Caramelized Vanilla-Vodka-Twinkie Creme Brulee

It’s baaaaack!! On July 15th, the iconic crème-filed sponge cake of my youth returned just in time to get a new generation hooked on its neon yellow yummy-ness. Yeah, this ain’t yer grandpa’s version— this is Twinkie 2.0 baby! It has double the shelf life of the original (which was rumored to last longer than the pyramids!) I don’t know how they’re making this new model, but I’ll never forget the ingredients of the first…(insert harp music here);

‘Enriched wheat flour, sugar, corn syrup, niacin, water, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable shortening – containing one or more of the following: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and beef fat, dextrose, whole eggs, modified corn starch, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), salt, cornstarch, corn flour, corn syrup solids, mono and diglycerides, soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, dextrin, calcium caseinate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, wheat gluten, calcium sulphate, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, yellow # 5, red # 40’.

Ahhhh,….”caramel color, yellow # 5 and red # 40”. Have you ever heard three more beautiful color additives in your life? I’m tearing up just thinking about it…(sniff).

Anyway, now that I’m older it’s time to celebrate the comeback like an adult—by adding booze of course! Kids get excited because they’re innocent and hopeful but their parents require alcohol and dammit, I’m not gonna let them down!

I know that traditional crème brulee has a torched sugar top but hey – this ain’t traditional! And I don’t want to hear from you purists about not using a real vanilla bean in this process. Did you read the list of garbage that goes into a Twinkie? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Katt’s Caramelized Vanilla-Vodka-Twinkie-Creme Brulee Thingy

sonideros

(Makes ten servings if you use small ramekins)

2-3 Twinkies
4 cups of heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup of vanilla vodka
½ cup sugar
6 egg yolks
¾ cup of packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Sea salt

First, cut the ends off of each Twinkie and then cut slices of our little yellow love cakes that are half as tall as your ramekin. The reason for this is because when you pour in your liquid the Twinkie slice will bob around like that co-ed skinny dipper in the movie “Jaws.” You’d think it would suck up the cream and dive straight to the bottom but it doesn’t. Anyway, fill your ten ramekin cups with the Twinkie slices and then preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and sugar to a simmer while you continuously stir. Once you see steam rising from the cream and it begins to simmer, remove it from the heat and add the vanilla extract and the vodka. Stir well and let it cool for about 10 minutes, then whisk in the egg yolks.

Pour the cream mixture into each cup (and over the Twinkie) until it’s a quarter-inch from the top. Don’t worry if your Twinkie slice bobs above the rim. You’ll see…

Place the ramekins in a large baking pan and pour boiling water into the pan so that it comes halfway up the custard dishes. I usually pour in about an inch of boiling water first, and then I place the ramekins in the pan and then add more water if needed after.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the custard is firm but still wiggles. What happens here is pretty cool; the Twinkie slice pulls in the custard and doubles in size! Take the custard dishes out and pop them into the fridge while you make the topping.

Combine the brown sugar and butter in a small saucepan and place over a medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil while you stir continuously. Stir it for about a minute after it reaches a boil, then remove it from the heat and pour a tablespoon of the caramel on top of each custard dish. Sprinkle on a little sea salt, let it chill for an hour and dig in!

The crazy thing about this dessert is that the Twinkie slice gets absorbed into the custard and, well…you’ll see!

Welcome back Twinkie!