Easter (possibly whoopie) pies

You can’t really read a food magazine at the moment without being told what the “new cupcake” is. Apparently, macarons are the new cupcakes but then I’ve also read lately that whoopee pies are the new cupcakes...so maybe they’re actually the new macarons? It’s all very confusing.

Anyway, I think these qualify as whoopie pies as they’re cakey biscuits sandwiched by a suitably gooey filling. As it’s Easter I added some chocolate glaze and chocolate eggs...I have no subtlety at all (if there’s a way of adding more chocolate to something you can rely on me to do it!)

The marshmallow filling was sticky and chewy and made a nice alternative to buttercream. I was delighted to see on the marshmallow packet that they are fat free! Who knew that marshmallows were a health food...they beat celery any day!

Eating a biscuit sandwich means you’re actually eating two biscuits at a time. This appealed to me as a very efficient way of eating biscuits! Here’s one biscuit fresh from the oven:

Ingredients

For the biscuits (this quantity makes about 14 finished pies i.e. 28 biscuits):

120g unsalted butter
240g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
40g cocoa powder
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons milk

For the marshmallow filling:

2 egg whites
150g caster sugar
2 tablespoons double cream
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
10 white marshmallows, cut into quarters

For the chocolate glaze:

200g chocolate 50% cocoa content (I couldn’t find any 50% so used half 70% and half 34% and this roughly came out at 50%)
50g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons double cream

To decorate: chocolate sprinkles and any decorations of your choice

Method

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/fan oven 180˚C/400˚F/Gas mark 6.

Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Start by making the biscuits: cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and well combined.

Beat in the eggs.

Sift the cocoa, flour and baking powder over the butter mixture and beat in.

Beat in the vanilla and milk; the batter will be softer than a traditional biscuit mix but firmer than a sponge batter.

Drop rounded teaspoons full of the batter onto the baking sheets. Space them about 6cm apart as they spread. I had to bake half the mixture at a time and use each baking sheet twice.

Bake the biscuits for about 14 minutes or until they are firm but not crisp – they should retain a certain cakey-ness.

Leave to cool on a wire rack. They will store in an airtight container at this point if you’re not making them up straight away.

Now make the marshmallow filling: Whisk the egg whites, sugar, cream and cream of tartar.

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until the mixture has turned thick and glossy – almost like a mousse; this took ages by which I mean about 20 minutes! It should stand in peaks.

Stir in the chopped marshmallows and whisk until they have melted and mixed in.

Remove from the heat.

Match up the biscuits in pairs as best you can – they will all be different sizes and shapes.

Sandwich using a generous teaspoon of the marshmallow filling.

Put to one side for 30 minutes or more, until the marshmallow filling has set.

Now make the chocolate glaze: break the chocolate into chunks and melt with the butter, either using the bain marie method (i.e. in a bowl over a pan of simmering water) or microwaving. I’ve really come around to microwaving chocolate as I feel I have more control over it.

Stir in the cream.

Leave to cool and firm up a bit before spooning it over the sandwiched biscuits.

Decorate with crushed flake or other chocolate sprinkles.

Leave to set.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have made.

Eat.