whoopie

You’re crazy. Possibly good-crazy, but crazy nonetheless.

The fact that you can’t refrain your love for acorns, for anything impossible, and for green tea simply proves it.
Or it might actually be that many times when you take the cutest voice ever and start rambling about ponies with glitter manes that live close to a chocolate lake.

One or the other – almost certainly both – that one person you’re very much in like with doesn’t know that. Yet.

So you feel uncomfortable, not knowing exactly what you should do, or say. In fact, you’re quite confused as to how you should be.

He invites you for a drink. You pretend to think twice.
He kisses you on the cheek when you arrive – late. You refrain that I’ll-show-my-teeth smile.
And then, after a drink or two, it seems like you’re having a the-ponies-strike-back moment. And then, after a second or two, he simply laughs and kisses you. Except this time, it’s not on the cheek.

I think it would be safe to say: if an oven can’t handle you at your worse, then it sure as hell don’t deserve you at you best.

Wait, an oven?

I certainly did mean to say a guy, but you see, I’ve had a little relationship problem with my oven lately. I’m new to him, and he’s new to me.

We started well with some cheddar and chives scones a couple of weeks ago. And then, a blueberry cake made way past midnight for one of my starving friends. But today, it seemed like all he wanted was to upset me.

whoopie pola

I had the highest plan for some perfectly earthy and yet creamy matcha whoopie pies. The batter looked pretty-in-green and the frosting was more than adequate for some straight-from-the-bowl-finger-eating-action.

But from the neat little domes I had piped just ten short minutes beforehand, only what could definitely be mistaken for the teletubbies rolling hills landscape subsisted.

making the whoopie

I was heartbroken. Until I realised I should just be my very own good-crazy-self (please, may I insist on good?) and tweaked the thermostat (nb. remind me to have a word with the person who invented those all the heat from the bottom gas ovens) to 5.

Ten minutes later, it felt more like into the wild than tinky winky. Which is a good thing in my world.

Matcha whoopie pies
For this first experiment with those macaron-wannabes, I decided to go a little feral and ditch the cocoa powder for the house favourite: matcha green tea.

I thought the slight bitterness of the tea helped cut through the sweetness of the marshmallow filling. And while we’re on the subject, I shall mention that I made my own marshmallow cream, just because it’s something I’ve always wanted to try.

fluff pola

I’m not sure it’s anything close to the actual fluff, but it was still lovely enough to be eaten by the spoon.

Matcha whoopie pies

makes 16 pies

for the cookies
240g flour
60g strong flour
1 1/4tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
20g matcha green tea
125g butter, at room temperature
200g light brown sugar
one egg
250g full-fat milk

Preaheat the oven to 175°C. And line a baking tray with baking paper.
In a bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, salt and matcha. Using a whisk, combine the butter and sugar, and whisk until fluffy. Mix in the egg, then alternate folding in the powders and the milk. You should end up with a smooth and shiny batter.
Pipe into around 30 little domes, then bake for ten minutes. Allow to cool.

for the marshmallow cream
2 gelatine sheets
250g caster sugar
80ml water
3 egg whites
seeds from one vanilla bean

Soak the gelatine sheets into cold water.
Put the sugar and water in a pan over medium heat, bring to the boil and simmer until the syrup reaches 120°C.

While the syrup is heating, start whipping the egg whites using a stand mixer – or falling that, a powerful hand-held mixer. As the syrup reaches 120°C, increasing your mixer’s speed and gently pour the syrup down to the side of the bowl. Quickly squeeze the gelatine sheets and add them to the meringue. Finally mix in the vanilla seeds, and mix until the bowl feels warm but not hot (careful as it gets really hot during the first few minutes).
Transfer to a jar. It will keep for a couple of days.

for the filling
125g butter, at room temperature
150g icing sugar
200g marshmallow cream (either bought or homemade)

In a bowl, mix the butter and icing sugar until fluffly, then fold in the marshmallow cream. Pipe some into half the shells, then top with the remaining shells.

Posted by fanny who loves biscuits and cookies, green tea, recipe inside, vanilla