Shame-Free Zebra Cakes

Do you remember these pocket-sized cakes of youth?

Little Debbie’s Zebra Cakes… Each box is packed with twin-wrapped zebra-striped cakes, but sharing is optional. I was always fond of these in particular as a kid, above Ding Dongs, Hostess cupcakes, Twinkies, and the like. I can even confess on this blog, and to the world, to buying a box as an adult and keeping them under my bed in complete shame.  I also ate them by myself in complete shame.

That sad girl is gone. Now, I’m an ambitious baker ready to take the zebra* by the horn and create homemade zebra cakes.

*Zebras don’t have horns.

Shame-free Homemade Zebra Cakes

I’m not going to share specific recipes because I free-styled. I used a basic vanilla cake recipe to make a 9″x13″ sheet cake. For frosting, I made buttercream because it’s the only thing I know how to do.

Here’s a guide to bringing these cakes together:

1. Remove sheet cake from pan, cool completely.

2. Use a biscuit or cookie cutter to cut individual cakes out.

3. Eat all remnant crumbs. It is important to taste your food every step of the way.

4. Take an individual cake in palm of hand, and slice gently through the center.

5. Pipe a thin layer of frosting onto the bottom half, then replace the top half.

6. Repeat steps 4 + 5 for every cake. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes.

7. For outside frosting, I thinned out the buttercream slightly with a splash of milk (so that it would be spreadable.) Use a small offset spatula to spread the frosting over and around the cake.

8. Perfectly decorated or not, chill the cakes in the fridge for another 20-30 minutes to let the frosting set.

9. Melt chocolate chips with a splash of milk, then drizzle over the cakes in a zebra-stripe fashion.

10. Smile! Pat self on back! Rejoice! They look just like the ones in the package, minus all the shame and self-loathing.

11. Enjoy!

I have to tell you, this is one of my proudest moments as a baker. Normally, I’m not very good at being patient when recipes require many careful steps. But, I took my time with this and the results are fabulous. Patience is a virtue, after all. Later today, I’ll take some more pictures in day light so the cakes look less shiny.

Update: Better pictures below!

So tell me, what prepackaged snack won you over as a kid?