Use Twinkies to make these adorable Bumble Bee Cakes. Each snack cake stinger is decorated with white and black modeling chocolate.
One of the flowering bushes that is next to our front porch has attracted large numbers of bumble bees this summer. I sat one afternoon and just watched as they worked and admired their fuzzy little features.
This time with the busy bees inspired me to get into the kitchen to make a new food craft. I had already shared a tutorial to make Corn Dog Bumble Bees so I decided to make something sweet.
When I spotted a box of Twinkies at the grocery store later that day, I knew they'd be perfect bodies for my bee-shaped desserts.
Hostess Twinkies had everything I was looking for; a nice yellow color, a good oblong shape, and a kid (and adult) friendly taste.
I chose to use homemade modeling chocolate to create the eyes, wings, stripes, antennae, and stinger for each bee. The flavor of the candy clay compliments the taste of the Twinkies nicely and it is so easy to cut, bend, and twist into bee parts.
I used black food coloring to create a smile to make my Twinkie Bees look friendly and cute.
I think I'll call these cute cakes Snack Cake Stingers. I hope you have fun making them for a summer snack or bee-themed party.
Ingredients
Hostess Twinkies Snack Cakes
white modeling chocolate
black modeling chocolate
black food coloring
frosting (or use Nutella, peanut butter, or corn syrup)
powdered sugar
Supplies
rolling pin
pizza wheel or knife
a ruler is also helpful
small round (½") and oval/egg (1") metal cutters
#8, 9, or 10 round pastry tip
fine tip paint brush (used for food only)
clay extruder with round insert, optional, but very helpful
toothpick or skewer
You can find supplies needed to create this recipe on Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the sales links in this post to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.
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Instructions
Dust a cutting board with powdered sugar or use a silicone mat. You don't need to use powdered sugar if you use a silicone mat and a silicone rolling pin.
Roll out the black and white modeling chocolate to about 1/16" thickness.
Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut ½" wide by 5"-6" long strips from the black.
Use small round and oval/egg cutters to cut the eyes and wings out of the white.
Curve the edges of the oval wings and allow them to dry.Â
Pinch off small pieces of black and roll into a pointed oval for the stinger.
Cut out round pupils.
Use the small end of a round pastry tip to cut pupils out of the black - press the small end of the tip into the modeling chocolate, then turn it upside down and tap on counter and the circle will drop out the larger end of the tip.
You can press it and cut many circles before turning the tip upside down. Then a bunch will drop out.
Alternatively, you can use small round plunger cutters to cut out the modeling chocolate circles.
Attach the pupil to the round white of the eye using a tiny bit of water. Brush the water on the black circle and attach it to the white circle.
If you prefer, just draw a pupil onto the white part of the eye using black food coloring.
Using a clay extruder.
This picture was from another post, so follow the directions to make the black antenna for the bumble bee cakes.
Fill a clay extruder with black modeling chocolate.
Attach a disk with a single round opening into the end of the extruder.
Place the plunger into the tube and extrude the modeling chocolate into long pieces.
Cut off about 1 ½" pieces and curl up one end to make antennae.
If you don't have a clay extruder, just roll the modeling chocolate into thin logs. Allow them to dry for about an hour or freeze for 10 minutes.
Decorate the snack cake bees.
Brush frosting onto one side of the black modeling chocolate strips.
Wrap them, frosting side down, around the snack cake, cutting off any excess. Each bee gets three black stripes set about ¾" apart.
Use a dab of frosting to attach the wings and eyes.
Use a toothpick to poke two holes in between the eyes and the first stripe. Then stick an antennae in each hole.
Paint on a black food coloring smile.Â
Use a knife to cut a whole at the back end of each Twinkie. Add some frosting in the hole, then push in one end of a black modeling chocolate stinger.
Storage
Store your decorated cakes in a paper towel-lined airtight container like Tupperware or Rubbermaid for up to 3 days. The paper towel will help to keep the modeling chocolate from getting sticky.
If you need them to keep longer, you could dip the Twinkies in yellow candy melts before decorating. They'd keep for up to a week if coated in the candy melts.
Related Recipes
If you are looking for more bee-themed or bug-themed snacks to make for a birthday party or for Earth Day, check these out.
Recipe
Decorate Twinkies with modeling chocolate to look like cute bumble bees.
- 8 Hostess Twinkies Snack Cakes
- powdered sugar, optional
- 3 ounces white modeling chocolate
- 6 ounces black modeling chocolate
- black food coloring
- ¼ cup frosting or Nutella, peanut butter, or corn syrup
-
Dust a cutting board with powdered sugar or use a silicone mat. You don't need to use powdered sugar if you use a silicone mat and a silicone rolling pin.
-
Roll out the black and white modeling chocolate to about 1/16" thickness.
-
Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut 24 ½-inch wide by 5"-6" long strips from the black.
-
Use small round and oval/egg cutters to cut 16 eyes and 16 wings out of the white modeling chocolate.
-
Curve the edges of the oval wings and allow them to dry.
-
Pinch off 8 small pieces of black and roll into a pointed oval for the stinger.
-
Cut out 12 small black modeling chocolate circles for the pupils of the eyes using either a small round plunger cutter or a round pastry tip.
-
Brush a tiny bit of water on one side of a black circle and attach it to the white circle. Repeat, creating all 12 eyes.
-
If you prefer, just draw a pupil onto the white part of the eye using black food coloring.
-
To make the antennae, roll black modeling chocolate into 16 thin logs or press the modeling chocolate through a clay extruder fit with a small hole disc. Cut off about 1 ½" pieces and curl up one end to make antennae.
-
To decorate the bumble bee cakes, brush frosting onto one side of the black modeling chocolate strips.
-
Wrap them, frosting side down, around the snack cake, cutting off any excess. Each bee gets three black stripes set about ¾" apart.
-
Use a dab of frosting to attach the wings and eyes.
-
Use a toothpick to poke two holes in between the eyes and the first stripe. Then stick an antennae in each hole.
-
Paint on a black food coloring smile.
-
Use a knife to cut a whole at the back end of each Twinkie. Add some frosting in the hole, then push in one end of a black modeling chocolate stinger.
Storage
Store your decorated cakes in a paper towel-lined airtight container like Tupperware or Rubbermaid for up to 3 days. The paper towel will help to keep the modeling chocolate from getting sticky.
If you need them to keep longer, you could dip the Twinkies in yellow candy melts before decorating. They'd keep for up to a week if coated in the candy
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Anonymous
Your site is just adorable! Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas!
EmanG
Yay, Twinkies are back! And without that nasty stink of union labor in their manufacture! Thanks invisible hand of the markets.
Brackett
I amd a Daisy Girl Scout Leader and they are learning all about the creatures that live in the garden. They will love this as one of their snacks. Thank you. Have you thought of doing a bee using veggies?
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Hi Brackett, I had not used vegetables but did create a Bumble Bee Corn Dog (https://hungryhappenings.com/2011/01/valentines-day-bee-mine-corn-dog-bumble.html.)
You question has intrigued me, however. I think I'd use yellow pepper or a yellow tomato to make the bees body as I think most young girls would prefer that to a yellow squash. It's harder to find black vegetables, but if you can find it there are black carrots that could be peeled and cut to make the stripes and head. You could also use the skin of an eggplant. I you use a yellow tomato body, you could pipe on green pesto. I you make homemade pesto and allow it to sit at room temperature it will quickly turn black. It is still good to eat once black and it would make great stripes and taste good too. Have fun with it. I'd love to see what you come up with.
Trish
Beth! You leave me flabbergasted with your creativity! I can just imagine me serving this to my boys for a snack - they would be over the moon excited 🙂 Of course I am pinning and featuring you tonight! Thanks so much for sharing at Mom On Timeout!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
I'm so happy I flabbergast you! How fun is that? Thanks for the feature.
The Partiologist
Love your snack cake idea - it's amazing how cute you make a simple twinkie! Can't wait to see more!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks to everyone for all the sweet comments. I've got more snack cake ideas coming soon!
CuteEverything.com
These are so adorable and I love the corn dogs, too, with the stick stinger. I remember when you first posted them!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
I remember you where one of my first followers and you were such a help to me when I got started. Thanks so much for everything=)
Karen @ Sugartown Sweets
Love these bees! Cute~Cute~Cute!
PerlillaPets
Too cute!! I love them! Great idea!
PerlillaPets
Too cute!!! 🙂 Great idea!
Erin
These are so adorable! You do such amazing work!
Kitchen Riffs
These are great! Cute, creative, clever - you get the idea. I'll never look at a Twinkie the same way again. Thanks for such an inspiring post.
Yumgoggle
These are the most lovable bees I have ever seen...
Myfudo here...Normally we'd never put a shameless plug back to us, but we just launched our new site and we would love for you to be a part of it. I'd love to share our newest launch with you, I hope you don't mind? Now that we are getting a new look...Myfudo is moving to a new domain http://www.yumgoggle.com This has been a project we have been working on for almost a year now. We just launched our new gallery submission site, and we are just thrilled. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there! Please sign up and check us out (it's free) http://www.yumgoggle.com/gallery
We look forward to seeing your wonderful pictures, as always.
p.s. We are hosting a Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway to celebrate our new Yumgoggle site, we hope you'll participate =)
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Tamsyn
I thought they couldn't possibly get any cuter and then I saw that little stinger tail! So cute!!
Glenda Gee
Very nice indeed!