Mowielicious

Lemon Polenta Whoopie Pies With Chocolate Ganache

Baking after midnight always has such a calming effect on me.

Ever since January, I've been inundated by emails and texts from readers and friends asking me one thing: when am I going to make Whoopie Pies. The first time I'd received this request, I must be honest, I'd never even heard of them! So off I went to research all things Whoopie.

The whoopie pie originates in America, where the typical flavours are chocolate or pumpkin, filled with marshmallow cream or cream cheese . They are quite large, like a giant macaron, almost burger size, and need to be eaten with two hands. Over the last few months, there has been a lot of media coverage about how whoopie pies are the next cupcakes. And here I thought macarons were the next cupcakes. Does that make whoopie pies the next macarons? How do these things even start?

Not one to follow a fad, and mostly because I'd never tried them, I was intrigued. I'd heard that the Hummingbird Bakery had just started selling chocolate whoopie pies, so off I went to try some. And they were very good. In fact, they were awesome. So much so, that I'd fallen in love with them. I had to try and replicate them somehow, so I experimented by trying a few different recipes. 

With so many other blogs recreating chocolate versions, I had to create something different (have you seen Catty's Matcha version yet?). I was inspired by my latest obsession: Ottolenghi's lemon polenta cakes. Lots of post-midnight baking (and tasting) sessions later, I've come up with a version of whoopie pies that are much smaller than the originals, filled with a light chocolate ganache, and topped with pistachios.

 

I also had some very exciting news last week. I'd woken up on Thursday to a friend's email letting me know that Mowielicious was featured in a great review in the Times as 'Best of the blogs'! I still can't believe it. My little blog... in the Times! How amazing is that?! Anyone that really knows me knows that I have major issues when it comes to believing in my work, so I still wake up every morning thinking this is some kind of a joke and it will all be revealed as such on April Fool's day. But until then, a massive 'Thank You!' to Nick Wyke from the Times. I am humbled by the honour.

I didn't realize this, but Nick also has a personal (and mostly British) food blog called Artichoke, where he writes weekly posts about the latest seasonal fruits and veggies. I'm so excited to have discovered it because I'd been looking for a seasonal food blog just like that for ages, but couldn't find anything that kept true to the seasonal theme.

I'm also excited because Nick emailed letting me know that it looks like 'Best of the blogs' is going to be a weekly thing, and asked for any really good suggestions as and when I stumble upon them. So, dear readers, I thought I could help both him and you out at the same time: if you are a food blogger and would like to suggest your own blog, or know of a great food blog you'd like to see featured in the Times, just leave your suggestion(s) in the comments section below. Hopefully this way we can all discover some gorgeous new food blogs!

 

 

 

Panettone Metamorphosis

I'm afraid I have some bad news dear readers: I don't have a post for you today! Or at least, not a normal post. That thing called life got in the way (the horror!), but I do however have a few pictures to share with you, and if you will forgive me (I'm too embarrassed to even admit it) it's something I haven't baked myself (more horror!). I promise I'll get back to my normal baking schedule next week - I've been working on an exciting recipe that I just can't wait to share with you!

This panettone was baked by a dear friend of mine and given to me before Christmas. I also took these pictures around the same time but have been saving them for an emergency, like today, otherwise I would have really had nothing to post - and I couldn't leave you with no post this week, could I?! I've always loved panettone and can eat the stuff all day long. That's why anyone that knows me, usually brings some along when they visit (and my oh my, do I get loads - thank you everyone!). It's something I've never attempted to bake so far though, and I'm going to have to give it a try very soon (Easter Panettone anyone?).

 

I remember when I was younger my mom would always get loads of panettone from friends, and because it didn't go off until well into the new year, she would always come up with a different way of decorating it, and this one was my favourite. Cut the panettone into three, smooth some buttercream onto each side and layer onto each other. Smooth some more buttercream all around, then press a mixture of chopped pistachios and almonds around the sides and top the cake with some chocolate shavings. You can also add fresh fruit in between the layers and decorate on top. I had some macarons and lovely French pink chocolate sweets at the time. Voila!

 

I'd love to know dear readers, do you practice food metamorphosis? If so, please tell me all about it.