I ate 'em so you don't have to
Hostess Snack Cakes: cheap wrapped mini-cakes. Ubiquitous in the US, but pretty much unknown in the UK, apart from their iconic names (HoHo, DingDong, Twinkie).
Well, there’s a Wonder / Hostess Bakery Thrift Shop just across the way from Fry’s in Concord, so: I gave them a go.
Here’s the verdict: they're all pretty much the same ingredients — sponge cake, chocolate coating, vanilla cream goo — rearranged into different shapes. They’re all extremely sugary: they come in packs of two, but you don’t usually feel like eating the second one. And they're all not really worth the price, even at the thrift bakery’s bargain 59¢. If it’s empty calories you’re after, a candy bar is better.
And finally, the big one: Twinkies. Subject of mythical legal defences and oddball scientific experiments. Yellow cake, with a vanilla goo filling. “75 Years of Fun!”, says the wrapper; maybe, but some of those years were pretty grim.
But — and I hate to admit this — they’re actually pretty good. Junky, but good.
I’ve yet to try Mini Muffins and Fruit Pies, both of which seemed a bit too generic to be worth investigating, and Donettes, which are mini donuts. Melinda says they’re good; but there are better donuts to be had elsewhere first…
Well, there’s a Wonder / Hostess Bakery Thrift Shop just across the way from Fry’s in Concord, so: I gave them a go.
Here’s the verdict: they're all pretty much the same ingredients — sponge cake, chocolate coating, vanilla cream goo — rearranged into different shapes. They’re all extremely sugary: they come in packs of two, but you don’t usually feel like eating the second one. And they're all not really worth the price, even at the thrift bakery’s bargain 59¢. If it’s empty calories you’re after, a candy bar is better.
- HoHos
- Little chocolate-covered rolls. Not bad.
- DingDongs
- Actually quite good. Think teacake, but without the biscuity base.
- Cup Cakes
- Quite good. They’d probably be better without the white goo lurking within.
- Suzy Q’s
- Awful. A cake and white goo sandwich, with no chocolate covering; tastes mostly of sugar.
- Zingers
- Good. Which is odd, because they’re essentially Suzy Q’s with a chocolate covering.
And finally, the big one: Twinkies. Subject of mythical legal defences and oddball scientific experiments. Yellow cake, with a vanilla goo filling. “75 Years of Fun!”, says the wrapper; maybe, but some of those years were pretty grim.But — and I hate to admit this — they’re actually pretty good. Junky, but good.
I’ve yet to try Mini Muffins and Fruit Pies, both of which seemed a bit too generic to be worth investigating, and Donettes, which are mini donuts. Melinda says they’re good; but there are better donuts to be had elsewhere first…
