Note to self; I must, must, must stock up on pumpkin puree whilst it’s in season.
It amazes me something in cans should be “in season” but pumpkin puree is non existent in most supermarkets for ten and a half months of the year.
Libby’s is the best brand; Paula’s is too watery for baking in my experience. I get mine in Waitrose, six cans at a time whenever I see it. Pumpkin recipes are of course fun at this time of year but my greatest use for it is curry.
This recipe was inspired by one in Let’s Make Whoopies by Sophie Grey. As with the chocolate whoopie pies, my whoopie pie shells came out a bit rustic.
Tweaking the recipe, I dropped some flour, reduced the oven temperature and coaxed my batter into the shape of the whoopie tin before baking. Second time around was way better – yielding the ones you see here. Considering I used wetter canned puree rather than the DIY version advocated, I think the original recipe would have made an even drier batter than my first one. I’ve shown my adjusted version below.
Quoting Simon Cowell on the cover of a baking book seems an odd marketing strategy, beyond being a friend of the writer he doesn’t appear to have any secret insight to whoopie pies. His presence on the cover and “about the author” feels kind of incongruous. It’s a good job I don’t need a celebrity quote on the cover of my own book otherwise I’d be limited to tenous connections with two former That’s Life presenters and a Buzzcocks member.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Equipment
- whoopie pie tin - not crucial. Whoopie pie tins give a more even shape
Ingredients
- 100 g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- pinch ground cloves
- 100 g soft light brown sugar
- 60 ml sunflower oil
- 100 g pumpkin puree canned
- marshmallow fluff for filling - or Philadelphia-style cream cheese mixed with sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4. Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and sugar into a bowl.
- In a separate dish, stir the oil into the pumpkin puree. Fold into the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Spoon dollops into a greased tin or onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If using a tin, lightly push the batter into a flat circle with your finger leaving the tops with a smooth surface.
- Bake for 8-9 minutes; the surface should spring back a bit when prodded.
- Sandwich together with marshmallow fluff or cream cheese frosting.
Now I’ve never ever thought of adding pumpkin puree to a curry but now that you have mentioned it, it seems such a logical kind of thing to do! I too will be stocking up on the cans while I see them.
It goes beautifully chick peas!
I didn’t realise you could get pumpkin puree in Waitrose. I’ve seen so many recipes around using it that I’m quite tempted to experiment!
I always struggle with whoopie pies too. The last lot I made turned out more like scones than anything else which were nice but not really what I was aiming for!
Hi Sarah, LOL, as you know I had some fun recently with whoopie pies, I do think there must be some special secret to them and they do seem like rather a lot of hard work. A tasty treat nevertheless! These look very tasty. I get my pumkin puree on Ocado – Libby’s Pumbkin Puree £2.28. I’m pretty sure it’s there all year round. x