Tomorrow is National Twinkie Day in honor of the iconic treat’s birthday. Since its creation in 1930, Twinkies have become a quintessential snack food and even a mainstay of pop culture. But here’s something to really celebrate: Desirée Stemmer of Desired Dish has veganized the Twinkie and I am all about this sweet, sweet nostalgia.
“It was definitely one of the more difficult desserts I tackled. I wanted it to be as close to the original as possible,” she said of the childhood favorite. “It started with creating the perfect sponge cake and then the filling had to be just right.”
While I pride myself on being skilled at enjoying sweets, I don’t know the first thing about baking them, so I asked Desirée to explain why replicating them was so tricky.
“The cake itself is a sponge so it has to be light and airy. Typically these cakes are made with lots of egg whites. Any traditional recipe that calls for a lot of eggs is going to be the most challenging to keep close to the original texture and flavor.”
The frosting came with a hurdle of its own. “Getting a light and fluffy cream that would stay put without melting away or seeping into the cake was also a challenge.”
And yet, after “a mountain of almost-there-but-not-quite-right sponge cakes,” she finally did it and announced the new addition to her menu back in January. Fortunately for us, Desirée said that experimenting can be fun and that the Twinkie and Snickers candy are her “pride and joy” replications to date.
If you’re able to make it, Desirée will have twinkies available this Wednesday 4/7 from 11 am to 4 pm at Bell Works Fresh Market inside the Bell Works Complex in Holmdel. Otherwise, they are available by the dozen for pre-order on her website. If a dozen sounds like a lot of Twinkies to eat in just a couple days, know that you can wrap and freeze them for up to three months (but something tells me you won’t need to).
Desiree makes some of the most amazing sweets!