You could be forgiven for thinking I’ve fallen of the edge of a cliff or that my kitchen has been taken over by builders lately, I hold my hand up high that there have not been many recipes round here lately.
Gradually though, as my son approaches his first week in primary school, I am getting back to normal and these little guys were my contribution to a recent mass play date, a veritable frog spawn of little people swarming about getting excited, spreading crumbs everywhere and hiding random objects behind pieces of furniture.
As a mummy with a reputation for making cakes, I can’t just turn up to these occasions with a bag of treat size Milky Ways.
Instead I randomly grabbed something treat sized for little childrens’ fingers to get excited about and set about making my first ever whoopie pies from Claire Ptak’s The Whoopie Pie Book.
Although I spooned them out in scant mounds, I decided that paired up they’d be a bit big for toddlers and that by serving individually, I was able to pop a few in little bags for mums to take home too.
Hence I presented whoopie shells in individual paper cases decorated with chocolate glace icing and some Dr Oetker mini jazzies.
To be honest, I think the recipe needs tweaking, they were not as light as I expected and had an uneven texture – fortunately this is disguised by the icing.
I was also using a special whoopie pie tray available from Lakeland. If you’re fussy about having your bakes the same size then this tin is quite useful, although if you go for the rustic slightly dishevelled appearance, don’t let not having one of these put you off trying to make them on a normal baking sheet.
Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Ingredients:
175g plain flour
100g cocoa powder
1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
0.5 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
125g unsalted butter
200g sugar
225ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
You will need baking trays lined with parchment paper or a greased whoopie pie tray.
Makes 18 large or 48 small shells.
1. Preheat the oven to 180c/gas 4.
2. Using a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg too followed by the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
4. Add the dry ingredients in two batches until just incorporated. Chill for 30 minutes.
5. Drop scoops of batter on the baking trays about 5cm apart and bake large ones for 10-12 minutes and small ones for 8-10 minutes. They should leave a slight impression when touched with finger. Allow to cool for a few minutes before turning onto a wire rack.
I used icing sugar and water with cocoa powder to frost the whoopie pie shells.
Do you prefer your whoopie pies light rather than dark? Hop on over to try my Lemon Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies topped with White Chocolate…
i have had terrible results making whoopie pies…mine never come out the same shape or size so sandwiching is out of question:(
Ah they look so cute! I’ve still not gotten around to trying, nor making a whoopie pie but love the name!
I have a tub of those mini jazzies, trouble is I end up eating more than goes on the cake!
The whoopie pies look really pretty. I have just made some with a similar recipe to yours and they ended up in the bin!
Mmmhhh, they look so delicious and pretty!
Cheers,
Rosa
Ah, they are very cute indeed. Icing is like make up, isn’t it? It hides a blotchy appearance. 🙂 Imagine, there is a special tin for whoopie pies!
well they look so pretty and any random bake is random enough for me!… thanks for contributing xx
Oh yum! They look fantastic and I really like the idea of them being individual ‘cookies’ rather than sandwiched together.
Ha ha, rustic dishevelled appearance is about right for me. I haven’t tried making whoopie pies yet, but they are on my list. Yours, whilst perhaps not quite looking like whoopie pies, do look good and I bet were much appreciated by all.
they look great! so cute. I think I will have to give them a try soon. arent they like cakey macarons – did you use anything to sandwich them together with?
They look great, and i’m sure the children adored them!
These look adorable. A local baker helped me make an enormous whoopee pie which we iced in FC Barcelona colours…I never took the recipe though- it was perfect. Thanks for the motivation to try though.
Ishay
Wow…these look beautiful…lovely presentation..
I have the same book and have made these a few times filled with homemade marshmallow fluff. They are divine. I haven’t had a problem with them so far. I love the way you have decorated these. They are so inviting and you are right, just a perfect size.
I’ve got that book too! These look fab
I often think that ‘rustic’ stands for homemade and baked with love – especially for an event as special as RBOK. Hope to join in next time.