Duff "Ace of Cakes" Goldman’s new book "Duff Bakes"

ICING POP TARTS

CRUST AND FILLING
1½ sticks (¾ cup) butter, softened
²⁄³ cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Cooking spray
Any flavor preserves you’d like for filling: strawberry, blueberry, grape. Or, try a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon to make my personal childhood favorite flavor.
1 extra-large egg whisked with a pinch of sugar

TOPPING
2 cups powdered sugar
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon for the brown sugar–cinnamon flavor (optional)
Colored sprinkles or sanding sugar to make it cute

1. To make the crust and filling: With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the yolks, salt, and vanilla and mix well. Gradually mix in the flour. While the mixer is going, add the cream and mix until the dough is smooth.
2. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350˚F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray it with cooking spray.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Use a ruler to make uniform rectangles, or to be totally exact, trace a 3 x 5-inch card (that’s how big a real Pop-Tart is). Reroll the scraps, getting as many rectangles as you can until you’re out of dough. Place half the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of half the rectangles, leaving a ½-inch edge uncovered. Don’t overfill them! Try to make these look legit.
6. Using a finger or pastry brush, spread water around the ½-inch border of the filled rectangles.
7. Fit a top rectangle on each filled rectangle, pressing with the tines of a fork around the border to seal the top and bottom crusts together.
8. Brush each tart with a bit of egg wash and poke a few tiny holes in each so the steam can escape. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden. Let the tarts cool completely on a wire rack.
9. To make the topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk (and cinnamon, if using) to make the icing.
10. When the tarts are completely cool, ice them if desired, and add some sprinkles if you like. But seriously, add those sprinkles.
11. Let the icing set up for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

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FILLING TWINKIES

Makes 18

CAKE
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup milk

FILLING
1 cup shortening, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1¹⁄³ cups marshmallow cream (a little more than half a jar)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Twinkie baking pans

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and spray two Twinkie pans heavily with cooking spray. (You can use a doughnut pan or even muffin tins—they just won’t be Twinkie shaped. Also, you’ll have to experiment with baking times to get them perfect.)
2. With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Mix half the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then the milk, then the rest of the flour mixture, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go and making sure each addition is well incorporated.
5. Divide the batter among the cake wells, filling each one no more than two-thirds full. (A piping bag makes this easier.)
6. Bake for 18 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
7. To make the filling: In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening, powdered sugar, and marshmallow cream until combined. Add the salt water and vanilla and beat until smooth.
8. Fill a piping bag with a medium-size plain tip with the filling and gently squeeze about 2 tablespoons of the filling into each cake through three spots on the flat side of the cake.