Thursday, 6 February 2020

Pretty Pink Inside-Out Whoopie Pies: One Recipe, Two Results

You may have guessed: I love pink, and I love cake. So why not mix the two in these lovely little handheld cakes? Here's my most recent experiment: inside-out whoopie pies!


A few months ago, I discovered a great American cups recipe for whoopie pies, and at the time I thought it was all sorted out. However, over the past few months, as I made the recipe a few times it didn't turn out the same way every time after all. I feel that that is to do with how humid Ireland gets in winter, which makes the flour more damp, which in turn skews things in the recipe.

So, I went back to the drawing board and worked with the ratios found in that recipe and found a good recipe using weights. It took about 11 or 12 failed attempts, but I finally got something that's pretty similar to the original Amish recipe I was using.

 

This recipe can be made two ways and it has two different results: if you make the cake with oil, it makes whoopie pie cakes that can be sandwiched; if you make it with butter, it makes little cakes that can be frosted on top like cakey cookies, or "cupcake tops".

  

I made them with raspberry buttercream to make them all pink, but you can put any topping or filling with these: lemon curd, or whipped cream, or flavoured buttercreams. The cakes can also be flavoured with different essences or zests; whatever you like!

INGREDIMENTS

2 medium eggs
4 ounces (115 grammes) salted butter for cupcake tops, or oil for whoopie pies
9 ounces (255 grammes) caster sugar
12 ounces (340 grammes) plain white flour: wheat or spelt*
1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) baking soda
¾ teaspoon (4 millilitres) fine salt
6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) buttermilk
2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence


HOW TO MAKE CUPCAKE TOPS
  • Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line two flat baking trays with non-stick paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until mixed well: there's a lot of sugar, so it won't cream fully until you add the egg.
  • Beat in the egg, vanilla essence and salt until you have a nice fluffy mixture.
  • Mix together flour, soda, salt, and sugar into another bowl. Sieve half of this mixture into the butter mix and fold in fully.
  • Fold in the buttermilk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Mix well until smooth, but do not overmix.
  • Spoon teaspoonfuls of batter onto the trays, about 2 inches apart, or you can use a piping bag to shape the cakes.
  • Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size, or until they have puffed up and are springy to the touch.
  • Remove the cakes from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. On cooling, they will be a little crunchy; however, they will be soft and flexible after a few hours.
  • Top the cakes with icing of your choice: buttercream, glacĂ©, whipped cream, etc.

HOW TO MAKE WHOOPIE PIES
  • Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) and line two flat baking trays with non-stick paper.
  • Mix the egg, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla essence in a jug. Beat very well, and set aside.
  • Sieve the flour, soda, salt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the liquid.
  • Fold the liquids into the dry ingredients to make a smooth but thick batter. Spoon teaspoonfuls of batter onto the trays, about 2 inches apart, or you can use a piping bag to shape the cakes.
  • Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size, or until they have puffed up and are springy to the touch.
  • Remove the cakes from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. On cooling, they will be a little crunchy; however, they will be soft and flexible after a few hours.
  • Pair up similarly sized cakes and sandwich together with a filling of choice: jam, buttercream, whipped cream, etc.

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