As I love to bake (actually obsessed) and recently received a copy of the Hummingbird ‘Cake Days’ cookbook, I decided to make something I have heard a lot about but had never tried – whoopie pies. Whoopie pies are an American sweet treat, that are part cookie and part cake…sounds heavenly doesn’t it! On Wikipedia, it says they are also referred to as BFO, which stands for Big Fat Oreo…I thought it to be quite a funny name.
I adapted a recipe from taste.com.au to make chocolate whoopie pies and decided to fill them with Hummingbird Bakery’s recipe for Marshmallow Fluff icing.
If you have never heard of or tasted Marshmallow Fluff, then you really need to get some. It is delicious – melted marshmallow in a bottle…yum! However, it is not readily available in supermarkets in South Africa. And, if you do find it, it is expensive, as it is imported from the USA. I have found it at my local Douglasdale Pick n Pay and Cosmic Candy in Montecasino. After a quick Google search, I see you can also order it from Yuppiechef.
If you cannot find any, there isn’t a substitute that I know of.
The last tip is, whoopie pies do not last, so it is best to bake and eat on the same day. The day after I had baked them, I sent the left overs to my husband’s office and they had already gone soft. They were more like normal cake and didn’t have that nice crisp crunch any more…which was quite disappointing. Having said that, they still tasted delicious!
Below is the recipe and an image of my tasty chocolate whoopie pies with Marshmallow Fluff icing
Chocolate whoopie pies with marshmallow fluff icing
Ingredients
- 125 g butter, softened
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups cake flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 170 g butter, softened
- 280 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 bottle vanilla marshmallow fluff
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C and line 4 - 6 large baking trays with baking paper.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Beat until combined.
- Meanwhile, sift flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir to combine. Add vinegar and half the buttermilk. Stir to combine. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and buttermilk until just combined (be careful not to over beat the mixture).
- Drop level tablespoons of mixture onto the prepared trays, approximately 5cm apart, allowing room for them to spread.
- Bake, 1 tray at a time, for 8 minutes or until cooked through. All the whoopie pies to cool on the trays for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling and assembling.
- Repeat with remaining trays.
- Cream the butter and icing sugar together. Once well combined, add the vanilla and marshmallow fluff and beat on a high speed until light and fluffy.
- Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up the mixture slightly.
- To sandwich the pies, take one sponge and pipe or spread approximately a tablespoon of filling on one flat side. Follow this with sticking another sponge, flat side down onto the filling to make a sandwich.
- Continue this process to make the other whoopee pies.
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