whoopie pies

I'm not entirely with it, I think. Maybe it's because I think I should be on summer vacation, maybe it's brain fog, maybe.....I just don't know....
But I reviewed a book for Amazon

 and actually made whoopie pies.... so I thought I'd share a few photos with you. The recipe was quick to put together and used ingredients you most likely already have. They do suggest you use parchment paper and I have to agree - it makes the clean up so much easier.
My beloved loved them (after they were out of the fridge. I stuck them in the fridge to begin with because I was tired and it was late). My younger son and my youngest sister also gave them the thumbs up. So if you like whoopie pies, this is a shameless plug  for the book. Nope, I don't get a kickback from the authors. However, if you do use the link I provided, Amazon pays me a referral fee from the cost of the book.
They have a lemon whoopie pie that looks interesting. I think the next time I make the whoopie pies, I'll use more instant coffee. These were supposed to be mocha, but I didn't add enough instant coffee (what can I say, I don't like coffee). But next time I will.
I also made brownies this week. I did something a little different - I had left over vanilla mousse from my beloved's cake and I put a half a cup of it in the brownie batter. Again this is the  Hershey recipe with the exception I melt the butter and add the cocoa in it to give the cocoa a chance to bloom. The brownies seemed somehow richer, but not overly rich.

The mousse reminds me a bit of vanilla ice cream, but not frozen. I still have more left, I'm thinking of using it in the coconut cake I'm making for my sister-in-law today for her birthday. Maybe mix some coconut with it and use it as the filling between the first and second layer.
These are photos of my honey's birthday cake. It got eaten up relatively fast, believe it or not

The mousse reminds me a bit of vanilla ice cream, but not frozen. I still have more left, I'm thinking of using it in the coconut cake I'm making for my sister-in-law today for her birthday. Maybe mix some coconut with it and use it as the filling between the first and second layer. I used the mousse in the buttercream frosting I made for the cake.

This is how the filled cake looked when it was sliced. The mousse held up much better than the Baviarian cream has in the past.






_enjoy_

Betty & Pam save the day

Yesterday, I decided I would make my love's birthday. It's a filled cake, I'm sure I described it before. Last year, I used a sort of delicate vanilla cake and it didn't stand up to the Bavarian cream. So I decided to make a few changes this year - going with vanilla mousse with strawberries in it and a sturdier cake.
I decided to try a cake from an ancient recipe (okay, it's older than me so that makes it pretty old;)) and I should have know I was in troble when it called for 4 teaspoons baking powder. Just because a recipe is in an old cookbook doesn't mean it's good. Plus the page was completely clean, no evidence the recipe had ever been used. I baked the cake (40 minutes at 375 degrees - not kidding, 375 degrees). First, it took longer than 40 minutes to bake all the way through. Okay, strange, but maybe some weirdness.
But to depan it! well, I throrougly  greased the pan with Crisco. The filled cake pans are a little weird and I thought I'd go that route. The cake would _not_ come out of the pan. I tried the few tricks I knew to depan a cake, but it didn't work. So when the pan finally released, a good portion of the cake stuck to the pan.
Or maybe I should refrain from using the word "good". That cake was one of the driest cakes I ever made in my life - it was like a very stale generic yellow cake. My love suggested I cut it up, cover it with the mousse and it should work out. And probably he was right. But I said no, I'll make another cake. The birds were happy about that.
I turned to my buddy, Betty Crocker. I used the recipe for "Bonnie Butter Cake" and coated the pans with my other cooking buddy, Pam. The cake tastes great and depanned like a dream.
I got to finish adding strawberries to the mousse and make the frosting, But I just wanted to give a huge thank you to my cooking pals, Betty Crocker and Pam - they never let me down.