These little gems were inspired by Ladurée’s Raspberry-Rose Saint-Honoré pastry. The Saint-Honoré is a tower of custard filled choux pastries, glazed with a delicate rose icing, and finished off with lashings of whipped cream and fresh raspberries, it’s a piece of heaven!
These whoopie pies add another layer of indulgence by adding chocolate to the mix. Chocolate, Raspberries and Roses…what better way to make an impression on Valentines’s Day?
Chocolate-Raspberry-Rose Whoopie Pies
For the cakes:
1¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon espresso
For the raspberry-rose filling:
½ cup fresh raspberries
6 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
4-6 cups confectioner’s sugar
3-4 drops rosewater
For the rose glaze:
1½ cups confectioner’s sugar
water
3-4 drops rosewater
Method:
Sift together the flower, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. Add the buttermilk and the espresso and beat until just combined. Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing until just incorporated. Try not to over-beat the mixture as will render tough pies. Chill for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Start on the raspberry filling. Rinse the raspberries and purée using an immersion blender or a food processor. Pass the purée through a sieve to remove the seeds and discard the seeds.
In a bowl, cream together the butter with 1 cup confectioner’s sugar using an electric mixer until well blended. Add the raspberry purée, blend well, and add the 3 remaining cups of confectioner’s sugar little by little, on low speed. Mix for 2-3 minutes until the frosting looks fluffy. Add more sugar if the frosting seems too soft. This will keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. Bring it to room temperature before using.
To bake the cakes, drop small scoops of batter (using two teaspoons or a 1½ inch cookie-dough or ice-cream scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. They are ready when the cakes leave a slight impression when touched. For a heart-shaped whoopie pie, carefully cut out the shape using a cookie cutter whilst the cakes are just out of the oven. Cool on a wire cookie rack completely before assembling.
Fill a piping bag with the raspberry filling, or use two teaspoons to drop the filling onto a cake and top it off with another cake, squishing it down carefully so the filing shows at the sides.
For the rose glaze, mix the confectioner’s sugar with water, one teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Add the rosewater. If it gets too runny, add more sugar. For a drizzle decoration, the glaze can be thinner. If you wish to make a more elaborate design using a piping bag, the icing needs to be thicker, so that when you pipe a line of glaze, it will not lose its shape.
Best served the same day. You can refrigerate them, but take out in advance and let the cream soften before serving.
Recipe provided by Kirsty von Boch
