Twinkies

MAKES 12 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 30 MINS

“Flour and Stone’s lamington soaked in panna cotta is one of the few legends of the baking game in Australia,” says Alistair Wise. “Does panna cotta beat lemon posset in a game of one-upmanship? I’m not sure, but it’s a worthy experiment.” 5 eggs

430 gm caster sugar

300 ml milk

150 gm butter, diced

1 tbsp vanilla extract 300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, sifted

2 tsp baking powder POSSET 500 ml (2 cups) pouring cream 225 gm caster sugar

2 lemons, juiced SWISS MERINGUE 150 ml eggwhites (from about 5 eggs)

300 gm caster sugar

1 Preheat oven to 170°C. Wrap a deep 25cm-square baking tin with tinfoil to prevent leaks, then line it with baking paper. Whisk eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water until it reaches 50°C on a thermometer, or feels hot when you put your finger in it (3-4 minutes). Transfer to an electric mixer and whisk until mixture holds a ribbon

(5-7 minutes).

2 Meanwhile, heat milk, butter and vanilla in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water until it reaches 75°C on a thermometer (5-6 minutes). Fold flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt into egg mixture, then add a third of the batter to the milk mixture, beat vigorously, then fold the two mixtures together and pour into prepared tin, spreading evenly. Bake sponge until a skewer inserted comes out clean

(30 minutes). Cool in tin while you make the posset.

3 For posset, bring cream and sugar to the boil in a saucepan over high heat, add lemon juice and boil for 5 minutes. Pour mixture over sponge and refrigerate to chill (3-4 hours).

4 For Swiss meringue, whisk eggwhites and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until it reaches 82°C

(8-10 minutes). Transfer mixture to an electric mixer and whisk until cooled (5-6 minutes).

Place in a piping bag fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle.

5 Cut sponge into 12 squares and sit each on a flattened paper muffin cases. Pipe meringue on top (lightly brown the meringue with a blowtorch if you like). Twinkies are best served on the day they’re made but will keep refrigerated for a 2-3 days in an airtight container. ➤