Strawberry Twinkie delight
When my friend Ann pulled a box of Twinkies from the grocery bag, we asked what she planned to do with the cream-filled snack cakes. We were at a friend’s beach house in Florida, and we had been grocery shopping at the nearby store for the week’s provisions. But Twinkies had not been on the original shopping list that we’d spent the previous month planning over shared online spreadsheets.
Ann said it was a surprise as she continued unloading her shopping bag. A box of vanilla pudding, a quart of fresh strawberries, and a tub of whipped cream joined the box of tubular sponge cakes. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a couple of bowls and a square baking pan.
First, she sliced the strawberries, placed them in a bowl, and tossed them with sugar. Next, she whipped into peaks the boxed custard. After that, she placed the Twinkies into the baking dish, spooned over it the custard then added the juicy berries.
Lastly, she topped everything with whipped cream. She placed the dish into the refrigerator and said it would be ready in a few hours. We were excited to try this Twinkie concoction.
After our first dinner at the beach house, Ann said it was time for dessert. We’d been on the back porch but we went inside to the kitchen and she pulled the dish out of the refrigerator. She handed us spoons and we dug into the trifle, which looked like a combination of banana pudding and strawberry shortcake.
Time had caused the layers to soften and merge. The sponge cake from the Twinkies absorbed some of the juices from the strawberries, and when you took a bite, the cakes, pudding, and cream combined with the berries were sweet and juicy. All as one were a perfect blend.
I asked Ann how long she’d been making her Twinkie dessert and she said she first learned about it when she was young. A neighbor had brought it to a party and she’d been a fan ever since. First, her family made it and then when Ann began cooking, she started making it, too.
Curious about the dessert’s history, I discovered variations on the theme began appearing in the 1970s. It would go under the name Twinkie Delight, Twinkie Surprise, and Twinkie Cake. While strawberries may be used, others called for canned pineapple or bananas instead.
No matter the exact ingredients, however, the layered form of Twinkies, custard, fruit, and whipped cream was the usual pattern of preparation. Sometimes, cream cheese would be included, too.
Recognizing the brilliance of this dessert, I thought of all the possibilities for working with the sponge cakes. For my first time, however, I stuck with the strawberries. I also picked up a box of instant pudding, but I bought it from a health food store and the color was not appealing. I decided that it’s not too challenging to make custard from scratch, so I did that instead. I also whipped cream from scratch.
Do those changes improve the dessert? Perhaps. Though the genius lies in the Twinkies being used as the base, and there’s no substitution for that.
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Strawberry Twinkie delight
Ingredients
For the trifle:
- 16- ounces strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 9 Twinkies
For the custard:
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the whipped cream:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place a metal mixing bowl in the freezer. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
- For the trifle, place the strawberries in a mixing bowl, then toss with the sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Leave in the bowl at room temperature so the strawberries will macerate and become juicy.
- Meanwhile, to make the custard, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, sugar, flour, egg yolks, and salt in a medium pot, and then heat on medium-low heat, continuously stirring.
- After about 5-7 minutes, it will start to bubble and then thicken. Turn the heat down to low and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Turn off the heat.
- To make the whipped cream, take the bowl out of the freezer, add the cream, sugar, and vanilla then beat the ingredients until soft peaks form.
- To compose the trifle, unwrap the Twinkies from their wrappers, then layer the Twinkies in one layer along the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon over it the vanilla custard, then layer over the custard the strawberries and their juices. Finally, spread over the berries the whipped cream.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours covered then serve chilled. Will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Lisa, this brings to mind the old Angel Food Cake in a bowl with whipped cream and strawberries! Big in my house in 1960’s! 🤗
Patti–That also sounds wonderful! It’s been a while since I made an angel food cake!
Lisa, I did not include the jello
In my comment. You have had that iteration, correct????
( didn’t mean to make that assumption, but guess I did🙃)
Patti–I don’t recall jello but that also sounds fun!