What you will need:
1 box cake mix
1 can frosting
filling:
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 tsp salt
bake cake according to package directions. when cake is completely cooled, turn cake out of pan onto a large plate or platter. (i usually use a cutting board). if the cake is really moist, put the cake in the freezer for a couple minutes and it should pop right out!
cut the thickness of the cake in half with a large knife or cake leveler. using a second plate, remove the top of the cake and set aside. flip the bottom half of the cake back into the cake pan. for this part, you can make the cake all fancy and do multiple layers if you want to. it’s all about what you want
In a medium saucepan cook 5 T flour, 1 c milk, 1/4 tsp salt until thick. when i say thick, i mean kind of like a thin gravy. When it is too thick it doesn’t beat up as nicely in the end. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla. Let cool completely. I usually put it in the refrigerator to cool while I do the next step.
In a medium bowl, cream together 1 c granulated sugar, 1/2 c crisco, 1/2 c margarine and 1/2 tsp salt.
When the “gravy” is cooled completely, add it to the bowl of creamed ingredients and beat for 10 minutes. It should be fluffy and the consistency of twinkie filling.
this recipe makes around 2 cups of fluff. It would be enough to have a 1/2 inch of filling in a 9×13 cake.
spread the cream filling on the bottom cake layer, leave 1/4 inch of space around the outside of the cake. the cream will spread out when the top layer is put back on.
carefully flip the top layer back onto the cake. frost as you normally would. if you are going to do a cake with multiple layers, i would recommend putting the cake in the freezer so the twinkie filling sets up and does not mix with the frosting if it squeezes out of the sides.
another note – the cake doesn’t need to be refrigerated. it keeps fine for the normal lifespan of a cake
