Lemon Wonky Whoopie Pies

I’m often a bit ashamed to admit… but I am not a good baker. I’m a decent baker… when the recipe is easy enough, but I just suck at the complicated and sophisticated recipes. That’s why I only have two measly cake recipes on the blog right now.

I’m a great cook, but cooking is a whole nother thing. Cooking is a lot about intuition. You can tweak and adjust and substitute and get amazing results as long as you have a feeling for what’s going on in your pots and pans. Baking…. not so much. Deviate from the recipe and you’re screwed. 

I might not be a great baker, but I am however a good photographer, that’s why those whoopie pies look quite alright. I can tell you that those where the pretty ones, the other ones where a bit out of shape and looked… wonky. Because my baking sheet is uneven, because my oven is not the right temperature, because I had bad karma, or because it was Thursday and I was wearing pink socks. Who knows!

So I took the pictures of the prettier ones and thought about not even posting this, BUT they taste sooooo great. The tart and soft cookies combined with the creamy mascarpone and fruity strawberry jam are just yummy. The recipe is solid and if you are good at making things pretty and even, then you can make them all the same looking. I can just make them wonky, but delicious.

Lemon Whoopie Pies

Tart whoopie pies filled with creamy mascarpone and strawberry jam.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Ingredients

For the dough

• 150 g butter softened
• 140 g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 175 g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Zest of one lemon grated

For the filling

• 200 g mascarpone
• 85 g confectioners' sugar
• 100 g creme fraîche
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 100 g strawberry jam

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 175° C / 347° F and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
• In a bowl combine butter and sugar and whisk for at least 5 minutes or until it's creamy and fluffy. Add one egg at a time until all three are incorporated.
• Add the lemon juice
• Mix the flour, baking powder and lemon zest and gently fold into the dough.
• Fill the dough into a piping bag with a big round tip and pipe 14 circles with a diameter of ca. 5cm on each baking sheet. Bake for 15 min and let them cool on a cooling rack.
• Meanwhile in a bowl combine the mascarpone, the creme fraîche, lemon juice and the confectioners' sugar and whisk until well combined.
• Fill into a piping bag with a big round tip and pipe a generous border around the flat side of half the baked circles.
• Add a tsp of jam in the middle and assemble the whoopie pies.