Strawberry whoopie pies
"Are they cakes or cookies? Why are they called pies? I can’t really answer these questions, but whoopie pies are a US classic. Strawberry cake is a Southern tradition and these ‘pies’ combine two American classics seamlessly. The result is a beautiful pink sandwich that's moist and fruity."
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 175 gm butter
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla essence
- ½ tsp strawberry essence
- Few drops of red food colouring (optional)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup pureed strawberries
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 200 gm cream cheese
- 125 gm butter
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 3 cups icing sugar
Method
- Preheat oven to 170°C. Prepare baking trays by covering them with baking paper.
- Puree enough strawberries to make a cup, a whole punnet should be perfect.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and mix well.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
- In a third bowl, mix together the milk, vanilla essence, strawberry essence, half the pureed strawberries and food colouring if using.
- Add a third of the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Add a third of the wet mixture and mix.
- Alternate adding dry and wet until all ingredients are combined in the large bowl.
- Drop heaped tablespoons of batter 4 cm apart on the baking trays. The batter will make about 24.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. When done, they will be slightly brown and a knife inserted into the middle will come out clean. Let cool completely on trays for 10 minutes, transfer to a rack until completely cool.
- Frosting: Cream the butter and cream cheese until well combined.
- Add the vanilla essence and mix.
- Add the icing sugar gradually while mixing.
- Fold in the rest of the strawberry puree.
- When the cakes have cooled, spread or pipe frosting on flat side, then add another to make a sandwich. Makes about 12 sandwiches.