These homemade vanilla snack cakes feature soft, springy layers filled with rich creamy buttercream made from butter, shortening, and a cooked flour-milk paste. They bake quickly in a canoe pan and disappear fast without any preservatives.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spritz a filled cake pan (aka canoe panel pan) with a light layer of cooking spray. Set aside.
To make the snack cakes: Place all ingredients except beaten egg whites into a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.
Working in thirds, fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. Take care to keep the batter light; fold, don't beat.
Fill each section of the snack cake pan 2/3 full. The cakes will puff quite a bit during baking, but will shrink back during cooling. Bake the cakes in a preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a flexible spatula, gentle remove each cake and cool flat side down on a rack until completely cool. In the meantime, prepare the snack cake filling.
In a small saucepan cook flour and milk over medium heat until a paste forms. Stir constantly and do not allow mixture to brown. Remove from heat and let cool 1 minute. Add vanilla and stir until smooth. Press a piece of plastic wrap down on the surface of the paste to avoid forming a skin and set aside to cool completely.
In the bowl of your mixer beat butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy, scraping bowl to fully incorporate ingredients. Add cooled flour/milk mixture and continue to beat 5 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Use to fill snack cakes or cupcakes. Filling will remain creamy; store at room temperature 3-4 days.
To fill snack cakes: Place about 1 cup of filling into a clean pastry bag fitted with a round pastry tube, or use filling tool included with snack cake (cream canoe) pan. Gently insert the tube into the underside of the cake, about halfway through the cake. Using gentle pressure, squeeze a small amount of filling into the cake. You'll feel the cake expand under your fingers. Do not overfill, or the cake will burst. Repeat for a total of 3 times per cake. Store cakes well covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Store filled cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days; no refrigeration needed. Unfilled cakes can be frozen for up to 1 month.
canoe pan (filled cake pan) · stand mixer · pastry bag with round tube · flexible spatula
A canoe or filled cake pan has oblong sections designed for snack cakes. You can use a muffin tin as an alternative, though baking time may vary; check for golden brown at 8-12 minutes.
Folding beaten egg whites gently keeps air in the batter, creating the light, springy texture characteristic of these cakes. Beating deflates them and makes cakes dense.
Yes. The filling stays creamy at room temperature for 3-4 days. Store in an airtight container and pipe into cakes when ready to serve.
Bake for 8-12 minutes until golden brown. The cakes will puff during baking and shrink slightly as they cool.
Yes. The recipe includes instructions to make Twinkling Good Cupcakes with colorful sugar garnish; refer to the step-by-step photos linked in the description.
