The Twinkie Cupcakes from Paula Shoyer’s The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy (Brandeis) did not disappoint. Not as spongy and moist as actual Twinkies, they are nevertheless light and airy due to the whipped egg whites folded into the batter. The best part, of course, is the cream in the center, which is sweet but not cloying. Since the cupcake is filled with it, you get the perfect amount of frosting in every bite. I’d be interested in trying this technique with other cupcake recipes since it worked so well here and was much easier than I expected (instead of a pastry bag, I used a plastic bag to pipe the filling, which is what many bakers recommend). This is a fun recipe for kosher or dairy-free bakers that will delight adults as well as kids. It bodes well for the other desserts in this book.
Twinkie Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes
Storage: Store covered with plastic in the refrigerator for four days.
Cupcake:
4 large eggs
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
½ cup parve plain soy milk
1 cup sugar
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Cream Filling:
2 tablespoons parve margarine, at room temperature
¼ cup parve cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ cup parve whipping cream
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place paper liners in 18 muffin cups.
2. Separate the eggs, placing 1 yolk in a medium bowl (refrigerate the 3 remaining yolks for another use) and the 4 whites into another bowl. Into the bowl with the egg yolk, add the oil, soy milk, sugar, flour, baking powder, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed or whisk by hand for 1 minute.
3. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Using a silicone spatula, fold half of the whites into the batter and, when almost mixed in, add the rest of the whites and mix until combined. Use a 1/3-cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into the lined muffin cups. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan.
4. To make the cream filling: Place the margarine and cream cheese in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed or by hand with a whisk until creamy, scraping down the bowl a few times. Add ½ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and mix. Scrape down the bowl. Add another ½ cup confectioners’ sugar and mix again. Add the final ¼ cup sugar and beat until creamy. Add the vanilla and mix.
5. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream until stiff. Add the whipped cream to the filling in two parts, mixing it with a whisk and scraping down the bowl so that all of the cream is mixed in.
6. Use a round ½-teaspoon measuring spoon or a small melon baller to scoop out a ball of cupcake from the top center of the cupcake. You can scoop twice to get a deeper hole, but do not scoop down to the bottom. Remove the ball and eat if you like.
7. Fill a pastry bag with a ¼-inch round tip with the cream filling. Squeeze the cream to fill the scooped-out hole and then add some cream to the top of the cupcake. I usually squeeze a circle about 1½ inches wide on top of the cupcake, but you can add more cream if you like. Repeat with the other cupcakes. Store in the refrigerator, but let soften at room temperature for a half hour before eating.
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