Whoopie Pies for Valentines.

Well back last year some time, Ange and I were talking whoopie pies and how cute they looked, and well before I knew it, I was sent pictures of 2 cookbooks and 2 trays and told they were coming my way. With Valentines day Tomorrow I decided it was time to give them ago.

So armed with ingredients my Heart Tin and the recipes I headed off, with a stop in at My Sisters for some Decorating Advice for her, then off to Mum's to cook and stay for the night.

Whoopie Pies - what are they? after serving them today is what I have been asked...so with a little research done, my answer of an American treat mixed between a cake and a cookie with cream in it isn't too bad...here is what I found....

While considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they are increasingly sold throughout the United States. According to food historians, Amish women would bake these desserts (known as hucklebucks at the time) and put them in farmers' lunch pails or lunch boxes. When farmers would find the treats in their lunch, they would shout "Whoopie!" It is thought that the original Whoopie pies may have been made from cake batter leftovers.

Red Velvet Pies makes 12
125g butter
200g sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
300g self-raising flour
20g cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
250ml buttermilk ( I used full fat milk with juice of half a lemon)
2 teaspoons red food colouring paste
100ml  hot water

1. Preheat oven to 180
2. cream together the butter and sugar, until light and creamy
3. add the egg and vanilla mix again.
4. sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder into the bowl and add the salt, buttermilk and red food colouring paste. Mix again until all incorporated.
5. Add the hot water and whisk again.
6. Put large spoonfuls of mixture into each greased heart. (alternatively the recipe says to use baking trays and an ice cream scoop or pipe them into shapes with a piping bag.)
7. Bake for 10-12 mins. or until when pressed they spring back.
8. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate butter cream
250g dark chocolate
160g butter
125g icing sugar

1. Melt the chocolate as per your preferred method. Set aside to cool.
2. Beat your butter and icing sugar till white and fluffy, then add the cooled chocolate and beat some more.
3. Put into a piping bag which a star shaped nozzle and pipe a generous swirl onto the bottom of one of your hearts sandwich with another heart.

Be my Valentine whoopie pies makes 12


250g plain flour
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
large pinch of salt
115g butter
150g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150 buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon red liquid food colouring

1. preheat oven to 180
2. sift together the plain flour, bicarb and slat.
3. in the mixer whisk the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy.
4. beat in the egg and vanilla
5. then add half the flour and half the buttermilk and food colouring mix some more
6. then add remainder of flour and milk mixing again till thoroughly incorporated.
7. Pipe or spoon mixture onto trays or tins.
8. Bake for 9-11mins until risen and just firm to the touch (you know the spring test)
9. Cool on trays or in tins for 5 mins then pop on to a wire rack to cool.

Vanilla butter cream filling

150g butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
280g icing sugar

1. Beat the butter and vanilla till white and fluffy, then gradually add the icing sugar and continue beating a further 2-3 minutes.
2. Put into a piping bag which a star shaped nozzle and pipe a generous swirl onto the bottom of one of your hearts sandwich with another heart.

Icing
150g icing sugar
Warm Water 1-2 tablespoons
red food colouring
red sugared heart sprinkles.

1. Sift the icing sugar stir in enough water to make a smooth icing that is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. then beat in a few drops of food colouring till your desired shade of pink.
2. Spoon over whoopies and then sprinkle on some hearts.

Wishing you all a little love this valentines.