Farewell Hostess

Last week when I heard that Hostess was for sure going to bite the dust, I felt a hint of sadness. Granted I haven't had a Twinkie or other Hostess products in the past decade, I couldn't help but believe that one day I couldn't just buy a Twinkie if the mood struck me.

And I also need to admit that I had plans to buy Hostess CupCakes to see how they stacked up next to all the gourmet cupcakes I've been consuming for the past 1.5 years. So a few days ago, I made my friends go with me to purchase what could have been our very last authentic Hostess products. I purchased the original chocolate flavored cupcakes and a small pack of Twinkies (they have a small place in my heart since my nickname in college was Twinkie). For $1.59 at my local gas station, I got TWO cupcakes.

My memory of both of these treats are from childhood. I don't think Mom Chung purchased them but I got my fix at school from friends and of all places, church, as a snack after Sunday School. To my young palate, these were the best. I also had a thing for Little Debbie Zebra Cakes. 

The other day, I could only stomach eating one of the two items I purchased: the CupCakes. To my surprise, it wasn't the worst tasting cupcake I've had on my cupcake journey. Going into the tasting, I had really low expectations, considering these have a VERY long shelf life. They are made with more than flour, eggs and butter. 

Anyway the cake itself was bland and dry and had this not-very-fresh-taste of chocolate cake to it (totally expected). BUT it wasn't the driest cake I've seen, so bonus points for that. My favorite part of the CupCake was the "frosting," which was more like a thick, fudge-y coating. It tasted like good chocolate. The cream filling aids in masking the dryness of the cake but doesn't help in the flavor category for me. It tastes way artificial but it is light and fluffy. Put those three together and you get a shock of a very sweet dessert. One definitely needs a glass of milk as a chaser to cut the sweetness. Next time, if there is a next time, I'd just eat the "frosting." 

I'll save the Twinkies for later, a few decades, perhaps? (I'm not too eager since it looks like it has a very shiny coat of oil/grease on the cake). 

As of today, November 20, Hostess is set to go to mediation to try to save the brand from disappearing from the grocery store shelves. We'll see if they survive!