So in the last week I have learnt some invaluable life lessons – which let’s face it is the best way to grow and actually have lots of fun. The first of these lessons is that strangely when one hits later teenage years (from a boy’s perspective) cakes are so last season! Even when offered one that will be decadent chocolate and decorated like an i-phone ... so how does a girl or I, who so loves baking get around this ... I decided that this was going to be the time to experiment! And Whoopie pies it was, that did eventually (with considerable family pressure) crack the nod!
So the next lesson I learnt is that we are often taught rules as youngsters – and sometimes these don’t necessarily hold water ...or in my case colour. Apparently originating in the USA ... Whoopie Pies are kind of a mixture between a cup cake and cookie with a really good reason for far too much yummy, buttery icing.
And so, recipe book in hand I started making these whoopie pies. They are supposed to be brightly coloured .... The book recommended blue, red, green, orange, purple and yellow ... which sounded really cool so armed with all the basics – it seemed it would be a breeze. Well first lesson is that the bottles of food colouring are really weird in England ... the red comes out like gloopy gel, and the yellows consistency is well very unsettling to say the least ... and on the other hand the blue and green are so watery ... ah well ... The great lesson here was that red and blue do not make purple which is what we had as a rule when I was younger – it makes a new colour which kind of defies description but I settled on mudple as I was at a complete loss to explain this ... it didn’t matter how I mixed the blue and red it just stayed mudple ... on the upside this did not affect the taste or popularity.
So should you wish to give these fun little numbers a try – here is the recipe and I hope you will enjoy (and do let me know how your colours come out )
Whoopie Pies
Makes 12 (24 halves)
125g salted butter, softened
200 g caster sugar
1 large egg, beaten
350 g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon of salt
225 mls buttermilk
1 – 2 tablespoons water (hot not boiling)
Food colouring – red, green, yellow & blue (yellow & red combine to make orange, and red with blue will give you purple or mudple .... depending on your luck )
Preheat your oven to 180C
Lightly grease two large baking sheets
(the recipe also said you could use shallow cupcake pans but I think the trays work far better)
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a mixer
Add the beaten egg and mix well
Mix the flour, bicarb and salt together and add to the butter mixture, a large spoon at a time, until well mixed
Pour in the buttermilk and whisk to a smooth batter
If it is a little too stiff then add the 1 – 2 tablespoons of hot water
Divide the mixture between six bowls and colour to your liking
Each colour should give you 4 halves
Scoop up a generous tablespoon of the mixture and place in heaps on the baking tray ... it should be about 5 cm in diameter
Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, allow to cool slightly on the tray before moving across to a wire rack to cool completely
Ice one half of the cookie and place the other half on top
I had a little extra icing so I added a bit of decoration on the top and silver balls
For the icing
350 g icing sugar
175 g slightly salted butter, softened
2 tablespoons water
5 mls vanilla essence
Beat the butter until very soft and fluffy
Add the icing sugar a little at a time, until all used
Add the water and vanilla essence, and beat well until the mixture is light and fluffy in texture
Spoon into a piping bag with a star nozzle
Generously ice the one half of the cookie and decorate to your heart’s content
Here’s to making Whoopies
Julia C Hill
01 May 2012
So the next lesson I learnt is that we are often taught rules as youngsters – and sometimes these don’t necessarily hold water ...or in my case colour. Apparently originating in the USA ... Whoopie Pies are kind of a mixture between a cup cake and cookie with a really good reason for far too much yummy, buttery icing.
And so, recipe book in hand I started making these whoopie pies. They are supposed to be brightly coloured .... The book recommended blue, red, green, orange, purple and yellow ... which sounded really cool so armed with all the basics – it seemed it would be a breeze. Well first lesson is that the bottles of food colouring are really weird in England ... the red comes out like gloopy gel, and the yellows consistency is well very unsettling to say the least ... and on the other hand the blue and green are so watery ... ah well ... The great lesson here was that red and blue do not make purple which is what we had as a rule when I was younger – it makes a new colour which kind of defies description but I settled on mudple as I was at a complete loss to explain this ... it didn’t matter how I mixed the blue and red it just stayed mudple ... on the upside this did not affect the taste or popularity.
So should you wish to give these fun little numbers a try – here is the recipe and I hope you will enjoy (and do let me know how your colours come out )
Whoopie Pies
Makes 12 (24 halves)
125g salted butter, softened
200 g caster sugar
1 large egg, beaten
350 g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon of salt
225 mls buttermilk
1 – 2 tablespoons water (hot not boiling)
Food colouring – red, green, yellow & blue (yellow & red combine to make orange, and red with blue will give you purple or mudple .... depending on your luck )
Preheat your oven to 180C
Lightly grease two large baking sheets
(the recipe also said you could use shallow cupcake pans but I think the trays work far better)
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with a mixer
Add the beaten egg and mix well
Mix the flour, bicarb and salt together and add to the butter mixture, a large spoon at a time, until well mixed
Pour in the buttermilk and whisk to a smooth batter
If it is a little too stiff then add the 1 – 2 tablespoons of hot water
Divide the mixture between six bowls and colour to your liking
Each colour should give you 4 halves
Scoop up a generous tablespoon of the mixture and place in heaps on the baking tray ... it should be about 5 cm in diameter
Bake for 10 – 15 minutes, allow to cool slightly on the tray before moving across to a wire rack to cool completely
Ice one half of the cookie and place the other half on top
I had a little extra icing so I added a bit of decoration on the top and silver balls
For the icing
350 g icing sugar
175 g slightly salted butter, softened
2 tablespoons water
5 mls vanilla essence
Beat the butter until very soft and fluffy
Add the icing sugar a little at a time, until all used
Add the water and vanilla essence, and beat well until the mixture is light and fluffy in texture
Spoon into a piping bag with a star nozzle
Generously ice the one half of the cookie and decorate to your heart’s content
Here’s to making Whoopies
Julia C Hill
01 May 2012
