Week 28 - Whoopie Pies

So Whoopie Pies are apparently the new cupcake & in my quest to stay at the cutting edge of baking trends *ahem* I've had a crack at making them this week! By the wonders of the internet I have discovered the following things about Whoopie Pies...

1. They originated in the Pennsylvanian Amish community

2. Amish wives would bake them & put them in their husbands lunchboxes, when they discovered the treats they would shout WHOOPIE (I can't imagine a Brit husband getting quite so excited about finding a custard cream!?)

3. The tradition of using Marshmallow Fluff for the filling came from the manufacturers of Fluff featuring it in a Whoopie Pie recipe included in a 1930's cookbook called Yummy Book (I'd love to get hold of a copy of that!)

When I was researching what should go into a Whoopie Pie, I got a bit baffled by all the different options. This recipe was kindly sent to me by Roddas Cornish Clotted Cream & they have given them a distinctly Cornish twist, suggesting you fill them with their cream. I think that sounds like a great suggestion, but for my first attempt I'm staying true to the original & have chosen to make the traditional fluff filling. This part of the recipe is taken from the Marshmallow Fluff website. I chose to use Strawberry Fluff as I thought it would complement the chocolate & the fact it's the most amazing shade of pink!

For the cakes
100g unsalted butter
185g muscovado sugar
1 egg
300g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp vanilla extract
100-150ml milk

For the filling
1/2 jar of marshmallow fluff
130g icing sugar
100g butter
Dash of milk

1. Cream together the butter & sugar, then beat in the egg & vanilla.

2. Sift together all the dry ingredients, then add about half to the butter mixture along with about half the milk, mix well. Add the remaining half of the flour etc & enough milk to make a smooth mixture of dropping consistency.

3. Grease a baking sheet & place on small dollops of the mixture, leaving plenty of space in between for them to expand. I made 24 individual cakes from 1 batch. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM5 for 12-15 minutes until well risen & springy to the touch. Place onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make the filling, cream together the butter & icing sugar, adding a little dash of milk to help it along, then beat in the Marshmallow Fluff until all combined. Match up the cakes into pairs, then use the fluffy filling to sandwich them together. I also added a drizzle of melted dark chocolate to the top!

These are quite possibly the most amazing thing ever! Delicious! They are pretty large, so unless you're feeling hungry I'd suggest sharing one with a friend over a glass of ice cold milk! Hope you enjoy making your own Whoopie *sniggers* I'll hopefully see you next week, I've booked a last minute trip away, so I'm hoping the technology will mean I can keep my unbroken record for a 29th week...until then, Rebecca x

Week 23 - Strawberry Shortcake

Happy days cake fans! It's a gorgeous summer evening & I'm only writing this weeks post in the park! Bit later than usual this week, but what with all the football & Wimbledon (oh & that small inconvenience called work!) it's been tricky to find time to write. Thankfully, my love of cake always wins through & somehow I squeeze in the baking!

So, how do we fancy the chances of our, ahem, 'great', sporting nation bringing home a trophy of some sort this summer? I must admit I think there is something distinctly British about the way we follow sports which I love! We're passionate about it & will come up with the most creative excuses for our teams under performance. So far I've heard England's world cup performance put down to a new ball type, poor turf quality, altitude sickness or the fact the WAGS aren't there. Could it not just be we're actually just a bit rubbish? One world cup does not a great team forever more make! But, it seems the boys have bucked themselves up & actually won this afternoon, so we're through to the knock outs, but second behind the USA...who would have thunk that?? Fingers crossed for Sunday! Anyway, enough about football, maybe I'll share my tennis wisdom with you next week :-)

This weeks recipe is partly to celebrate Wimbledon, but also that it looks like summer has finally arrived. Strawberries are one of my favourite fruits & one thing I will get really fussy over. I'll only ever buy British strawberries when they are in season & if I can get to a pick your own, even better! This is an adaptation of a recipe card I picked up from a Safeway supermarket (remember them?) years ago. It's become one of my staple desserts & always goes down a storm. With all the delicious fresh fruit flavours, it tastes like summer!

120g butter
120g caster sugar
1 egg
120g plain flour
120g SR flour
200g strawberries (the riper the better!) sliced
1 apple, peeled & grated
Zest of an orange
2 tbsps strawberry jam
Sugar to sprinkle

1. Cream together the butter & sugar, then beat in the egg until light & fluffy. Sift in the flours, then combine until you get a soft dough, pop it in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes

2. Take half of the dough & squish it into the base of a loose bottom cake tin so it's even. Next spread the jam over the dough, then add the grated apple & orange zest. Finally arrange the sliced strawberries over the top.

3. Take the other half of the dough & roll it out so it roughly fits over the top of the fruit. It doesn't have to be perfect, so you can try & flatten it with your hands instead. Sprinkle a good shower of sugar over the top & bake in the oven on 180c/GM5 for around 50 mins until golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely before taking out of the tin

There are several different ways you could serve this, warm with vanilla ice cream or cold with double cream. My favourite is warm with a generous dollop of marscapone cheese, delicious! If you follow the serving suggestion on the original recipe card, it should be enjoyed with a bottle of Lambrusco!
Enjoy the sport, but if you're really not a fan why not take to the kitchen & bake yourself a cake, with 23 weeks worth of recipes I hope you'll find some inspiration here! Keep cool, Rebecca x