First recipe for Valentine's Day this year! I found this Wilton heart shaped whoopie pie pan at Jane Asher and I'm afraid that any time I make whoopie pies now they're all going to be heart shaped because I love this pan! I love that they look so cute and sleek but are still fun like whoopie pies should be.
I decided to go with the classic red velvet cake and for the filling a vanilla mascarpone cream (mascarpone being my new favorite ingredient). They taste amazing (the cake is so soft when you bite into it) but turned out a little more brown than I would have liked. Nothing is better than a bright red cake. Next time I'll use better food coloring. A small box of these would be so cute to give to a special someone on Valentine's Day.
I got this adorable heart shaped plate at Paperchase. I'm hoping they're on sale after Valentine's Day, I really want another one!
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
adapted from whoopie pies
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup crisco or trex
1/2 cup packed brown sugar1 cup sugar
2 eggs2 tsp vanilla
red gel paste (I was stupid and used liquid which made it a lame orange brown color)1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup soy milk with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease tin. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl beat together the butter, shortening and both sugars for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time until combined. Add the vanilla and red food coloring and beat.
3. Add half the flour and half the buttermilk and beat on low until incorporated add the remaining mixture and buttermilk and beat until fully combined.
4. Drop one tablespoon of batter on the baking sheet and space each pie about 2 inches apart (I used a piping bag for my pan this time to see if it would result in a smoother surface. It did seem to help a little bit but was a lot more messy and time consuming). Bake one tray at a time for 10 minutes or until cake springs back when touched.
My super 4 tier cooling rack from Lakeland is another story
5. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Vanilla Mascarpone Cream Filling
adapted from Martha Stewart
250g Mascarpone, chilled
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup double cream
1 tbs vanilla
1. Beat the double cream in a small bowl until stiff peaks form. Stir the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla together until combined. Gently fold the double cream in to the mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate if not using straight away.
2. Pipe or spread approximately 1-2 tablespoons of filling on a the inside of one pie and sandwich with another pie. Store in an airtight container. I kept mine refrigerated and removed 20 minutes before eating.
You can also check it out here.
You can also check it out here.
