Twinkies refer to a popular snack cake in the United States filled with cream fillings. Twinkies were introduced in 1933 by The Continental Baking Company in Indianapolis and was originally an idea of one of the companies bakers' named James A. Dewar.
Twinkies are spongy yellow cake 4 inches long and an inch and a half wide. It is filled with a creamy white filling that tastes more or less like vanilla cake frosting. The cake part of a Twinkie is moist and light, and the overall flavor is not too strong. The cake has a distinct buttery flavor. There are three (3) small "globs" of filling spaced evenly down the length of the cake. The filling has a very smooth, slippery texture and a sugary flavor.
Twinkies original recipe, concocted in 1930, included basic ingredients, like eggs, milk and butter. The need for a longer shelf life led to the introduction of chemical ingredients.
It is said that Twinkies can survive nuclear attacks, hence in the 1960's when there were huge fears of a nuclear attack and many bomb shelters were built, Twinkees were one of the most popular items to buy and store because it was said that they "stay fresh forever".
Twinkies becomes one of the American icons when it comes to cake snacks that even ex US President Clinton put one in a time capsule.