Twinkie Cupcakes

I have been giving the deep-fried twinkies at the fair a lot of thought the past couple of days. There just seems to be something inherently wrong with deep-frying cake. I know they get all kinds of raves, but I think mine must be a bit of a rant. I suppose if you are into healthy eating, cupcakes aren't really the way to go either, but I just can't see making it worse by the addition of deep frying. So I won't. :)

Bear with me, though. Twinkies are not yummy for me. :) They kinda have a 'shelf life of 100 years' taste to me, but the idea of a cream filled sponge cake--well, really, THAT sounds good. So, why don't you try this version instead? No preservatives, I promise...

Cupcake Ingredients

• 12 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 to 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat ovento 350 . Place paper baking cups in 24 muffin cups.
   
2. Beat egg yolks and water with electric beater until lemon colored. Add 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating until light yellow.
3. Sift together the remaining sugar, flour, salt and baking powder.Fold dry ingredients and vanilla extract into egg yolk mixture.
4. Divide evenly between muffin cups. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until top springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pans, cool completely.

Filling Ingredients

• 1 cup half 'n half
  
• 5 tbsp flour
• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Mix half 'n half and flour in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and mix in butter until combined. Cool completely. Add remaining ingredients and with a stand or electric mixer beat until light and fluffy. Using pastry bag, fill cupcakes with filling. Enjoy!
2. Alternatively, you could use fresh whipped cream to fill sponge cupcakes, but this filling is quite yummy--and holds up a bit better than the whipped cream.