Red Velvet WHOOPIE Cakes!

Whoopie Cakes, Whoopie Pies, Whoopie Cookies.... they're the cakey-cookie thing deemed to be the NEW Macaroon!  Supposedly originally introduced in Maine, USA in the 1950's when a woman working in a commercial bakery baked some leftover cake mixture instead of wasting it, and put it together with some extra filling... from this, a Whoopie was born.  There are an enormous variety of Whoopie flavours out there, I thought i'd start out with the Red Velvet Whoopie.  They are very easy to make and hard to mess up so get your whoopie on and have fun!

Preparation Time: 10mins

Cooking Time: 12-12 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

 - 125ml buttermilk

 - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 - 1/2tsp red food colouring

 - 1 1/2tsp distilled white vinegar

 - 115g butter, softened

 - 200g castor sugar

 - 1 egg

 - 280g - plain flour

 - 1tbs cocoa

 - 1/2tsp bicarb soda

Filling:

 - 115g full fat cream cheese

 - 70g butter, softened

 - 1/2tsp vanilla extract

 - 450g icing sugar

Method:

1)  Preheat oven to 170'Cfan forced/190'C/375'F.  Line baking trays with baking paper.

2)  Stir the buttermilk, vanilla, red food colouring and vinegar together in mixing jug.

3)  Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg.

4)  Sift together the flour, cocoa and bicarb soda.  Add the buttermilk mixture and stir until combined.

5)  Place heaped tablespoons of the mixture on your prepared baking trays, leaving about 3inches between each round to allow room for spreading.  Bake in the oven for 10-12minutes, until firm to touch.  Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

6)  In the meantime, make the cream cheese frosting by putting the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.  Sift in the icing sugar and beat together until well combined.

7)  When the Whoopie's are cool, match each whoopie half with its closest partner in size.  Spreading with a palette knife or using a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle, cover the flat side of one whoopie half with frosting.  Place a whoopie on top and gently press together... A la Whoopie.