Homemade Twinkies or Vanilla Buccaneers, with their white filling
Para 8 0.65 €/pers. 350 kcal/100g.
- For the cake:
- 100g of all-purpose or cake flour, without added yeast
- 10 g of fine corn flour or cornstarch
- 135g of white sugar
- 6 g of baking powder or chemical yeast
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 45 ml of sunflower oil
- 80 ml of water
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or paste
- 2 g of salt
- Oil or non-stick spray for the mold
- For the white vanilla filling:
- 50 ml of whole milk
- 6 g of wheat flour
- 35g of white sugar
- 45g of unsalted, soft butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or paste
- A pinch of salt
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), using the conventional setting (top and bottom heat). Lightly grease eight elongated cavities and remove any excess oil. If using a silicone mold, place it on a metal baking tray before filling it.
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks. The bowls must be clean and dry, especially the one for the egg whites, because any trace of fat will make whipping difficult.
- Sift together the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Add 100g of the sugar and the salt, and mix until the baking powder is evenly distributed.
- Add the egg yolks, oil, water, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Whisk for one minute, until you have a smooth, lump-free batter. There's no need to incorporate air at this stage.
- Whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer. When they are foamy, gradually add the remaining 35g of sugar. Continue whisking until you get a firm but flexible meringue with peaks that hold their shape without looking dry.
- Add one-third of the egg whites to the batter and gently stir to lighten it. Incorporate the rest in two additions, using folding motions from the bottom of the bowl. Stop mixing as soon as you no longer see any white areas.
- We divide the batter among the molds, filling them no more than two-thirds full. We smooth the surface with a spoon and gently tap the tray to remove any large air bubbles.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes, depending on the size of the cavities. The cakes will be ready when they are lightly golden and spring back when pressed with a finger. Longer baking will result in a dry, brittle crumb.
- We wait five minutes before unmolding. We transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack with the flat side down and let them cool completely. We don't fill them while they're still warm, because the butter in the cream will melt.
- To prepare the filling, put the milk, flour, and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk until smooth, then heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when you have a thick, glossy paste, being careful not to let it brown.
- Transfer the cooked cream to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it cool to room temperature. Beat the butter for three minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the milk mixture one tablespoon at a time, then stir in the vanilla and salt. The mixture should be smooth, white, and stable.
- We put the cream into a piping bag fitted with a narrow nozzle. We pierce each cupcake in three places on the base, going about halfway through. We press gently and stop filling as soon as we notice the cake starting to expand.
- Place the Twinkies with the smooth side up and wait about 20 minutes before serving. During this time, the cream will settle and the crumb will regain its shape around the filling.
- The eggs should be at room temperature to obtain egg whites with greater volume and mix them without the batter losing fluidity.
- Once the meringue is incorporated, we don't use the mixer. Vigorous beating removes the air and leaves the pastries flat.
- The surface should barely brown. If it turns dark, the crumb will lose the soft texture we're looking for.
- The cooked cream and butter should be at a similar temperature. If one is cold and the other hot, the filling may curdle.
- It's best to put only a small amount of cream in each hole. A pastry that's too full will split open on the side or develop a bulge on top.
- We can keep them for a day at room temperature, well sealed and away from heat. To store them for up to three days, refrigerate them and take them out about 20 minutes before eating.
- Unfilled sponge cakes can be frozen for up to a month. Defrost them at room temperature and add the cream afterward.
When you turn one of these pastries over, you'll see three small marks on the base. These are the points where the filling is inserted and one of the most recognizable features of homemade Twinkies. In Spain, a similar version called Bucaneros is also remembered, although pastries with different fillings were sold under that name.
To achieve a vanilla sponge cake, we need a golden, soft, and elastic cake, not a dense muffin or a pound cake. The batter contains oil and water, while the whipped egg whites add volume without creating a thick crust. The filling isn't whipped cream either: we prepare a white vanilla cream that holds its shape inside the sponge and doesn't make it soggy immediately.
The elongated mold helps achieve its usual appearance, but it doesn't affect the flavor. We can use a specific snack cake mold, oval silicone cavities, or small cake molds. It will change the shape, but we can maintain the light crumb and the three portions of cream inside.
Because of the way it incorporates air, this recipe has some similarities to homemade muffins. For a simpler homemade batter, you can use homemade yogurt cake, while the orange quatre-quarts offers a butterier and more compact crumb.
