Twinkie cupcakes are made from a tender, buttery sponge cake, filled with a light-as-a-cloud marshmallow whip, and topped with the creamiest marshmallow buttercream.
As a former Twinkie junkie I can assure you that these are absolutely incredible.
Table of Contents
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
🗝️ Key takeaways
- I love the soft, moist vanilla cake filled with the creamiest of marshmallow buttercream frostings. Plus, they're not hard to make.
- Serve these for any occasion from a pool party to a baby shower. Who doesn't love Twinkies?
- It's imperative to beat the sugar and egg yolks until the sugar is no longer grainy. This could take 5 to 10 minutes. Be patient.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🤫 Cook's secrets -
The secret to the perfect sponge cake is being patient while beating the egg yolks and sugar. They will get thick and light as you beat them and the sugar will completely dissolve. This will take 5 minutes or more.
🍴 Equipment
- cupcake pans
- cupcake liners
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- measuring cups and spoons
- mixing bowls
🥫 How to store leftovers
Cover with plastic wrap or place in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 or 4 days.
Unfrosted cupcakes, filled or not, can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Marye's Tip o' the day
The easiest way to hollow out the baked cupcakes is to push a large piping tip down into the center. Don't go through the bottom - you'll want at least a ½-inch layer of cake. You can also use a paring knife to cut carefully.
💭 Things to know
- Cake mixes give you a filled cupcake but they do not give you that amazing combination of texture and sweetness that a Twinkie has.
- Ingredients must be at room temperature.
- To separate the eggs easily separate them when cold then allow them to come to room temperature.
- Be sure to rinse the beaters and bowl out with vinegar before you beat the egg whites.
- Sponge cake is a touch more complicated than a regular cake but it's not difficult if you follow the steps carefully.
- Once you learn how to make the sponge cake you can get what is called a canoe pan and make Twinkies exactly like Hostess's if you want to.
👩🍳 FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
You can! Bake them, fill them, then flash freeze for up to 3 months. Frost them when you're ready to serve.
Nope. Cover them with plastic wrap or in a cupcake carrier and they'll be fine at room temperature for 3 or 4 days.
📚 Related recipes
📞 The last word
Back in 2012 or so Hostess decided to stop making Twinkies. It was a traumatic moment for many of us.
You could tell the true Twinkie fans because recipes started popping up on the Internet and I tried a bunch of them but the cake was never that soft, spongy goodness I'd come to love.
Until I finally created these using an old spongecake recipe from one of my vintage cookbooks. Success!
Of course, within a few weeks of my Twinkie creation they were back on the shelves with an apology from Hostess. Still, these are delicious - and maybe even a tiny bit better than the original Twinkies.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Copycat Twinkie Cupcakes
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
Cake
- 5 eggs, , separated
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 cup sugar, (¼ cup plus ¾ cup, divided use)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- Pinch of salt
Filling
- 7 ounce jar of mashmallow fluff, (about half a cup)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, , softened
- ⅓ - ½ cup sifted confectioner's sugar
- ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
Marshmallow Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted butter, , at room temperature
- 7 ounces marshmallow fluff, (about half a cup)
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Separate the eggs while they are cold and then let them come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 325F.
- Rinse the beater and bowl with vinegar and drain all the vinegar out.
- Add the egg whites and the cream of tartar to the bowl.
- Beat the egg whites until they make soft peaks and then begin beating ¼ cup of the sugar in one tablespoon at a time.
- Continue beating until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
- Remove the egg whites from the bowl and put them in another bowl that is very clean. Set aside.
- Beat the egg yolks with the vanilla and almond until they are thick and lemon colored.
- Beat in the remaining ¾ cup sugar very slowly, until the mixture is no longer grainy when rubbed between your fingers. This can take 5 minutes or more.
- Fold ⅓ of the egg whites carefully into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it.
- Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.
- Sift the flour and salt over the top of the egg mixture and fold gently until no white streaks can be seen.
- Spoon into muffin cups and bake until top springs back when touched - about 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
Filling
- Cream the butter and sugar together.
- Add vanilla and salt.
- Whip in the marshmallow fluff.
- Cover tightly and chill.
- Whip before using. If it is too runny add a bit more confectioners but remember this is a very creamy filling. Don't add too much.
Marshmallow Buttercream
- Beat the butter and marshmallow until well mixed.
- Whip for five minutes.
- Add the confectioners sugar and beat to combine.
- Add the vanilla and then whip for three minutes or so.
- If the frosting seems too thick add a little of the cream and whip some more.
To Assemble
- Remove middles out of cooled cupcakes.
- Pipe in the filling mixture.
- Cover with frosting.
- Repeat with all of the cupcakes.
- Decorate as desired.
Notes
- Ingredients must be at room temperature.
- To separate the eggs easily separate them when cold then allow them to come to room temperature.
- It will take 5 minutes or more to beat the egg yolks and sugar. Be patient.
- Be sure to rinse the beaters and bowl out with vinegar before you beat the egg whites.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First published June 17, 2013. Last updated June 5 2024 for editorial improvements.
Baker Unicorn says
I wanted to love this but I honestly grew so frustrated. As a fellow baker could I beg you to go back through, add times and speeds. I bless those who commented as those answers gave me some ideas but it shouldn't be so hard! Maybe they would taste more like twinkies if I wasn't guessing at almost every step! Was a good cupcake with an intriguing buttercream. Not sure I'll try again unless she fixes recipe.
S says
Love this concept and the frosting and filling are delicious, but the cake itself is overly sweet so together the combination is cloying. The cake texture also wasn't ideal. We also got a lot of feedback from people that it didn't taste like a twinkie.
Zuzu says
I’m trying to make this recipe however I am having a problem getting the yolks and sugar to not be grainy! Help, what can I do?
Marye Audet says
It takes a good long time - 5 minutes or so on high. Sometimes more. Just get it the best you can - it's a little forgiving.
Emily says
I made just the cream filling last night so that I could get that Twinkie mojo going. It came out great! No problems using a pastry bag and just made a hole in my cupcakes (a gluten-free box mix) at the bottom and one on each side and piped it in. My only thing is that the ingredients list for the filling doesn't say to add salt, but the instructions say "Add vanilla and salt." I added a wee dash just in case since it's unsalted butter. No problemo. Yum!
Nancy says
Tried the Casey Barber recipe for the cupcakes and it failed miserably. Hope this one does better.
Marye Audet says
Hm. I have no clue who Casey Barber is, Nancy. Can you tell me what went wrong or what you didn't like? The most difficult thing about this recipe is getting the sponge cake right.
Melissa says
You mention you have to cover and chill the filling. For how long?
Marye Audet says
just until it's cool... maybe 30 minutes or so.
Holly says
How many cupcakes does this recipe make?
Marye Audet says
18. 🙂
Rachel says
Just had to come on here and say yum! I was looking for a cupcake to make with my niece - something fun but not requiring fancy decoration. This was delicious! We cut out half a cup of sugar for the topping, and it was perfect. I will be making these again.
Terry Finley says
April and I are trying this tonight for the church potluck tomorrow. We are using mini liners instead. (Lots of little kids...) can I just stick a pastry to into the cupcake instead of removing the center.... since there won't be too much center in the mini.
Terry Finley says
Pastry tip.... duh.
Marye says
I think you'll still want to remove centers but try one and see
Helen says
Can this be baked as a cake instead?
Marye Audet says
Sure.... you'll just need to bake longer.
Becky Raudman says
Sounds delicious! Planning on trying. Question is: In the first step it says to rinse beater and bowl with vinegar and drain vinegar out. Am I assuming then that I'm not "rinsing" the vinegar from the bowl? I want to verify that it won't leave my egg whites tasting like vinegar or does the vinegar not "rinsed" out from bowl aid in the final product? Sorry if it sounds like a dumb question. New to baking and want to make sure I understand completely before jumping in to a recipe that is so in depth. Thanks for your time!
Marye Audet says
It is not a dumb question. There is not enough vinegar to make the egg whites taste weird and the acid residue from the vinegar in the bowl helps the whites whip up nice and fluffy! Let me know how you like them. If you run into problems or questions just post on the restlesschipotle facebook page...I check it often.