Oolong and Maple Vanilla Cream Twunkie

Mar 01, 2024 · in Desserts

A moist mochi cake made with oolong and filled with a rich maple cream is my version of a Twinkie that I'm calling a "Twunkie". Like a twink becoming a twunk or a Charmander becoming a Charizard, I wanted to evolve the Twinkie and imagine a world where this iconic Americana snack embraced Asian flavors. When it comes to baking, this recipe is surprisingly simple. A batter made of Mochiko rice flour and a simple mascrapone cream can all be made with just a whisk and some elbow grease. The cream is then piped into the mochi cakes (you can use a piping bag or just use a gallon Ziploc bag and cut the corner off) by simply poking a hole with a knife on the bottom. If you don't have a mold, you can easily enjoy this recipe still by baking the batter in a 5x9" loaf pan or 9" cake pan and slicing it! Just spread the cream on top and it'll taste just as good.

–Frankie

Yield

14 twinkies or 1 mochi cake

Time

1 hour

Ingredients

Equipment

Twinkie mold or a 9x5 loaf pan or 9 inch cake pan or cupcake molds

Wet Ingredients

8 tablespoons of butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

1 1/2 cups Mochiko rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Diamond kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 teaspoons oolong tea, ground

Cream

3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup mascarpone

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon white miso

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Topping

White sesame seeds, for the tops

Preparation

Make mochi batter

Preheat an oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl add the wet ingredients: melted butter, eggs, ricotta, sour cream, and vanilla extract and whisk until combined. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: mochiko rice flour, sugar, kosher salt, baking powder, and oolong. Gradually pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, and mix until the wet and dry ingredients have combined and resemble a smooth, creamy batter.

Bake mochi cake

In an oiled Twinkie mold (you can also use a cupcake mold too) pour batter 2/3's of the way. Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when stuck into the center. Once cooked, remove from oven and let it cool for about 15-20 minutes to let the mochi cake set.

Make cream

In a mixing bowl, add heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar and with a hand mixer or whisk (and some 💪), mix until it goes from liquid to fluffy cream with peaks. Add the remaining mascarpone, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup, white miso, and apple cider vinegar. Continue to whisk until combined and the cream forms stiff peaks, then store in the fridge until ready to use.

Fill mochi Twunkie and serve

Once the mochi cake Twunkie has cooled, remove from molds and with a knife, poke 3 holes on the flat bottom side. With the piping bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off, squeeze cream into the each of the holes to fill the Twunkie. Top Twunkies with white sesame seeds and serve fresh!

Oolong and Maple Vanilla Cream Twunkie

At a glance

Yield

Time