snack cakes

OK, we understand if you're not from particular pockets of America (northern New England, east-central Pennsylvania...), you probably don't know what a Whoopie Pie is. Well, read on...

Kyle's Whoopie Pies

(92 grams) shortening

(213 grams) brown sugar

eggs

(241 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

baking powder

baking soda

salt

espresso powder optional; for enhanced chocolate flavor

(227 grams) milk

vanilla extract

(184 grams) shortening

(113 grams) confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar

(167 grams) Marshmallow Fluff

Two saucer-shaped rounds of chocolate cake sandwiched around a marshmallow-y cream filling: that's the classic whoopie pie. Originally popular in New England and around Amish country, the whoopie pie has gradually been spreading throughout America, and for good reason: it's a delicious throwback to the days before everyone started counting calories or fat grams. Consider these an occasional decadent treat.

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies

(113 grams) butter

espresso powder

(43 grams) Dutch-process cocoa

(283 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(177 grams) vegetable shortening

Moist and dense (but not heavy), this single-layer cake is super ginger-y thanks in part to the addition of ginger syrup. If you're a fan of ginger and its spicy kick of heat, you'll love this quick and easy cake.

Triple Ginger Gingerbread

(160 grams) light brown sugar packed

(84 grams) molasses

(140 grams) ginger syrup purchased or homemade*

unsalted butter

(49 grams) vegetable oil

(300 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

ginger

cinnamon

nutmeg

(128 grams) crystallized ginger minced optional

(227 grams) boiling water

This homemade Twinkies recipe for Hostess snack cakes filled with fluffy cream filling is just like the ones from your childhood. But better.

Homemade Twinkies

Nonstick cooking spray oil

cake flour

all-purpose flour

eggs,

sugar

cream of tarter

Seven-Minute Filling, er, Frosting

Preheat

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position.

Fold

To make your shiny, single-use Twinkie molds, start with a piece of aluminum foil, preferably heavy-duty, that’s approximately 14 inches long. It should be just a little longer than it is wide. Fold the foil in half lengthwise, then fold it in half again to create a rectangle that’s about 6 inches long and 7 inches wide. Repeat to make a dozen rectangles.

Shape

Place 1 sheet of folded foil on your work surface, with the long side facing you. Place a standard-size plastic or glass spice jar on its side in the center of the foil, the jar’s long side also facing you. Bring the long sides of the foil up around the jar. The foil won’t reach all the way around, and that’s okay. 


Fold the foil in around both top and bottom ends of the spice jar, nice and tight. You’ll end up with a sort of trough situation. (Cookbook author Todd Wilbur has a video of the process here; if you’re impatient, fast forward to 1:10, where the action starts.) Repeat until you have 12 foil Twinkie molds. Spritz the molds with an obscenely generous amount of nonstick spray or use your fingertips to coat the molds with vegetable oil. Place the Twinkie molds on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan.

Whisk

Whisk the flours, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.

Heat

In a small saucepan over low heat, heat the milk and butter until the butter melts. Remove from the heat add the vanilla. Cover to keep warm.

Separate

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or, if using a hand mixer or whisk, a large mixing bowl) and reserving the yolks in another bowl. Beat the whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the cream of tartar and continue to beat until the whites reach soft, moist peaks.

Beat

Dump the beaten egg whites into a large bowl and add the egg yolks to the standing mixer bowl—there’s no need to clean the bowl (or, if using a hand mixer or whisk, simply place the egg yolks in a separate large bowl). Beat the egg yolks with the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is very thick and a pale lemon color, about 5 minutes. Add the beaten egg whites to the yolks, but do not mix.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg whites and then mix everything on low speed for just 10 seconds (or, if using a hand mixer or whisk, until blended but not thoroughly combined). Remove the bowl from the mixer, make a well in one side of the batter, and pour the melted butter mixture into the bowl. Fold gently with a large rubber spatula until the batter shows no trace of flour and the whites and yolks are evenly mixed, about 8 strokes.

Bake

Immediately scrape the batter into the prepared molds, filling each with about 3/4 inch batter. Bake until the cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when touched, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pan containing the molds to a wire rack and allow the cakes to cool in the molds.

Poke

Just before filling, remove each cake from the foil. Using the end of a chopstick, poke three holes in the bottom of each cake, just like in the bottom of real Twinkies. Wiggle the tip of the chopstick around quite a lot to make room for the filling. (Again, you can see this in action here, beginning at minute 3.)

Fill

Scoop frosting into a pastry bag fit with a small tip about 1/4 inch across. Pipe the frosting into the holes you created in the bottom of the cakes. As you fill each cake, hold it in your palm and gently exert pressure on it so you can feel the cake expand, taking care not to overfill the cake, which would make it crack.

Serve

Unlike real Twinkies, these won’t last indefinitely. They’re best served still slightly warm.

Golden sugar adds a subtle flavor boost to our classic carrot cake recipe, which we’ve fashioned here into a perfect-for-snacking tea loaf. (See "tips," below, for details on how to turn this into crowd-friendly cupcakes.) Freshly grated nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon bring a hint of spice to everyone’s familiar favorite, cream cheese frosting.

Spiced Carrot Snacking Cake

(248 grams) vegetable oil

(396 grams) Domino Golden Sugar

cloves

(240 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

carrots

(113 grams) walnuts or pecans chopped

cream cheese

(452 grams) Domino Powdered Sugar sifted if lumpy

nutmeg*

(198 grams) Domino Golden Sugar

(76 grams) water

(85 grams) walnuts coarsely chopped and toasted

Brown butter cider filling is sandwiched between two moist apple spice cakes for an orchard-inspired New England riff on the classic whoopie pie.

Apple Spice Whoopie Pies

(25 grams) vegetable oil

(149 grams) granulated sugar

(360 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

allspice

(57 grams) buttermilk

(22 grams) boiled cider

(255 grams) applesauce unsweetened

(113 grams) unsalted butter

(46 grams) vegetable shortening

(43 grams) boiled cider

grams) milk or heavy cream

Remember those golden vanilla snack cakes from when you were a kid? Soft, springy and full of rich creamy white filling. Well, these snack cakes will bring you right back to Saturday morning cartoons and school lunch boxes, without the chemical additives. These cakes won't last through a nuclear winter like the urban legend says, they are so good they will disappear in a twink of the eye! 
To make these cakes into cupcakes, complete with a colorful sugar garnish, follow our step-by-step photos for <a href="//www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2011/07/01/twinkie-cupcakes-with-fruit-fillings-with-bonus-bubble-sugar-demo/">Twinkling Good Cupcakes.</a>

Twinkling Good Vanilla Snack Cakes

(240 grams) King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour

(298 grams) granulated sugar

(99 grams) vegetable oil

(170 grams) water cold

large egg yolks unbeaten at room temperature

King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract

(14 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(113 grams) milk

(57 grams) salted butter

(43 grams) vegetable shortening

(99 grams) granulated sugar

Inspired by our beloved Original Cake Pan Cake, this dairy-free recipe is made with cake flour for a super-tender crumb. The olive oil does double duty: it beautifully complements the chocolate, and enhances the cake’s overall flavor. The unique chocolate crackle topping not only provides added texture but also a flavorful finish (thanks to PJ Hamel for the inspiration!). Made with everyday ingredients, this cake is destined to become part of your everyday snacking. 

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

(210 grams) King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour

(198 grams) granulated sugar

(11 grams) black cocoa

(11 grams) unsweetened cocoa Dutch-process or natural sifted if lumpy

(14 grams) cider vinegar or white vinegar

(150 grams) extra-virgin olive oil

(151 grams) water

(57 grams) semisweet chocolate wafers bittersweet chocolate wafers or chocolate chips*

(25 grams) granulated sugar

While many peanut butter cake recipes rely on frosting for their peanut butteriness, this cake has peanut butter incorporated directly into the batter itself. The result is tender, rich layers of peanut butter cake that are ready to be paired with any number of frostings and fillings, like our Seven-Minute Frosting, pictured here; see a list of ideas in the baker’s tips below. 

The Peanut Butter Cake was one of our Bake of the Week recipes for April 2023.

Peanut Butter Cake

(426 grams) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar packed

Crafted by cookbook author and food equity advocate Julia Turshen, who generously shared this recipe with us in support of our “Baking a Stand” for social justice effort, this simple, not-too-sweet loaf cake is just the thing to lift your spirits. Creamy Greek yogurt, fresh orange, and lots of vanilla evoke the classic flavors of an orange Creamsicle®. It’s just lovely served plain, but Julia recommends topping thick slices with extra yogurt and orange slices for an elegant dessert.

Orange and Greek Yogurt Cake

(227 grams) plain Greek yogurt full-fat plain

(100 grams) extra-virgin olive oil

orange

(113 grams) orange juice freshly squeezed (from about 1 large orange)

(14 grams) King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract

(132 grams) granulated sugar

(120 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

(141 grams) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour

plain Greek yogurt

Peach Melba, a 19th century dessert composed of poached peaches, raspberry sauce, and vanilla ice cream, gets a modern-day spin in this fast and easy snacking cake. The cake comes together in under an hour, with no mixer required. And while this recipe is an homage to the original, one element is nonnegotiable: the ice cream or whipped cream that’s served alongside. 

Top 11 snack cakes recipes from across the web

The most viewed snack cakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Kyle's Whoopie Pies

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Triple Ginger Gingerbread

Homemade Twinkies

Spiced Carrot Snacking Cake

Apple Spice Whoopie Pies

Twinkling Good Vanilla Snack Cakes

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Peanut Butter Cake

Orange and Greek Yogurt Cake

Peach Melba Snacking Cake

Top 11 snack cakes recipes from across the web

The most viewed snack cakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Kyle's Whoopie Pies

Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Triple Ginger Gingerbread

Homemade Twinkies

Spiced Carrot Snacking Cake

Apple Spice Whoopie Pies

Twinkling Good Vanilla Snack Cakes

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Peanut Butter Cake

Orange and Greek Yogurt Cake

Peach Melba Snacking Cake

The most viewed snack cakes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine