Baked Sunday Mornings: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

This weekend's Baked Sunday Mornings assignment was the Red Velvet Whoopie Pies in Baked Explorations. This selection couldn't have come at a better time; I always associate red velvet with Valentine's Day, and I haven't made a whoopie pie in a while. I go through withdrawal, people! So it was definitely time for me to whip up a batch. I adore red velvet, and I've made the Baked version of red velvet cake (well, cupcakes!) before, so I was eager to experience their spin on the red velvet whoopie.



Last Valentine's Day, I made a red velvet whoopie that I saw in Food Network Magazine, and they were pretty divine. Of course, back then I was still a pretty lazy blogger and never got around to posting about those. It's funny how things can change in a year, huh? Anyway, I wondered how these would compare to the FN Magazine version, since I really didn't think I could improve upon those when I made them. But being the huge fan of the Baked boys that I am, I was pretty sure they would come through for me.

Of course, I was not disappointed! These red velvet whoopies are delicate, yet sturdy. Just slightly crisp on the outside, but perfectly tender on the inside. The filling is just perfect, even when you use lower-fat cream cheese! It tasted every bit as decadent as the full-fat version. The pairing of the outer cookies and the inner filling is just heaven. I do have to apologize for not using the recommended walnuts to roll the sides of the whoopies in. I just thought they would be great without nuts, and didn't bother with them. Maybe next time, though. As is, these pies were wonderfully rich and sweet, and to me they were the most wonderful treat I could think of to indulge in for Valentine's Day. My husband will be taking the rest in to work tomorrow; we just have to share the love!

So, another Baked recipe, another rousing success! To see what the other Baked Sunday Morning cooks thought of these little gems, simply check out the blog's main site, here.

Birthday Cupcakes

So I had my 30th birthday. I actually feel pretty good about it, even though my son keeps reminding me that I'm starting to look my age. Long ago are the days when I could pass for a college student. Now I get questions like this from Xander: "Mom, why are there so many lines around your eyes?" Or I get exclamations such as this: "Mom, I can see all your white hair!" Ah, kids. You just have to appreciate their pure honesty, and laugh because it is at your expense.

I had a hard time trying to decide what kind of cake to make myself. Originally, we debated the idea of having Andy make a cake for me, but we decided that it would be fun for me to get a break from the kids and just bake in a quiet house. So he took off with the boys and I holed up in the kitchen with my brand-new cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking. After much consideration, and after finally asking Xander his opinion, I decided on Red Hot Velvet Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream. Because the cake itself is a three-layer cake loaded in between its layers with piles of buttercream frosting, I didn't want to make the whole entire cake for just myself, Xander, and Andy. I had the good fortune of finding an adaptation of this recipe on Recipezaar where it was turned into cupcakes for Oprah's magazine back around Valentine's Day. So I simply used this idea, cut the recipe in half, and ended up with 12 cupcakes. Perfect! Or at least, a perfect amount for our little family.

The cupcakes turned out really good. I was a little bummed because even though the recipe called for dark cocoa powder, I used regular because I was certain I had used all my dark for a different recipe. About a week after I baked the cupcakes, guess what we found in our cupboard? That's right, the dark cocoa powder. I'm sure it would have made the cakes taste richer and even yummier, but they were still good. Next time I will definitely use the dark. It was also fun for me to play around with using a piping bag to get the frosting onto the cupcakes. I think I've been inspired now to take a cake decorating class or something, because I know I'd have a blast. In the meantime, I'm going to have fun at home experimenting with the delicious-sounding recipes in my new cookbook.

Oh, by the way, in the picture of Xander, he is eating a cupcake, not losing a bloody brawl in a dark alley!