Pumpkin "Twinkies" with Dulce de Leche Creme Filling

Here is my entry in The Auburn Community Festival that was held on October 18, 2008. I think the winner made a plum cake, but I am not completely sure. I was under the wrong impression that the recipe had to be pumpkin. The rules though, actually stated that the recipe had to contain any produce that was Placer-grown...Oops! I would have done something way more wonderful... there are soooo many good fruits and vegetables from which to choose! For more shots of the fest, click here.




I made the Twinkies from scratch in my Twinkie pan that I bought from Bed Bath & Beyond. I injected the twinkies with filling using a pastry bag and the Wilton cupcake tips set.





Pumpkin “Twinkies” with Dulce de Leche Filling

This recipe will make 8 twinkies and about 8 cupcakes.

Cake:
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
4 Tbs butter
1/4 cup applesauce
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour twinkie pan. Whisk first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat pumpkin, sugar, and oil in another large bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to incorporate between additions. Mix in orange peel. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Pour into twinkie pan.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 33 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert onto rack, then turn top side up and cool completely. Prepare dulce filling:


Dulce Filling:
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Empty the can into a large (2-1/2 quart or larger) glass bowl, and cover with plastic wrap (cling film), keeping a tiny bit uncovered to prevent excess steam build-up. Microwave on medium power for 2 minutes. Remove, stir with a wire whisk, and recover. Cook on medium for 2 more minutes. Remove, stir with a whisk, recover. Then, in increments of 2-1/2 minutes, cook (on medium power) for another 10 minutes, stirring between each interval. After the first two stirs, you'll notice that the milk bubbles and foams up as it expels moisture. Then, with each stirring, the milk will be thicker and more caramel colored (10 mins). Continue cooking in 1-minute increments for another 2-3 minutes.


White Part of Filling:
5 tbsp. flour
1 c. milk
5 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash salt
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening

Cook together first 5 ingredients until thick like wallpaper paste. Cool. Mix sugar, butter and shortening. Add to cooled mixture and beat with electric beater for 5 minutes until fluffy.

Stir in the dulce de leche and fill twinkies with the mixture with a pastry bag.


White Chocolate Topping:
4 1/2 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick/3 oz./85g) unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp Citrus zest
Pinch of salt

1. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler.

2. Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla. Add the butter and salt and beat until smooth. Stir in the cooled white chocolate. Drizzle over finished twinkies. Decorate to garnish.