Comments on: Berry Fever : Whoopie pies

By: Monica

Monica — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:00:54 +0000

I don’t know what I like more…The Berry Whoopie Pies or your touching story of baking with your brother, Mark. They were equally sweet.
Thanks for all the great things you teach us in the “Baker’s Banter.”
Thanks Monica, what a nice thing to say. Mark really is a character “famed in song and story”. Happy Baking! ~ MaryJane

By: Marcie

Marcie — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:42:52 +0000

I’m from the opposite coast, which may account for my perspective. The three WP recipes look yummy. However, (and you can call me nuts)the shortening-based filling concept grosses me out. I get the idea that it’s akin to the filling in Oreos, Twinkies, Devil Dogs, etc., and that anything else wouldn’t be authentic. But–sorry–would love an alternative.
On the other hand, I don’t have the same issue with buttercream. Could a Swiss or French buttercream filling be substituted? And, if they’re going to be served within a couple of hours, what about flavored whipped cream, using a stabilizer?
Thank you for your time! : ) Your sauggestions would work if they whoopie pies would be served right away. Mary @ KAF

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:12:30 +0000

I grew up in the SF bay area & have never heard of a whoopie pie but it sure looks tasty. I will try it this week end. Karen

By: Laurie

Laurie — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:58:10 +0000

I grew up in New Hampshire and also have fond memories of climbing Mt. Monadnock and eating Whoopie Pies. Now I live in Maryland and good Whoopie Pies are hard to come by. I appreciate the whoopie pie recipies from KAF so that I can always make them myself when I get homesick. I like the chocolate ones best, but these look great for summer. Thanks!

By: Julia

Julia — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:51:21 +0000

Using a scale to measure out ingredients is a great time saver but my
Salter scale reads in fractional ounces, not decimal ounces. I can kind
of guesstimate a conversion (er, 8.8 ounces is a tad more than
8 3/4 ounces…) but gee, do you folks in the test kitchen have these
number conversion conflicts when writing recipes???

I’ve never seen an Eklund scale; is it a commercial brand (vs. a home
kitchen brand)?

Hi Julia,
You betcha I have those conversion “headaches”. Andrea is much better at math and conversions with I am, plus she works mostly in grams and has a nice big chart posted at her station, so color me green.
As for the scale, I inherited it with my station in the kitchen. I’m not sure if it a model we used to sell, or if it is strictly a pro model. I’ll have to ask Sue and get back to you on that one. ~ MaryJane

We sold the Eklund briefly, long ago - it is indeed a foodservice model, not generally available to the public. I stick with the Salter - no conversions needed! PJH

By: Candace

Candace — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:32:53 +0000

Mary Jane, I have two pot-luck reunions to bake for this summer, back to back. I am not around much of the summer, and if it’s really hot won’t want to bake when I return for the parties. Do any of these many Whoopie Pie recipes freeze well enough so I could make the cookie part now and just fill them Aug 1? I don’t think freezing the filling is probably a great idea, but could be wrong on that. Not interested in the banana ones, but any of the others. Also, is there a recipe for a creamy peanut butter filling for classic chocolate Whoopies? Thanks.
Hi Candace,
You certainly can freeze the whoopie cakes and fill them as you need them. I know Susan froze a whole filled whoopie to take photos of, but for best taste and texture, freeze the cakes and make the filling later.

I’ve never made a creamy PB filling for Whoopies, but you could try adding 1/2 cup or so of peanut butter to the basic Whoopie filling. Adjust the sugar to your liking. Anyone else have a recipe? ~MaryJane

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Sun, 31 May 2009 05:33:05 +0000

These look so yummy and I love the idea of the berries. Strawberries have been reasonably priced where I live but blueberries and raspberries, which I also love, have been priced out of reach but what a great new way to use strawberries. Thank you for another great recipe and some new ideas.
Hi Kathleen,
So sorry to hear you can’t get fresh blueberries locally. You could do a ‘reverse’ and use blueberry jam and fresh strawberries. This would still give you a fresh, pretty treat in red, white and blue. Happy Baking! ~ MaryJane

By: AJ

AJ — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:27:34 +0000

These sound great! However I don’t have any Bakewell
Cream and won’t be able to get any for a while…is there
something else I can substitute or is there and alternate
recipe for the cake part?

AJ - You could use some cream of tartar in place of the Bakewell Cream. Elisabeth @ KAF

By: Kimberly D

Kimberly D — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:28:47 +0000

These look yummy. Does the cream filling and berry jam go all over when you bite down into it? I know this sounds silly but even though it looks yummy I don’t like that when it happens. And could you use the filling for frosting? Maybe make it a little bit more spreadable?

Kimberly - To lessen the possibility of oozing jam, use jam that is fairly thick or try mixing some jam in with the icing. You will still have the berry flavor. Also, avoid over baking your batter so the cake part remains soft. You could try using the filling as a frosting. Add some liquid (milk, cream) to lighten the texture if you need it to be more spreadable. Elisabeth @ KAF

By: Elyse

Elyse — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:40:23 +0000

These whoopie pies look awesome! I love the combo of jam and fluff for the filling. So delicious! I might just have to make some of these today.
Hi Elyse,
Be sure to make plenty, they are sure to be a big hit! ~ MaryJane