They look like Twinkies, but they're not! I'm not sure why Zoë from Zoë Bakes Cakes calls it The OG Snack Cake, but these little Twinkie clones are delicious!
You can make this as a cake (and that would be amazing), but I chose to go the snack cake way and bought the cutest little hot-dog bun pans. They're about 4-inches long each (too short for hot dogs in my opinion...) and are silicone pans.
I don't have the highest opinion of silicone pans, as they're floppy and can be difficult to manage. These were the same - floppy and I had to manipulate them a bit to get the pan to sit straight on the oven rack.
However, I LOVED the shape the of the little cakes!
The cake itself is light and spongy with a nice light orange flavor. You don't miss the Twinkie chemicals at all!
I used American Buttercream for the filling and frosting, but you can use Italian Buttercream, or your favorite premade frosting if you'd like.
I flavored the filling with vanilla and maple flavoring (my favorite) and it came out amazing.
You can use whatever flavoring you'd like (orange, almond, etc.), but I highly recommend the maple.
The batter was easy to assemble. The whipped, sweetened egg whites are folded into the batter and that's what makes it fluffy and light. Just the right texture.
These little cakes would be good as cupcakes, too. Very versatile - just be gentle folding the whites into the batter so it won't deflate from overworking it.
I didn't do so great with my little piping tips. Make sure your frosting is thin enough to push through the tips. Otherwise, you end up with it all over your hands, counter, and in your hair. Yes, in my hair.
I ended up punching 3 holes in the bottom of the cakes with my smaller tip, then using a little larger tip to push the frosting in.
Even though I halved the frosting recipe, there was quite a bit leftover so I frosted the tops of the little cakes. And it works - they're so very, very good. I will definitely be making The OG Snack Cake again.
You may also enjoy Lime Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, a one layer refreshing, delicious snack cake!
Take a look at the other Cake Slice Bakers' choices (below the recipe).
The OG Snack Cake (aka: Better than Twinkies)
Light, spongy, lightly orange-flavored snack cakes filled and topped with vanilla-maple frosting.
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- ¾ C plus 2 tablespoon (110g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 eggs, separated, at room temperature
- ¼ C (60ml) canola or vegetable oil
- ¼ C (60ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 egg whites, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- For American Frosting:
- 3 C (360g) confectioner's sugar
- ¾ C (165g) butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon maple extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ to ¼ C (30 to 60ml) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (175°C). Lightly spray a nonstick mini hot dog pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ½ C (100g) of the sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the egg yolks, oil, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together until just smooth.
- In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the two egg whites and cream of tartar and beat on high speed until medium peaks form (about 2 minutes). Turn the speed to medium-low and slowly sprinkle in the remaining ¼ C (50g) sugar. Turn the speed to high and beat until stiff and glossy peaks form (1 to 2 minutes).
- Stir one-third of the meringue mixture into the batter bowl to loosen it up a bit. Then, using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the remaining meringue into the batter.
- Spoon or pipe the batter into the prepared pan, filling each mold about ⅔rds full.
- Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, 15-17 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the molds to loosen the cakes, then remove the cakes to a sheet of parchment paper. Cool completely.
- For the filling: In a stand mixer bowl, combine the confectioner's sugar and butter and beat on low speed until fully combined.
- Turn the mixer to medium and beat until a thick paste forms. Scrape down the bowl and then add the vanilla, maple flavoring and salt and beat for a few seconds more.
- Turn the mixer to low and add enough of the cream (about 1 teaspoon at a time) to make the frosting thinner and pipeable/spreadable.
- Use a small piping tip and fill a pastry bag (or large zip-lock bag) with the frosting. Inject the frosting into the bottom of the cakes in several places just until the sides start bulging. Use excess frosting to top the cakes if you wish.
- Serve the snack cakes immediately or store in the refrigerator, covered. If serving directly from the refrigerator, let them come back to room temperature before serving.
Notes
The original recipe uses unsalted butter - I used salted.
Some of the cakes were stubborn when filling, so I pre-poked holes in some of them so the tips would go in more easily.
If you don't have/don't want to buy the small bun pans, use muffin tins or go ahead and make a 8" cake with the batter (then split the cake and frost - don't grease the pan - use parchment paper and use a knife to loosen from the edges before removing).
If you don't get the buttercream thin enough it will clog the piping tips, so make it a little thinner than regular frosting would be.
Other flavorings for the buttercream: almond flavoring, your favorite thick berry preserves, 1 teaspoon of citrus zest, 1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spiece.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 135Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 160mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 5g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoē François. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
Coconut Cream Cake
The OG Snack Cake
Greek Orange-Phyllo Cake
These are so stinkin' cute, Susan! And I love the idea of maple in the frosting!
Thanks Amanda! Oh, that maple - sooooo good!
I love the little pans. I really wanted to make this but, for once, resisted buying a new pan. Now I want one =)
I thought the same thing, but gave into the new pans! They'd be good in other shapes too!
I was drawn to these cakes too but didn't have a pan and wasn't heading to the store to get one.
They'd work as cupcakes too. Great texture and soo good!