Whoopie pie

Whoopie pie made from fresh strawberries

COOK TIME25minutes

Ingredients

• Filling:
• 1 cup sliced, fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• For the cake:
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons red icing gel*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup Dutch processed baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon each baking soda and baking powder
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup hot water

Preparation

• 1 In a medium saucepan, bring strawberries, water and sugar to a boil over medium low heat.
• 2 Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
• 3 Remove from heat, transfer to a blender and puree on high until as smooth as possible.
• 4 Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled.
• 5 For the Cake:
• 6 Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
• 7 Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease liberally with nonstick cooking spray.
• 8 In the bowl of a stand mixer, add butter, shortening, sugar, egg, icing gel and vanilla, mixing until light and fluffy; set aside.
• 9 In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, baking powder.
• 10 On low speed, beat in sour cream, buttermilk and hot water, scraping down sides as needed.
• 11 Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, mixing just until smooth. DO NOT OVER MIX!
• 12 Using an ice cream scoop, dollop batter onto parchment-lined cookie sheet, 2-3 inches apart.
• 13 Bake 10-12 minutes, or until springy to the touch.
• 14 Remove from oven, cool slightly before transferring to a rack to completely cool.
• 15 Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
• 16 Slowly add powdered sugar, flour and salt until well incorporated.
• 17 Fold in 1/3-1/2-cup chilled strawberry mixture until as thick or as thin as desired for filling.
• 18 Freeze leftover syrup, as it can be used for frosting, milkshakes and much more!
• 19 Scoop desired amount of filling onto one cake and top with another.