Miss Mary Anne’s Twinkie Cake
WELCOME to Southern Plate! I’m so thrilled to have you here, my only regret is that I can’t give you a hug through the computer! Sit back, get comfy, and sit a spell because you’re a grand addition to the family. If you like, you can subscribe via email just to make sure you never miss a post! Gratefully, Christy
Today I’m bringing you a recipe from a member of our Southern Plate family, Miss Mary Anne. A few weeks ago she sent me a message
and asked if I’d ever had twinkie cake. I messaged her back that I’d heard of it but never had or made it myself and I sure would love her recipe if she’d be willing to share! Being as sweet as she is, she emailed it right away and I got the ingredients and made it the very next day for my mother and father in law. It was every bit as delicious as Miss Mary Anne said it would be and when I asked her if she’d mind if I shared it she replied “I would be glad for you to share it, it’s too good to keep.”
Miss Mary Anne says “I watched my aunt make this at a family reunion many years ago when my youngest was just a baby. He is now 46 years old!”
Thank you, Miss Mary Anne, for allowing me the honor of sharing your recipe with the rest of the Southern Plate Family!
You’ll need: Twinkies (I was going to get the generic ones but they were out), Bananas, the big thing of whipped topping, the big thing of pudding mix, the big can of crushed pineapple, and some cherries and chopped nuts for the topping.
I’ll put the actual sizes at the bottom in the recipe.
You know when I went to buy these bananas I bought thirteen bananas and it was only $2.23? Isn’t that amazing?
One of the reasons why I love recipes that use bananas so much, you can be generous and there is no guilt!
I love to get the little bags of this nut topping when I can. It comes in a bag or a can (brand has never mattered to me at all) and it makes the prettiest top on the cake. It is totally optional though.
Slice each twinkie in half lengthwise
Place the cream side up in a 9×13 inch pan.
You’ll only need nine twinkies for this and the box comes with ten.
Miss Mary Anne says that last one is to enjoy with your coffee 
.
Christy says Miss Mary Anne is wise beyond her years
Next, you’re gonna mix up your pudding. I’m using sugar free pudding mix.
Now some people will tell you that using sugar free is kinda pointless when you are basing this whole shabang on twinkies. If anyone tells you that, just stick out your tongue at them. Wink afterward so they know you don’t mean no disrespect .
By using sugar free pudding and light whipped topping we’re cutting out a lot of calories here.
Besides, I think as adults we need to stick out our tongue and wink more. So that is your homework assignment for today, to do both of those things at some point. ~giggle~
Mix up your pudding with your milk according to package directions.
You can also use skim milk in place of whole if you like. I prefer whole milk because we don’t actually drink a lot of milk. I mainly use it in baking and add a splash to my coffee so I prefer the richness of whole milk. Skim milk always reminded me of milky colored water.Trust me, I’ve drank enough skim milk in my life to earn hat splash of whole in my coffee.
Spread that pudding over the top of your twinkies.
Now dump your crushed pineapple over the top of your pudding.
Um..uh oh. Miss Mary Anne said to drain the pineapple before you do this, she said drain but not press dry, which means a little moisture is fine. I kinda skimmed over that part because of that whole attention-span-of-a-gnat thing I got going on. It turned out fine but I suggest you follow Miss Mary Anne’s instructions.
Spread the pineapple around a bit.
Slice up a WHOLE BUNCH of bananas over the top of that. Isn’t it pretty?
If you only have a few bananas that is fine, use as many or as few as you want.
Now spread whipped topping over the top of that. Cover and refrigerate several hours.
I served each slice with a nut topping and cherry. Isn’t it pretty?
Thank you Miss Mary Anne! This was absolutely delicious!
Miss Mary Anne’s Twinkie Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box (of 10) Hostess Twinkies (9 for cake, one to have with coffee or tea)
- 4 large bananas, sliced
- 1 large can (20oz) crushed pineapple (drained, but not pressed dry. Keep a little of the juice for moisture.
- 1 large box Vanilla instant pudding (mixed with milk according to directions on box)
- 1 - 12 oz. Cool Whip (I just used the big size and had extra since it was a little more than 12 oz)
- Maraschino cherries and pecans for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Remove Twinkie cakes from wrappers. Cut each in half lengthwise from top to bottom. Place Twinkie halves in 9 x 13 baking dish with cream side facing up. Layer sliced bananas, pineapple, pudding, and Cool Whip over Twinkies in that order. Sprinkle chopped cherries (drained well on paper towels) and chopped pecans over the top. Keep refrigerated. Cool and refreshing dessert with no heat in the kitchen.
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Ingredients
- 1 box (of 10) Hostess Twinkies (9 for cake, one to have with coffee or tea)
- 4 large bananas, sliced
- 1 large can (20oz) crushed pineapple (drained, but not pressed dry. Keep a little of the juice for moisture.
- 1 large box Vanilla instant pudding (mixed with milk according to directions on box)
- 1 - 12 oz. Cool Whip (I just used the big size and had extra since it was a little more than 12 oz)
- Maraschino cherries and pecans for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Remove Twinkie cakes from wrappers. Cut each in half lengthwise from top to bottom. Place Twinkie halves in 9 x 13 baking dish with cream side facing up. Layer sliced bananas, pineapple, pudding, and Cool Whip over Twinkies in that order. Sprinkle chopped cherries (drained well on paper towels) and chopped pecans over the top. Keep refrigerated. Cool and refreshing dessert with no heat in the kitchen.
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If you enjoyed this wonderful recipe, please let Miss Mary Anne know in the comments section! We sure do appreciate her sharing it with us.
Gratefully,
Christy
Most folks are about as happy
as they make up their minds to be
~Abraham Lincoln
I’ve used this one before but I find that the good ones could always stand to be repeated.
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jul 13 2010. Filed under Dessert.
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Can’t wait to try this. Twinkies are my favorite and they bring back fond memories of my childhood.
I wanted to make this dessert for my co-workers. I made the pudding the day before. The next night I whipped up the rest in about five minutes. We gobbled down this cake in no time. Everyone’s eyes widened just at the sight of how this cake looks. It tastes just like a banana pudding or a good ole’ banana split . Everyone started talking about what else you could do to it… just like kids…you could add caramel on the top, yadda…yadda. Needless to say WE LOVE THIS RECIPE! Thank you so much for sharing.
The photos show the pudding going down first and the recipe shows the bananas going down first. Which is it? The recipe shows the pudding last before the whip cream. I am confused. Which did you all do? I am not sure it would matter or not. It might make a difference in how it holds together.
I just noticed the same thing and was about to ask the same question when I saw your post. I just made this cake based on the picture order not the recipe order. Please let me know if you get an answer to the question.
I think you should do the pineapple first , per the recipe, but obviously I messed it up in my tutorial and it turned out fine
I confuse myself pretty often too!
I use all low fat products. Skim milk, etc. I do that because I always eat to much and none of us needs the extra calories and it is so good no one eats just a little. Love your recipies. I am from northern louisiana and lots of your recipies are the type I was raised with. Keep up the good work. I always get new recipies out of every issue.
Yum! Cake that is Twinkies, real fruit and creamy pudding with real milk, real nuts, healthy enough!!
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!
My family had a cow over this,have to make it again tonight.
My Hannah loves it cause she can do it by herself.
Thank you,Hannah,Heidi,Halle
Have one of these beauties all made up & sitting in my Mama’s icebox for our Easter Egg Hunt & Dinner tomorrow. After “having” to sample a little bit from the corner we believe it is going to YUM YUM tomorrow
Happy Easter to you and your family Christy 
[...] Miss Mary Anne’s Twinkie Cake [...]
Thank you Miss Christy and thanks to Miss Mary Anne for sharing. This looks and sounds scrumptious! … That’s 6 points higher than delicious… Ha, Ha . I am going to praactice sticking my tongue out, and then I will get someone to take a picture of me with it out and send it to you. Your wonderful recipés, and your nutty comments are something I look forward to in my email. God Bless!!
This sounds so good. My husband and I love pineapple, but the kids and grandkids don’t. Is there anyway that the pineapple could be left out or perhaps substitued with something like applesauce, etc?
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sounds delicious and I will try to make this for our next church dinner.
I’m not fond of pineapple, but I do like the other ingredients. I copy a
lot of your recipes. I’m beginning to think I should just get copy of
your book and be done with it!!!!
I will definately try this! this is so easy it needs it’s own that was easy button..;)
I made this cake for my co-workers they loved it so much some of them ate it for breakfast the next morning. Great recipe. Thanks
I do like your version, however I came across a Weigh Watcher version a few years ago. They called it Twinkie Pie. I made it for my coworkers and loved it. I didn’t use pineapple, nuts and cherries. Either way they are both great recipes.
Thanks for sharing and to Miss Mary Anne.
This sounds lovely and I plan to make it, but in the pictoral directions it appears that it is put together the exact opposite of the written directions for printing. Does it make any difference how these ingredients are layered?
I plan to make this for my co workers birthday. Sounds yummy and easy to make after I get home from work. They will all oooh and ahhh over it and want the recipe for sure
This looks delicious!! Thanks so very much for sharing the recipe Miss Mary Anne. I am going to make this for a birthday luncheon. I am excited to find a dessert that doesn’t require heating my un-airconditioned kitchen.
Okay, I admit it, I wasn’t too sure about this one, but made it for the 4th. The only change I made was to use sugar-free pudding because I thought the Twinkies would be sweet enough and our family loves strawberries so I added a container of slighly sweetened sliced fresh strawberries along with the pineapple and bananas. Yummy. So good. Again Christy, my thanks. I love the fact that the recipes are relatively easy and you can make a few changes here and there to fit your own likes and dislikes. I’ve still got a whole list of recipes I’ve yet to try. Can’t wait. Thanks again./bj
My husband is a diabetic and I don’t need sweets but I have copied and saved this to use as my birthday cake in Dec. It looks so easy and delicious and can hardly wait. I love your recipes and always look forward to see what you have to share next:)
I can’t wait to make this! My Grandbabies are coming this weekend & this will be a perfect “cook with Meema” time recipe. They can help with peeling banana’s & opening Twinkies.Oh I’ll find some more for them to do too. This is yet another reason that Southern Plate is my go-to site for all my recipes! I love it & love all that comes from it! Thanks. Christy, you’re right there at the top of my homepage, so I start my day with you every morning!
I made this this weekend for a family reunion (the last for a while I hope) and it was great, I love how easy it is to put together and that you can make it ahead and it is still great.
Is there another flavor pudding I could substitute with? I hate vanilla pudding with a passion LOL.
I found this site while looking for this recipe. Made 2 other recipes 1st: the Holiday Fruit Salad & Bama Chili~Cincinnati Style. Both recipes were good, even tho I messed up making the custard 4 the HFS. Made the Twinkie Cake & it was fun, easy & delicious! That was 2 wks ago. Made the Potato Soup tonight. It was the 1st time I ever made potato soup in my life. I was totally impressed & will continue 2 rave & recommend that recipe. Anyway, I made the Twinkie Cake again tonight 2 take 2 church tomorrow. I am confident that everyone will love it! So glad I found your site, Christy! It is the best recipe site ever & I even saw you on Southern Living! Can hardly wait 2 make that Pumpkin cheesecake!
[...] Miss Mary Anne’s Twinkie Cake [...]
Oh my that looks good and I can imagine using the chocolate cream filled cakes and cherry pie filling insead of the crushed pineapple with all else being the same as a great alternate version.
WOW, this sure beats my old twinkle cake recipe. My ‘cake” layers are baked and the filling layered inside. Sounds quick and easy plus we love banana’s and pineapple.
Today I had several family members over and planned an easy cookout and thought this cake would be a good surprise. Christy this cake was a hit, thanks to Miss Mary Anne for giving it to you. No one was disappointed and I sent home the leftovers home with the kids. I also used the sugar free, fat free Jello and used the light Cool Whip. I will use this recipe again and again…
I have been making this for years but I never split the Twinkies, I use almost 2 boxes of the twinkies. It’s always been a big hit!
Do you have to use the bananas? Cake looks great but my family doesn’t like bananas. Was wondering if it would be okay without
Christy, I sooo wanted to make this but when I went to the store I couldn’t find any Twinkies so I improvised. I bought Swiss Rolls & chocolate pudding. I then added marshmallows on top of the pudding & then continued with the original receipe. IT WAS AWESOME!!! I took it to a Super Bowl party & they couldn’t get enough of it.
Did you do the pineapple and bananas?
I made it this afternoon to take to a historicla society pot luck meeting tomorow . I have already put the Cool Whip on top & hope it is ok tomorrow .
We made this at Christmas ,just to try it out. My husband LOVED it ! We changed it a little by adding thawed frozen strawberries. He said it tasted like a Bunch Bowl Cake to him. Normally he does not even like sweets so this is a keeper .
This is really really good and a hit where ever you take it. I would suggest putting in the bananas before the pineapple simply because the acid in the pineapple will cover and keep the bananas from turning brown. Just say*n (;
I made “cake” a few years ago for my family and it was a big hit.
I made this cake…
My husband just read this post and asked me to make this for his birthday next month…and every birthday after!
I would love to try this but am afraid I would eat it all myself!
I recently made this for a fundraising event and it was such a big hit that people were asking me for the recipe. So, I gave them this website.
I made this to take to what we call “Sunday Night.come” at our church.This is when we all bring a dish enough to feed several and put it together and have fellowship and a wonderful meal. Any way long story short……. by the time it was time for my desert there was only a tiny taste of it left.I did hear that it tasted really great and it must of been so cause I barely got to taste it myself.Planning on makeing one for home in a bit.Thanks for sharing.
I made this dessert to serve as a part of a lunch meal for our church staff, but since I had strawberries from the farmer’s market, I used them instead of bananas. Everyone raved! It was just delicious and SOOOO easy! Thanks, Christy!
It seems to be a lovely light summer recipe. Love the human approach our lovely cook has. But I heard a nasty rumor that the Twinkie company was going out of business. Was it just a rumor I do so hope?
I have a similar recipe from another country from our military days. How do I share this? Bobbie
i can”t wait to try this dessert..how can you go wrong with twinkies and pineapple…yummolicious…..mmmm…mmm..mmmm….yes indeed….
Have some for me!!!
I made this today for a family and they liked it. So did I. Was glad some, not much, was left so I could have one slice to myself. It was so quick and easy. A great recipe find.
I am so glad to hear that everyone liked it Lou!! And that you got to have a slice!