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The Twinkie Lives! Homemade Versions Offered by Local Eateries

By Patty Wetli | November 19, 2012 10:16am | Updated on November 21, 2012 9:47am

RAVENSWOOD — While the rest of the world mourns the presumed death of the Twinkie, the cream-filled sponge cake is alive and well in Chicago.

The Airstream, essentially a homemade version of the Twinkie, has been the signature pastry at Angel Food Bakery, 1636 W. Montrose Ave., since Stephanie Samuels opened up her shop in 2004. Coincidentally, her faux Twinkie is the centerpiece of an episode of the Cooking Channel's "Unique Sweets" set to air this month.

On Friday afternoon, as Hostess announced it was pulling the plug on its operations, Samuels was preparing to ramp up Airstream production as needed.

"There really isn't anything like it," she said of the Twinkie. "People want that mouth memory."

Though more of a Suzy Q's devotee, Samuels has fond memories of unrolling Ho-Hos as a youngster and pulling the frosted topping off Hostess Cupcakes.

"I think the packaged pastries, there's a place for them," she said. "They're nostalgic. You eat one thing from your childhood and it brings it all back."

While the demise of Hostess may prove a boon to Samuels, it has left other chefs in the lurch.

For the past 14 years, Kitsch'n on Roscoe at 2005 W. Roscoe St. has been serving up Twinkie Tiramisu, a concoction that put Kitsch'n on the map, literally, when it was featured on the Travel Channel. Twinkie Bananas Foster and a Twinkie-based Strawberry Shortcake also grace the restaurant's dessert menu.

"We're already gearing up production to do Twinkies in-house," said Kitsch'n chef-owner Jon Young.

While the timing is inconvenient, the switch to scratch-made snack cakes fits in with Young's long-term plans.

For the past year and a half, he has gradually been eliminating processed items from the Kitsch'n kitchen and replacing them with home-made substitutes.

Now Young is nervous about some of his other throwback creations, which include the Tang-Tini cocktail.

"Hopefully Tang won't be going out of business any time soon."