Let's make whoopie pies

Red velvet whoopie pies. What other four words sound so yummy? Well, a few, but they sound pretty good don't they.

Red velvet whoopie pies...

I find whoopies pies quite addictive to make. Every time I bake some they turn out differently, and I'm learning each time to do them a little better. And who could resist such a colour? Originally the attraction of the red velvet was all down to the chemistry between the cocoa powder and the acidity of the buttermilk, but most modern recipes just rely on food colouring to make it so bright.

This recipe made about 14 whoopie pies (28 individual pie bits), but I'm sure they're supposed to be a lot bigger than I make them. But I'd rather have several smaller ones, than just a few big ones.

120g marg
200g soft dark brown sugar
1 large egg
120ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla essence
340g plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder (I ended up with just over 1, as I ran out when I thought I had a whole tub, woops)
1/2 tsp bicarb
1/4 tsp salt
15ml red food colouring

For the filling, I used some butter and some icing, with about half a tub of marshmallow fluff. I never measure when I make buttercream, I prefer to just make it to taste.

Red mixture - a tip is not to wear a white top while making these...

Cream together the marg and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and mix.
Stir together buttermilk and vanilla, then stir into rest of mixture.
Sift into the bowl the flour, cocoa, bicarb, and salt, in two or three batches. Stir until combined, then add food colouring a bit at a time until the red colour really comes through.
Spoon on to baking trays lined with baking paper. I prefer to use an icing bag for this part, but mine burst and I haven't remembered to buy a new one yet... and folding up baking paper did not work.
Bake in the oven, preheated to 170 degrees, for about 15 minutes.
Wait until cool before making and spreading on the fluffy filling.

Looking good on the cake stand

Partly why I love these is the burst of colour, which you don't get from just a chocolate cake. But what I especially like is surprising, or rather, confusing, people who eat and enjoy them. No one can ever seem to figure out the flavour - because of the colour I think. It's like when you eat a raspberry jelly that's coloured green... our little brains are easily fooled.