Fried Twinkies are so old hat. Try bourbon-fried poundcake
When we first encountered deep-fried, bourbon-soaked Twinkies, we were a little smitten. Until, that is, we realized we could do so much better.
Better as in ditching the highly processed snack cakes and substituting a truly amazing slab of homemade pound cake, all rich and dense and ready to sponge up some booze.
Which is what we did next; we drizzled each slice with a generous glug of bourbon. And no need to use the good stuff here.
Anything you'd consider using as a mixer will be fine.
An ample dose of butter to pan-fry our slices until nicely crisped and warmed doesn't hurt their flavor, either.
Now all you have to do is serve — warm, please! — with fresh berries and whipped cream or ice cream. Take that, Twinkies.
• Alison Ladman is a chef, food writer and recipe developer for The Associated Press. She also owns The Crust and Crumb Baking Company in Concord, New Hampshire.