I found these Twinkie rip-offs called Gold n’ Cremes at Walgreen’s, who has their own brand of food products called “Cafe W”. My friends Sara and Marc helped out with this evaluation. This was the dessert of our “taste test dinner” which I actually do not recommend. An evening of eating ONLY packaged food is too much. Towards the end of the night, I found my heart racing and felt pretty ill. But we made it through the Twinkies and the results are as follows:
Gold n’ Cremes:
These had a sweet smell and Marc described them as “Eastery”, I asked him to elaborate and he said they were malty. The cake was spongy but firm, maybe just a teeny bit dry but not too bad. The creme was light and airy and had a nice hint of vanilla. Sara described it as tasting like marshmallow. In all, this wasn’t too bad and we all agreed this was very similar to a Twinkie.
Twinkies:
These had a very strong, sweet smell that seemed to be waiting to jump out of the wrapper. The cake was denser and the exterior is kind of greasy. We noticed the filling was heavier than Gold n’ Creme’s and was almost gluey in comparison. With the intensity of the smell, cake and filling, Marc said these seemed like they were made more for kids than for adults.
Wrap up:
I would say if you were craving a Twinkie and all you had available was a Gold n’ Creme, you would not be disappointed. The basic elements/flavors are all there, and people like us who don’t eat these on a regular basis probably wouldn’t even notice the difference. I will say though for Twinkie loyalists, there are enough differences in cake and creme density that if you’re used to Twinkies, you’ll notice the lighter textures of Gold n’ Cremes.
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I usually stay away from most Twinkie rip-offs because I always walk away disappointed. There’s just something about the moistness of the cake and that distinctive Hostess creme. I once tried Little Debbie’s version and it just didn’t cut it for me. However, I must admit that these Gold n’ Cremes look pretty good. As a side note, I think Walgreens should seriously consider hiring you to do all of the photographs for their “Cafe W” line. Your picture makes them look at fairly appetizing, but the photo they use on the package makes them look almost inedible. They remind me of some kind of little bath sponge or something. Hiring a food stylist would be a wise investment if Walgreens expects their store brand to compete with Hostess!
I don’t normally eat “snack cakes” because they’re so sweet they make me feel a little gorky after eating them, but I just want to say that whoever it was at Walgreens that came up with the “Cafe W” name deserves a huge raise. That has just the right ring to it and makes me want to buy generic drugstore food items.
i noticed the gold n’ cremes had kind of a lemony hint to them. i thought they were pretty good, and definitely left the fingers less greasy than twinkies
Gold n Cremes are certainly better than Twinkies…but the real best one was the knock off made by Drake’s…called ZOINKS! Didn’t have that nasty, gritty creme that Twinkies have, and the cake was better by a long shot too. Haven’t seen them around in quite some time though…
are you kidding me? you can’t beat a twinkie.