packages of two. Legend has it that they were called Twinkies because they will disappear in the twinkling of an eye. They are a vanilla sponge cake filled with vanilla cream and when you bite them they have a lovely creamy soft texture and vanilla flavor.  Over the years the ingredients have changed and now there are artificial flavors and ingredients that are much more complicated than flour, butter, eggs and sugar.  
     It has been over twenty years since I even had a real Twinkie so I can not say for sure what a real one tastes like.  All over the Internet there are copycat Twinkie recipes, so I converted one that looked most like a Twinkie that was on the King Arthur Flour website.  The cakes came out moist and flavorful and the cream was just the right consistency.  I was in heaven with my first bite as I experienced that perfect soft cake texture mixed with wonderful cream.  Even if it is not exactly like a ‘real’ Twinkie this cake is really good.

     

GLUTEN FREE CREAMED FILLED VANILLA CAKE aka TWINKIES 

Makes 12 cakes if using a canoe/Twinkie pan

Ingredients
CAKE

1/2 cup	Sorghum Flour
1/4 cup	Chickpea Flour
1/4 cup	Tapioca Flour
1/2 tsp.	Xanthan Gum
1/2 cup	Sugar
2 tsp.	Baking Powder
1/2 tsp.	Sea Salt
1/4 cup	Canola Oil
6 Tbs.	Cold Water
3	Egg Yolks
2 tsp.	Vanilla Extract
3	Egg Whites - beaten until stiff

      

CREAM

1 Tbs.	Sorghum Flour
1/4 cup	Milk (for Dairy-Free use non-dairy milk)
2 tsp.	Vanilla Extract
2 Tbs.	Unsalted Butter (for Dairy-Free use non-hydrogenated margarine)
2 Tbs.	Non-Hydrogenated Shortening (I use Spectrum brand.)
1/8 tsp.	Sea Salt
1/4 cup	Sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a canoe pan or you can make cupcakes and use a muffin pan.  Here is a link to a website (Can You Stay for Dinner?) that shows you how to make your own canoe/Twinkie shaped baking cups using foil and a spice jar.

   

   This is a Canoe/Twinkie pan.
   I bought this at Sur la Table for about $15.

2.   For the CAKE, place all the ingredients, EXCEPT for the egg whites, into a large bowl and mix well.
3.   In a separate bowl,  whip the egg whites until very stiff.
   
   

   

   Whipped egg whites.

4.   Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the large bowl of batter and fold them in. Repeat with the next 1/3 of the egg whites and again with the remaining 1/3 of the egg whites.

   

   Batter before egg whites were folded in.

   

   Batter after egg whites were folded in.

5.   Fill each section of the pan 2/3 full with batter.  Do not overfill as the cake will rise quite a bit.

   

   Pan 2/3 filled with raw batter. 

6.   Bake for 8-12 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  In my oven it took 15 minutes.  If making cupcakes in a muffin tin it will take about 15-18 minutes to bake.

   

   Baked cakes in cooling in pan.

7.   Let cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the cakes to cool completely on a rack.  Be sure to cool cakes with the flat side down.

   

   Cakes cooking completely on a rack.
   Note that the flat side is down.

8.   While the cakes are cooling make the Cream.  (If you love lots of cream I suggest that you double the recipe.  Even if all the cream does not fit inside the cake you can just spread it on top.) 
9.   In a small saucepan heat the milk and flour over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens into a paste, then remove from the heat.

   

   Milk and flour cooked into a paste.
10. Let cool for 1 minute then add the Vanilla and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap pressed into the surface of the paste to prevent a skin from forming.  Cool completely in the refrigerator while doing the next step.

    

    Plastic wrap pressed onto the paste to keep a skin from forming.

11. In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a bowl using a hand mixer add the butter, shortening, sugar and salt.  Mix on medium-high speed until fluffy, scrape down the sides of the bowl to be sure all the ingredients are well mixed.
12. Add the cooled flour/milk paste to the bowl and beat for 5 minutes on medium/high speed until fluffy, smooth and creamy.  You can store the cream at room temperature for 3-4 days and it will remain creamy.

    

    Cream after 5 minutes of whipping.

13. To fill the cakes:  Place the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip or tip that is used to fill pastries. You can also use one of those hard plastic pastry filling gadgets. 

    

    (L-R) Tip for filling pastry, round tip and hard plastic gadget for filling cakes.

14. Hold the cake in your hand with the flat side up.  Insert the pastry tip into the center of the cake about half way into the cake.  Gently squeeze the filling and turn the tip to the right and left side to tunnel some cream to each side.  Repeat this step by inserting the tip half way between the center hole and the edge of each end of the cake.  You will have three holes of cream on each cake.  Be careful, if you use too much or press too hard the cream will come out the top of the cake.  If making cupcakes, insert the tip into the bottom of the cupcake and rotate the tip to tunnel the cream around the cupcake so that there is some cream in each bite or just frost the cupcakes with the cream.  You could also slice the cupcakes in half crosswise and spread with a layer of cream to make a cupcake cream sandwich.

    

    On left note the 3 holes filled with cream.
    On the right notice the cream tunneling to the left and right from each hole.

GLUTEN FREE CREAMED FILLED VANILLA CAKE aka TWINKIES Makes 12 cakes if using a canoe/<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Twinkie</span></span> pan Ingredients CAKE 1/2 cup Sorghum Flour 1/4 cup Chickpea Flour 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour 1/2 cup Sugar 1/2 tsp <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Xanthan</span> Gum 2 tsp. Baking Powder 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt 1/4 cup Canola Oil 6 Tbs. Cold Water 3 Egg Yolks 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract 3 Egg Whites - beaten until stiff CREAM 1 Tbs. Sorghum Flour 1/4 cup Milk (for Dairy-Free use non-dairy milk) 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract 2 Tbs. Unsalted Butter (for Dairy-Free use non-hydrogenated margarine) 2 Tbs. Non-Hydrogenated Shortening (I use Spectrum brand.) 1/8 tsp. Sea Salt 1/4 cup Sugar Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a canoe pan or you can make cupcakes and use a muffin pan. Here is a link to a website that shows you how to make your own canoe/<span class="<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">goog</span>-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Twinkie</span></span> shaped baking cups using foil and a spice jar. For the CAKE, place all the ingredients, EXCEPT for the egg whites, into a large bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until very stiff. Add 1/3 of the egg whites to the large bowl of batter and fold them in. Repeat with the next 1/3 of the egg whites and again with the remaining 1/3 of the egg whites. Fill each section of the pan 2/3 full with batter. Do not overfill as the cake will rise quite a bit. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. In my oven it took 15 minutes. If making cupcakes in a muffin tin it will take about 15-18 minutes to bake. Let cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the cakes to cool completely on a rack. Be sure to cool cakes with the flat side down. While the cakes are cooling make the Cream. (If you love lots of cream I suggest that you double the recipe. Even if all the cream does not fit inside the cake you can just spread it on top.) In a small saucepan heat the milk and flour over medium heat, stirring constantly until it thickens into a paste, then remove from the heat. Let cool for 1 minute then add the Vanilla and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap pressed into the surface of the paste to prevent a skin from forming. Cool completely in the refrigerator while doing the next step. In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a bowl using a hand mixer add the butter, shortening, sugar and salt. Mix on medium-high speed until fluffy, scrape down the sides of the bowl to be sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the cooled flour/milk paste to the bowl and beat for 5 minutes on medium/high speed until fluffy, smooth and creamy. You can store the cream at room temperature for 3-4 days and it will remain creamy. To fill the cakes: Place the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a round tip or tip that is used to fill pastries. You can also use one of those hard plastic pastry filling gadgets. Hold the cake in your hand with the flat side up. Insert the pastry tip into the center of the cake about half way into the cake. Gently squeeze the filling and turn the tip to the right and left side to tunnel some cream to each side. Repeat this step by inserting the tip half way between the center hole and the edge of each end of the cake. You will have three holes of cream on each cake. Be careful, if you use too much or press too hard the cream will come out the top of the cake. If making cupcakes, insert the tip into the bottom of the cupcake and rotate the tip to tunnel the cream around the cupcake so that there is some cream in each bite or just frost the cupcakes with the cream. You could also slice the cupcakes in half crosswise and spread with a layer of cream to make a cupcake cream sandwich.

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