In 2012 and 2013, it looked like National Twinkies Day, April 6th, might be in jeopardy. Hostess Brands, the manufacturer, closed 33 bakeries in November 2012, declaring bankruptcy.

But thanks to an investment by two private equity firms, the golden snacks were back on the shelf in July 2013.

And a number of fans don’t ever want to be caught without their Twinkies: They’ve developed homemade versions. Here’s a recipe posted on Epicurious.com (presented as “vanilla snack cakes”).

So buy them or bake them, and enjoy this Twinkie Trivia while you snack.
 
TWINKIE TRIVIA

 
Trivia source: HunterHome.net.
  

If you’ve never made cake pops but would like to if it were easy, the Babycakes Pop Maker is a fool-proof, inexpensive appliance that make round balls of cake.

The original cake pops recipe involves baking a cake, crumbling it into a large pan, adding frosting to stick the crumbs together, and then forming cake balls with your hands.

The Baby Cakes cake pop maker delivers a similar result with less effort. Simply pour 2 tablespoons of cake or brownie batter into each hole, close the lid and bake for about 7 minutes. Dip the cake balls into melted chocolate or other flavor or peanut butter chips, or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

You don’t even need sticks: Eat the cake balls like doughnut holes. You can inject a filling—jam, chocolate sauce, custard or pudding—into the balls with the injector tool provided.

One box of mix makes 4 dozen balls.

Make cake balls for an Easter treat, an anytime sweet, and a last-minute treat if someone drops by for coffee. By the time you brew the coffee, the cake balls can be ready. With Baby Cakes, it’s always party time.

It’s also a fun gift for teens and tweens, who can make cake pops and cake balls for their friends.

And, you can make “cake” in hot summer months without turning on the oven.

 
You can buy a more elaborate cake pops serving tray for parties, and this much more glamorous cake pop tower.

BAKING TIPS

There are several cake pops recipe books that show many ways to decorate cake pops—even if you’re not particularly dextrous.

Then, you’re set for many hours of food fun.
  

Coffee lovers, and especially iced coffee lovers: Have you had coffee milk, the official* state drink of Rhode Island?

Like chocolate milk, coffee milk is made by adding coffee syrup to cold milk. If you like iced coffee with sugar and a lot of milk, coffee milk is the easy way to make it at home. There’s no brewing, no need to keep a container of iced coffee in the fridge. Just pour a glass of milk, add coffee syrup and stir.

It also works for people who prefer alternatives to cow’s milk.

Top quality coffee syrup is a sweetened coffee concentrate made from fresh-roasted coffee beans. It is produced by straining water and sugar through ground coffee. (Supermarket brands tend to be artificially flavored.)

While the precise origin of coffee milk is unclear, several sources trace it back to the turn of the 20th century in Providence’s immigrant Italian population.

The first coffee syrup was introduced by the Silmo Packing Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1932. In 1938, Eclipse Food Products of Warwick, Rhode Island began to promote a coffee syrup product; Autocrat Coffee of Lincoln, Rhode Island came to market in the 1940s.

In addition to coffee milk, you can use the syrup for:

 
*Rhode Island named coffee milk its official state beverage in 1993, after a competition with Del’s Lemonade, another Rhode Island specialty.

Dave’s Coffee is a certified organic coffee roaster that operates an espresso bar and bakery in Charlestown, Rhode Island. The coffee syrup is an all natural artisan product made:

 
By contrast Coffee Time, the best-known supermarket brand, is made with high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, coffee extract, caramel color and potassium sorbate.
The syrup is made in small batches to ensure quality. Choice Brazilian coffee beans are roasted by hand in a small, gas fired roaster to bring out nutty, sweet, smooth, roasty and smokey flavors. The roasted beans rest for two days; they’re then ground and cold-brewed for 18 hours in a special stainless steel kettle.

The brewed coffee is mixed with pure cane sugar, brought to a boil and simmered until the syrup reduces and the sugar begins to caramelize. It’s bottled in amber glass, which protects the syrup from light.

Get yours at DavesCoffeeStore.com.

It’s a great gift idea for coffee-loving moms and dads, and other deserving family and friends.

If you need a kosher syrup, you can buy Autocrat on Amazon.