Kids Craft – Valentine’s Whoopie Pie Love

Well.. today we decided to get crafty in the kitchen again, with our Valentine’s Whoopie Pie Love! What I hear your cry outraged, Valentine’s already?!?!?! Well… yes and no. Yes, because this is indeed title Valetine’s Whoopies, but no, because I believe you should be able to tell your loved ones at ANY TIME OF YEAR that you love them…. so we made our Whooie Pies with much love and then gave some to The Englishman and our lovely neighbours! So there. These are NOT JUST for Valentine’s!

Oh and these are in fact Red Velvet Whoopie Pies, but I didn’t have enough food colouring to make them that delicious velvety red… so you have “simple heart shaped” whoopie pies… They are still yummy though!

Also, I would like to link this to Toddler Approved! 100 Days of Kindness that is launching next week. A project to get people thinking about others and doing small things for others as often as possible! Whenever we bake, we like to take some of it across the road to an elderly lady who lives on her own. We have been doing this for 2 years or so now and I confess to being VERY proud how willingly and with joy Red Ted runs over the road to bring her her treat! Sometimes he even suggests it before I have said anything. He really “gets it” and loves to share (so long as there is enough left for him too of course). What Act of Kindness would you do with YOUR child?

The Book

Well.. it has to be a book on Love. Doesn’t it?! Here is a quirky one that you may enjoy - The Lovely Love Story, by Edward Monkton. Edward Monkton is “well known” in the UK for quirky little cards and stories found in gift shops. Usually, they are meant for adults as a little something and fun, but their innocents and simplicity of drawing is also lovely for children. This is a cute story about two dinosaurs that fall in love. I have even heard of people using it as a reading at weddings. Anyway.. the story roughly goes – there is a cold dinosaur who lives in a block of ice and then a lovely dinosaur comes along and with her kind words and loveliness melts the ice. They like each other. But are uncertain about one or two qualities and yet the overall love for each other means that they live happily ever after (despite the fact that one likes shopping too much and that the other can be a little distant at times..). Aaah. Love.

On to our activity:

The Recipe

A few weeks back, I was rather pleased to receive “Whoopie Pie Fun” to review. And you may have seen my review earlier in the week (check it out here). I decided to give it a go with Red Ted, as we hadn’t baked together in ages. The publishers have kindly allowed me to reproduce the recipe and instructions. We tweaked it slighltly – mainly replacing the buttermilk and making ours Heart Shaped!

Ingredients: Whoopie Pie

• 280g plain flour
• 50g cornflour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 100g unsalted butter (softened)
• 200g sugar
• 1 large egg
• 35g cocoa powder
• 50ml of red food colouring (I had about 20ml which was no way near enough.. hence the “red” bit is missing in what is never the less a very tastey cake)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 180ml buttermilk (we used normal milk with a splash of lemon juice)
• 1 1/2 bircarbonate of soda
• 1 1/2 white vinegar

• Baking parchment
• Heart cookie cutter

Ingredients: Filling

• 115 milk
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 100g caster sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 110g butter (recipe calls for 55g margarine and 55g vegetable shortening – will try margarine next time, as butter can be difficult to get into a smooth cream – ours was TASTEY but a tiny bit lumpy… not that anyone noticed!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

The Cake

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C

2. Perpare your milk if you are not using buttermilk – just add a little lemon and put to side (Red Ted really wanted a photo of this!).

3. Blend butter and sugar until soft and smooth. Add egg.

4. Combine cocoa powder, then food colouring and vanilla essence and add to mixture.

5. Gradually add flour & cornflour, alternating with a bit of milk.

6. In a small bowl combine vinegar and soda, then add to mixture. Blend for another 2min but not longer!

7. Using two tablespoons place “dollops of the mixture” on baking trays that have baking parchment on them (you will need 2 trays). Try and keep a space between the dollops – as much as your tray will allow! We ended with about 20-22 dollops, but the original recipe suggests either 18 or 48. We liked our mid size! I reckon 26 or would have been ideal. Bake for 8-10min. You can see how quickly they cook – the first batch is already setting as I inserted the 2nd in the photo above! Then do a taste test!

8. Cool on a rack (whilst on baking parchment)

9. Use a heart cookie cutter to cut out hearts. (I hate waste, and having to small helpers really helps at this stage… all left overs where devoured).

Filling:

1. Whisk milk and butter together. Place on medium heat on stove. Once it starts thickening remove from stove and let cool.

2. Beat together sugar, salt, butter/ margarine until soft and fluffy.

3. Add vanilla and milk and flour mixture. Beat for at least 3 minutes with an electric whisk.

4. Add to sandwhich with a knife or chill until ready to use.

YUM YUM YUM! We left some “round”, but the majority was heart shaped!

We ate them both the same day and the next! Delicious.

Thank you, Whoopie Pie Fun, for letting us share the recipe!

For more Kid’s Craft ideas, click here for a full list.

If you have been crafty with your kid’s be it at home, in the kitchen or outdoors, I would love for you to link up:

So… fancy a go at making your own Red Velvet Valentine’s Whoopie Pies? Have you got a Valentine’s Recipe to share?