Twinkie Cupcake Recipe

If you grew up loving the classic golden snack cakes filled with creamy goodness, you’re going to adore these homemade Twinkie Cupcakes!

They have all the nostalgic flavor you remember—soft, buttery sponge cake and a fluffy cream filling—but made entirely from scratch.

The best part? Unlike the store-bought version, these cupcakes are made with real ingredients and no hard-to-pronounce additives

Just pure homemade goodness!

Making your own Twinkie cupcakes means you get the same tender cake texture and sweet, creamy center, but fresher, lighter, and even more delicious than the original.
Plus, you can feel good about serving them to your family, knowing exactly what’s inside.

The biggest difference since there are very few additives to keep these fresh, so they won't keep them fresh for weeks. These will need to be eaten quickly, or just freeze them on a cookie sheet for later thawing in the refrigerator.

Why Make Homemade Twinkie Cupcakes

• No Preservatives or Additives: Store-bought snack cakes are packed with stabilizers to keep them fresh for months. Homemade versions use simple, real ingredients so you can feel good about every bite.
• Better Flavor & Texture: Freshly baked sponge cake is soft, moist, and buttery—something that just can’t compare to the boxed version. The homemade cream filling is light, fluffy, and not overly sweet.
• Customize to Your Taste: Love extra filling? Add more! Want a chocolate drizzle or sprinkles on top? Go for it. Homemade lets you make them just the way you like.
• Fun Nostalgic Treat: Twinkie cupcakes bring back childhood memories, but with a modern, fresh twist that you can share with family and friends.
• Healthier Choice: While still a dessert, homemade cupcakes mean fewer processed ingredients, no artificial coloring, and you control the sweetness.

Ingredients

1. flour sifted
2. sugar
3. eggs
4. baking powder
5. cornstarch
6. water
7. salt
8. vanilla
9. See the  printable recipe card below for filling and instructions

Other Suggestions and Tips

• make this in a cake form and top with chopped bananas and banana cream pudding then topped with a banana extract  flavored whipped cream
• use a twinkie tube pan for the original shape see the affiliate link at the end for ordering on Amazon
• make the cake in an angel food pan fill slice in half and fill dust with powdered sugar
• freeze leftovers after 3 days and thaw in the refrigerator

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A Nice Trip Down Memory Lane Making Homemade Twinkie Cupcakes

These will definitely handle your craving for a Twinkie fix but nothing compares to our childhood memories right?


These little twinkie cupcakes will still bring a wonderful taste to your pallet and put a smile on your face, that's for certain because these are delicious.


Let's bring some new memories to the table together today, give this recipe a try, a simple mock-style copycat of the good ole days eating twinkies in cupcake form!

Twinkie Cupcake Recipe

Yield: 48

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 26 MinTotal time: 41 Min

Homemade twinkie cupcakes are a delicious sponge cake filled with marshmallow fluffy filling. A Hostess childhood snack during the 1960s that mom tried to copycat and of course we think these are better than the originals.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs separated
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cup sifted flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• pinch a salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• Marshmallow Filling Recipe:
• 2 teaspoons boiling water plus 1/4 teaspoon salt (added to the water)
• 2 cups marshmallow fluff
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar or more depending on how thick you want this
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla ( if you can't find it use regular but the filling won't be pure white in color)

Instructions

1. Cupcakes, sheet pan, angel food pan or 2 8 inch pans can be used for this recipe:
2. Cake batter directions:
3. Beat whites until very stiff, set aside.
4. Beat yolks in a separate bowl until thick and lemon-colored.
5. Add sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, sifted flour, and flavoring.
6. Gently fold in egg whites until just blended. Pour into cupcake-lined pans
7. Note: ( I use a little cooking spray in each bottom so the paper won't stick.)
8. Bake for around 25 minutes in a preheated oven of 350 degrees. Cool completely.
9. Core out the center of each cupcake with an apple corer or sharp knife then fill.
10. Filling directions:
11. In a heavy-duty mixer whip the shortening adding the sugar a little at a time, whip for around 4 minutes until smooth. 
12. Add the vanilla, water, and salt. 
13. Add the marshmallow fluff slowly beating until smooth and well blended together for around 1 minute.
14. Place in a pastry bag to pipe into the cupcake centers or use a ziplock bag and snip the end off to fill easy.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

84.69

Fat (grams)

2.78

Sat. Fat (grams)

1.06

Carbs (grams)

13.78

Fiber (grams)

0.11

Net carbs

13.66

Sugar (grams)

9.43

Protein (grams)

1.26

Sodium (milligrams)

41.49

Cholesterol (grams)

24.45

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https://www.whatscookinitalianstylecuisine.com/2013/02/twinkie-cupcake-recipe.html

These are all copyright-protected images and content. Do not reprint/reuse this recipe or its images without my written permission.

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Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2013. It was edited and re-published in 2021.