Twinkie Cake Recipe

A delicious, easy, copycat Twinkie Cake recipe with layers of yellow cake and sweet whipped cream. You’ll love this not-too-sweet cake inspired by the classic snack!

Whether you love a classic yellow cake recipe for your dessert, or just a simple chocolate cupcake, you’ve come to the right place!

Delicious Twinkie Cake made with yellow cake and sweet whipped cream filling. The perfect, not overly sweet, cake recipe! #twinkie #copycatrecipe #yellowcake


Why This Twinkie Cake is Best

Ahh, there’s nothing like ripping open a plastic wrapper and biting into a yellow, cream-filled Hostess Twinkie. Except now that I’m an adult I prefer making my own version with this Twinkie Cake recipe (it reminds me of our favorite Ding Dong Cake).

  • It starts with a box of yellow cake mix. Doesn’t get much easier than that!
  • The homemade vanilla cream filling is light and fluffy, just like the center of a Twinkie.
  • While other Twinkie cakes can be cloyingly sugary, this one has just the right amount of sweetness.
  • It’s topped with powdered sugar instead of frosting. Easy and and delicious!

Creating homemade versions of processed snack foods isn’t just a hobby. It’s become an obsession!

I’ve made Copycat Hostess Cupcakes, copycat Lofthouse Cookies and so many more. These Oatmeal Cream Pies inspired by the Little Debbie version are a personal favorite.

Ingredient Notes

  • Yellow Cake – Grab a boxed mix and prepare it according to package directions. Or make this yellow cake recipe from scratch!
  • Milk – Use skim, fat free, whole or whatever you have on hand. This becomes the base liquid for the cream filling.
  • All purpose flour – Dissolved into the milk to thicken it to a pudding-like consistency.
  • Vanilla – For flavoring the cream. My instant pot vanilla extract tastes amazing in this Twinkie cake.
  • Butter and sugar- Beaten together to add richness, sweetness and texture to the cream filling.
  • Powdered sugar – For dusting over the assembled Twinkie layer cake.

Tips and Tricks

  • Bake the yellow cake in two 9-inch layer pans. Remember to line the bottom of your pans with a layer of parchment paper and baking spray. Or use my homemade cake release instead!
  • I use Wilton Bake Even strips for the cake layers. These little strips ensure the layers stay even on both sides while baking, creating a perfect appearance and great taste.
  • Let the milk and flour mixture cool completely before adding it to the butter and cream. Keep beating until it becomes the texture of fluffy whipped cream.
  • Use a sifter or confectioner’s sugar duster to add the powdered sugar to the top of the cake for a smooth appearance and consistency.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make the filling ahead of time?

Yes, you can make this Twinkie cream filling up to 1 day ahead of time. Keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to add to your cakes.

Does this cake need to be refrigerated?

This cake can be kept at room temperature for about 2 hours. After that, I would store it covered in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Can I use my own yellow cake recipe for this Twinkie Cake?

You sure can! I have made it both with cake made from a mix and cake made from scratch. Both were delicious.

Why is it called Twinkie cake?

I call this a Twinkie Cake because the yellow cake layers and white cream filling resemble the components of the classic Twinkie snack cakes! While it’s not the same shape as an original Twinkie, the flavor and colors are spot on.
If you love twinkies, I know you’ll enjoy this cake just as much as I do!

The perfect, not overly sweet, cake recipe, this delicious Twinkie Cake is made with yellow cake and sweet whipped cream filling. #vanilla #cake #yellowcake #twinkie

More Easy Dessert Recipes

Twinkie Cake

4.78 from 31 votes
By: Aimee
The perfect, not overly sweet, cake recipe, this delicious Twinkie Cake is made with yellow cake and sweet whipped cream filling.
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 16 servings

Ingredients 

For the cake:

  • 1 box yellow cake mix for 2 9-inch pans [(or this homemade yellow cake recipe)]

For the filling:

  • 5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar for garnish

Instructions 

  • For the cake, prepare yellow cake according to package directions (for 2 9-inch layer cake pans). Cool completely.
  • In a small saucepan, combine the flour with milk, whisking until lumps removed. Turn on medium heat and continue to whisk until mixture becomes thick, like a pudding.
  • Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool completely.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar, beat until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Slowly add in the COOLED milk mixture, beating until combined. It may curdle slightly in the beginning, that’s okay, keep beating until it becomes the texture of whipped cream!
  • Place first layer of cooled cake on a cake plate. Top it with ALL of the cream filling. Add the second layer of cake on top.
  • Sprinkle generously with powdered sugar. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

  • Bake the yellow cake in two 9-inch layer pans. Remember to line the bottom of your pans with a layer of parchment paper and baking spray. Or use my homemade cake release instead!
  • I use Wilton Bake Even strips for the cake layers. These little strips ensure the layers stay even on both sides while baking, creating a perfect appearance and great taste.
  • Let the milk and flour mixture cool completely before adding it to the butter and cream. Keep beating until it becomes the texture of fluffy whipped cream.
  • Use a sifter or confectioner’s sugar duster to add the powdered sugar to the top of the cake for a smooth appearance and consistency.

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 247mg, Sugar: 28g
Course: Cake
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!


Avatar photo

About Aimee

Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

Learn more about Aimee.

Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

Learn How To Become a Better Home Baker
Sign up for the Shugary Sweets FREE Email Course Today—soon you’ll say, "I made it from scratch!"

Categories: ,


Posted on September 27, 2018

Comments & Reviews

  1. Can I make this filling ahead and refrigerate for a couple of days, then bring to room temperature before spreading?

  2. Hi Aimee and thanks for this recipe! I’m thinking of using this cream between 4 layers of a 10″ chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. On top will be 8″ graduation cap. Do you think it can handle this many layers without squishing out? What do you think about the buttercream and this cream together?

  3. I made this cake years ago and everyone loved it. Thank you so much for reminding me how easy and delicious this cake tastes. I also use it for filling in cupcakes and they are amazing.

  4. This cake was so easy to put together, looked very pretty and got rave reviews from my friends. Definitely on my repeat list–thank you!

  5. 5 stars
    This recipe was so easy to put together, looked pretty and was delicious. Definitely on my repeat list–thank you!

  6. 5 stars
    Do you think it would be okay to use a Butter Recipe Yellow Cake mix? That’s all I have. This cake looks really good and my husband and son both love Twinkies!

  7. That filling looks absolutely amazing! And I love bake even strips: those are seriously a game changer. Thanks, Aimee!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating