Showing posts with label buttercream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buttercream. Show all posts

6.12.2011

Makin' Whoopie(s)...


Recently, a friend of mine asked if I could make 150 cupcakes for his upcoming wedding. 

Heck, yeah!

After a little Facebook back and forth, he and his bride-to-be decided they wanted a low key dessert and asked if I'd make some whoopie pies.

Double heck yeah! 

I'd never made them before but have been bookmarking recipes to try for ages.

All he gave me to work with were their wedding colors and the flavors they wanted. 

Blue and white, and straight up chocolate and vanilla.

This first batch is the classic chocolate whoopie cake with a vanilla bean buttercream icing that I split in half and tinted blue. 

I rolled some whoopies in blue sugar pearls, some in sugar crystals, left some plain, and rolled the rest in white sugar crystals. 

I've got a batch of vanilla whoopies cooling that I'll fill with the same icing, some chocolate ganache, and I'll tint a vanilla batch blue tomorrow.

These are as most recipes promise, moist, decadent, and addictive. 

Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Slightly adapted from Whoopie Pies


1 C All-Purpose Flour
2/3 C Cake and Pastry Flour
2/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
4 Tablespoons Salted Butter, Room Temperature
4 Tablespoons Vegetable Shortening
1 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Milk


Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together your flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter, shortening and sugar on low speed until just combined.  Increase your speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.  It will be light and fluffy.

Add in the egg and vanilla and beat for two more minutes.

Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until well incorporated.

Repeat with remaining flour and milk and beat until combined.

Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop batter on baking sheet about two inches apart.  The batter will spread so you don't want them touching.  

Bake for about 10 minutes each or until pies spring back when gently pressed.

Remove from oven and cool for about five minutes on parchment lined sheets before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

After they've cooled, you can fill them with whatever you'd like; buttercream, ganache, marshmallow creme, cream cheese icing. 

I used my standard buttercream recipe and piped the filling on one half of the pie, sandwiching it with another, pressing down gently until the frosting reaches the edge.

I then rolled the edges in the sprinkles and pearls.

Buttercream

1 Cup Butter, Softened (I use salted to cut some of the sweetness.)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (Or vanilla, I'm still hooked on my paste..)
1/3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (Optional.)
6-8 Cups Icing Sugar
Food Coloring (Optional, I use Wilton Gels.)

Beat butter in your stand mixer (Or by hand, work with what you've got...) until light and fluffy. 

Add vanilla and whipping cream and beat about 1 more minute.

Slowly add your icing sugar until you've reached desired icing consistency; nobody likes inhaling that stuff or covering your floor with it. 

It's at this point that you can add your color, mixing until combined.

I shared this trial wedding batch with the neighborhood.  Good thing too or we would have eaten them all here. 

I'm pretty sure my boys will have permanent chocolate and icing mustaches. 

Long live the whoopie!



4.03.2011

Ruffles and Nuggets..

After our delicious multi-course meal and cheapo dessert from last night, I knew I'd get my ruffle cake done today.

After some cursing at my lack of a) a cake stand with domed top, b) a proper leveling tool, and c) a serious lack of eyeballing cake layering skills (due to being poked, prodded, and pulled on by two little people) I got the beauty layered and crumb coated. 

I cheated a little with this cake, I used a boxed French Vanilla cake mix and my own tried and true chocolate cake recipe. 

Tonight for supper we had a regal sampling of chicken nuggets, french fries, meatballs and gravy, and capped it off with my five layer ruffle cake. 



Not bad for my first time!

For the frosting, I tweaked (by eye) my standard buttercream.  Again, I'll attempt to list it out..

I needed a lot to fill layers, crumb coat, and ruffle so I doubled my usual cupcake amount. 

Buttercream

1 Lb Butter
2 T Vanilla
6-8 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2-2/3 C Heavy Whipping Cream
(Food Coloring if desired, I used Wilton Gel in Teal)

Whip butter until almost white, add vanilla. 
Add half the powdered sugar, whip well.
Add whipping cream until incorporated. 
Add more powdered sugar until you've reached your desired consistency. 
Add color.

Frost!  (I ruffled, but clearly preference is key. )


Enjoy, we're all in a sugar coma!

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