A fall inspired twist on the childhood classic Twinkie! A light, moist cake with a delicious creamy pumpkin pie filling hidden inside, all dipped in rich dark chocolate and topped with a naturally vibrant carrot and turmeric icing. They’re so fun for fall and are much easier to make then they look!

Key Ingredients

Pumpkin puree. I use canned pumpkin puree for the filling. Make sure to use pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
Coconut cream. A small amount is added to the pumpkin to give a creamy texture to the filling.
Maple syrup. Gives a natural sweetness to the filling.
Pumpkin spice. I love a spicy pumpkin spice! I use a premade pumpkin spice blend from Clubhouse. It’s truly my favorite blend that I’ve tried.
Almond flour. This gives a light crumb to the cake part of the twinkies.
Oat flour. This works well in combination with almond flour.
Potato starch. This helps to give a slight crispiness to the outer part of the cake while keeping the rest of it soft and moist.
Club soda. This is the secret ingredient to keep gluten free bakes light and airy! The air bubbles sort of act like yeast, which help to combat the dense and heavy texture that many gluten free cakes suffer from.
Dark chocolate. Use your favorite chocolate to dip the twinkies.
Carrot juice. I use this to color the icing. I grate one carrot and squeeze the juice. No juicer required!
Turmeric. I add a bit of turmeric to the icing to give it a more orange and pigmented color.

How To Make The Filling

The pumpkin pie filling in the center of the twinkies is as easy to make as it is delicious! In one bowl whisk all of the filling ingredients together until it’s smooth and creamy. Transfer to a piping bag or a Ziplock bag and place it into the fridge until ready to use. It’s piped directly onto the dough and baked into the twinkies. It stays moist and creamy during the baking process. It’s such a delicious surprise!

How To Make The Twinkies

These twinkies are actually much easier to make then they may look! Once the filling is made, mix the cake ingredients and pipe half of it into a twinkie pan. Next pipe the pumpkin filling, leaving a border around the edges. Pipe the rest of the cake batter on top and very gently smooth out. Once they’re baked, pop them out on to a cooling rack and let them cool completely before dipping into chocolate.

The Icing

I wanted to color the icing naturally, so I grated a carrot, squeezed out the juice and whisked it with icing sugar. A little turmeric helped deepen the color and give it a richer orange hue! I think it’s such a fun, natural way to decorate these treats for fall, especially for Hallowe’en. And of course, the iconic squiggle of icing gives them that nostalgic look that takes me straight back to the ’80s!

Why You Will Love These Twinkies

✓ Autumn twist on a childhood classic

✓ Smooth, creamy pumpkin pie filling

✓ Light, airy cake

✓ Warming fall spices

✓ Not too sweet

✓ Naturally colored

✓ Fun treat for Hallowe’en

Looking For More Pumpkin Desserts?

I hope you get a chance to try these fun, festive treats this fall! The filling is so creamy and packed with warming spices, all tucked inside a nostalgic Twinkie inspired cake. I had so much fun making these and I’m already dreaming up new Twinkie flavors to try next!

Ingredients

Pumpkin Pie Filling

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons coconut cream
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Twinkie Batter

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup club soda
3 tablespoons oil avocado or olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate dip

1 1/4 cups chopped dark chocolate
1 teaspoon coconut oil

Icing

6 tablespoons icing sugar
1 medium sized carrot for the carrot juice to color the icing
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder for color

Instructions

Pumpkin Pie Filling

In a bowl mix all of the ingredients together until smooth. Put the mixture into a piping bag or a ziplock bag and place into the fridge.

Twinkies

Preheat the oven to 400F. Generously grease a 6 hole twinkie baking pan.
In a bowl mix the dry ingredients – almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, cane sugar, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt. Stir until there are no clumps.
In a small bowl or measuring cup mix the wet ingredients – almond milk, club soda, oil and vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just mixed. The batter should be quite moist and slightly lumpy. Not to over mix.
Spoon or pipe half of the batter to fill 6 twinkie molds. Remove the filling from the fridge and pipe a line of it into the center of each twinkie, leaving a border around the edges. Use the remaining batter to cover the twinkies. The mold should be about 3/4 of the way full. Lightly spread the batter so that it covers all of the pumpkin filling and down the sides but try not to press to hard or else the filling will get mixed into the batter.
Bake for 15 minutes. Let them cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan and then transfer them to a cooling rack. Don not let them sit longer in the pan or else they will start to steam and become too soft. They should come out of the pan quite easily by turning it upside down and gently tapping. Let them cool completely.

Chocolate dip

Melt the chocolate. This can be done in a double boiler or in the microwave. For the double boiler method fill a small pot 1/4 of the way up with water. Bring to a low simmer. Place the chopped chocolate and coconut oil into a large bowl and place it on top of the pot, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate melts, about 10 minutes. For the microwave method place the chocolate into a bowl and microwave at 30 seconds intervals, stirring at each one. Make sure not to over heat as chocolate burns very easily.
Line a baking sheet or cutting board with parchment paper. Gently dip the cooled twinkies into the chocolate and place on to the lined board. Transfer to the fridge to set, about 40 minutes.

Icing

While the chocolate sets, make the icing. To make the carrot juice, grate one carrot. Gather the grated carrot into a ball and squeeze it with your hands into a small bowl. You should be able to get about 2-3 teaspoons of carrot juice from one medium sized carrot.
In a small bowl whisk the icing sugar and 2 teaspoons of carrot juice until smooth. Slowly add the turmeric until it is the color you prefer. The icing should be quite stiff but pipeable. If it's too liquidy it will drip off the twinkies. Transfer to a piping bag. Pipe the icing on top of the twinkies.
They are best eaten the same day but can be store in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. The longer they're stored the cake part becomes slightly dryer and crumbly. Enjoy!

Nutrition

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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