Whip up a no-bake Twinkie Cake in just 10 minutes using Hostess Twinkies, pudding, strawberries, and whipped topping. A simple yet delightful dessert perfect for spring and summer.
No Bake Twinkie Cakes
Our strawberry Twinkie Cake recipe requires no cooking or baking in the oven; it’s a fast and simple assembly of 4 ingredients that come together quickly when you need to feed a crowd!
This no bake cake is like a cross between a strawberry shortcake and a classic berry icebox cake, but instead of using an angel food base or graham cracker or wafer cookie crust, this dessert layers the pudding, fruit, and Cool Whip on top of Twinkies!
To make this easy Hostess Twinkie cake recipe, arrange the Twinkies in the bottom of a baking dish, cover with pudding and sliced strawberries, top with Cool Whip, and sprinkle with the remaining fresh fruit. So simple!
While this Twinkie recipe is reminiscent of the oblong yellow sponge cakes you loved as a kid, adding the extra cool and creamy contents elevates a simple, handheld lunchbox snack into the ultimate sliceable sweet and fruity treat.
Why We Love This Homemade Twinkie Cake Recipe
- Quick and easy to make in 10 minutes.
- Uses only 5 simple ingredients.
- Cool and creamy twist on a classic lunchbox treat.
- Fuss-free, delightful dessert that’s refreshing for warm weather entertaining.
- Perfect for potlucks, backyard BBQs, summer parties, or when you don’t want to heat up the house with a hot oven.
Twinkie Cake Ingredients
- Hostess Twinkies
- Instant vanilla pudding
- Whole milk
- Fresh strawberries
- Whipped topping, like Cool Whip
Substitutions and Additions
- Bake Your Base: Feel free to bake your own yellow cake, pound cake, or sponge cake for the bottom layer
- Fill With Other Fruit: Instead of strawberries, you can spread sliced bananas and crushed pineapple on top of the pudding layer to make banana split Twinkies cakes.
- Tasty Toppings: You can top your Twinkie cake with maraschino cherries or chopped nuts for added flavor and texture.
Recommended Tools
- 8×8 baking dish
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Offset spatula
How to Make Twinkie Cake
- Prepare The Pudding: Whisk together the instant pudding mix and milk for 3 minutes or until thickened.
- Assemble: Arrange the Twinkies in the bottom of a baking dish. Pour pudding over the Twinkies, cover with a layer of strawberries, spread whipped topping over the berries, and sprinkle with more strawberries.
- Chill: Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to allow the pudding layer to firm up before slicing and serving.
- Serve: Serve and enjoy!
Tips For Making The Best Twinkie Cake
- Depending on the size of the berries, you may not need to use all the berries from your container. You can save the extras for snacking on later.
- You can easily double this recipe and make it in a 9×13 baking dish if you are serving a crowd.
- This cake can also be made, as written, using a 9×9 baking dish. Keep in mind that you may need to add the extra twinkie from the 10-count box of twinkie snack cakes to fill the entire surface of the slightly larger dish.
- You can cut back the amount of whipped topping used for this recipe down to either 4-6 ounces. This is such a forgiving recipe that you can customize the amount according to your tastes.
How to Store Twinkie Cake
- To Store: You can store this cake in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.
More Easy Cake Recipes
Other Easy Desserts
- Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding
- Chocolate Lasagna Recipe
- Blueberry Fudge
- Baileys Cheesecake Balls
- Cherry Yum Yum
- Dirt Cake Cups
- Ice Cream Cake Pops
- Blackberry Poke Cake
No Bake Twinkie Cake
Serves — 9
In just 10 minutes, create a no-bake Twinkie Cake with a simple assembly of pudding, fresh strawberries, and Cool Whip atop Twinkies.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 9 twinkies unwrapped
- 3.4 ounces box of instant vanilla pudding
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 16 ounce container of fresh strawberries divided into ½ cup and the remainder
- 8 ounces whipped topping thawed
Instructions
- Place the unwrapped twinkies into the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the instant pudding mix and whole milk for 3 minutes or until thickened.
- Spread the vanilla pudding evenly over the twinkies in the baking dish.
- Dice 3-4 of the strawberries into small pieces. You should have about ⅓-½ cup of diced berries. Set aside.
- Slice the remaining berries into ¼ thick slices. Arrange the sliced strawberries in a single layer covering the entire surface of the twinkie cake.
- Top the layer of strawberry slices with the thawed whipped topping. You can use an offset spatula to smooth the whipped topping into an even layer.
- Sprinkle the reserved small diced strawberries evenly over the surface of the no-bake twinkie cake.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 hours to allow the pudding layer to firm up before slicing and serving.
Jenn’s Notes
Yields: 9 (approximately 2¾ x 2 ¾ ) servings
Storage:
- To Store: You can store this cake in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.
- Depending on the size of the berries, you may not need to use all the berries from your container. You can save the extras for snacking on later.
- You can easily double this recipe and make it in a 9×13 baking dish if you are serving a crowd.
- This cake can also be made, as written, using a 9×9 baking dish. Keep in mind that you may need to add the extra twinkie from the 10-count box of twinkie snack cakes to fill the entire surface of the slightly larger dish.
- You can cut back the amount of whipped topping used for this recipe down to either 4-6 ounces. This is such a forgiving recipe that you can customize the amount according to your tastes.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 166mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 91IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 0.2mg
I’ve made this for yrs. I cut my Twinkies in half (cream side up) and use 9×13 pan. I also add bananas
I used cinnamon crumb cake bits, instead of twinkies. Also I used frozen peaches with cinnamon and sugar, with vanilla pudding and cool whip. It was delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Cassie! So glad you enjoyed it! Love your additions!
The recipe say leave the twinkies unwrapped. Wouldn’t there be plastic in the recipe with plastic wrap on the twinkies?
I know what you are saying now. I just didn’t think the recipe was worded right. It should have said unwrap the twinkies and then put them in the baking dish.
I cant wait to try this, I think Im going to add some strawberry glaze when i put the layer of strawberries on. Thank you for the recipe!!
I cant hardly wait to prepare this for my boys, i think theyre gonna love it.
I have made this before and took it to work. It was devoured in record time. Everyone asked for the recipe. Quick, easy and delicious. That’s what I ❤️
can. you use different kinds of berries or banana
Yes! That would be delicious!
love quick and easy delicious recipes that doesn’t take long to make.
I wonder if this would work with raspberry zingers and raspberries.
Oh my goodness this was simple and delicious!! I had last minute dinner plans and was able to whip this up fast enough to have for dinner guest. Tastes so much like a similar recipe my family makes with cake mix, pudding, cool whip and cream cheese but with way less effort!! I can’t wait to make this again! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Yummy and don’t take long to make.