Whoopi Pai cake is a simple and elegant dessert that harmoniously combines chocolate sponge cake and delicate butter cream. This cake is very popular in the United States, but it is also enjoyed with pleasure in other countries. No special skill is required from the hostess: even with minimal culinary skills, the delicacy will turn out to be successful.
"Whoopi Pai": the history of the cake and the peculiarities of cooking
The dessert got its name from the popular in the USA two-layer chocolate chip cookies "Whoopi" with a white cream interlayer. About the origin of cookies and the state where it first appeared, American confectioners are hotly debated, several cities at once dispute the honor of being considered the birthplace of the famous dessert. And consumers simply love soft pastries that melt in their mouths, willingly buying them for the holidays or for daily coffee.
In the wake of universal love, the confectioners proposed an original version - a cake made according to a cookie recipe. Originally, it combines several layers of chocolate biscuit and mascarpone-based buttercream. Sometimes fresh raspberries and a thick layer of chocolate glaze are added to the composition, which is poured over the surface of the dessert. You can make changes to the classic version by smearing the cakes with cream based on cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, condensed milk. The proportions of the ingredients are changed as desired, it is important to maintain the principle of the recipe. Some confectioners are boldly experimenting with the classics, offering cakes with a layer of cream and peanut butter.
The peculiarity of Whoopi Pai is its deliberately careless design. The cream is applied in dots, rosettes and stripes, the edges are not finished, which allows you to see all the layers of chocolate biscuit and cream. The top of the cake can be decorated with chocolate icing, nuts, chocolate chips or fresh berries.
To make the dessert a success, it is important to use the highest quality and freshest products: the best butter, heavy cream, premium flour of the finest grinding possible. Cocoa for biscuit should be natural, instant substitutes with vegetable fats and artificial sweeteners will not work. It is better to take dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa beans. No flavors are needed, the only exceptions are vanillin or vanilla sugar.
The classic chocolate cake recipe: a step-by-step approach
The cake is served in pastry shops and is made to order, but it is quite possible to bake it at home. Excessive accuracy during assembly is not necessary - cream drips and not too even icing will not spoil the impression of the dessert. The base of the cake is a delicate chocolate sponge cake. It should be soft and airy, while keeping its shape well. For baking to succeed, it is important to proceed step by step and follow all the recommendations exactly.
Ingredients:
- 250 g butter;
- 210 g granulated sugar;
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar;
- 2 eggs;
- 350 g of premium wheat flour;
- 1 tsp baking powder;
- 100 g cocoa powder;
- 130 ml of brewed and chilled coffee;
- 140 ml of high fat kefir (can be replaced with yogurt or yogurt);
- a pinch of salt.
Grind softened butter with plain and vanilla sugar, gradually add eggs. Sift flour into a deep bowl, add cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix everything until completely homogeneous. Mix freshly brewed chilled coffee and kefir in a separate glass.
Continuing to beat the butter with eggs, add bulk components and a coffee-kefir mix into the mixture in portions. The dough should be smooth, viscous, and thick enough. Put it in 2 oiled round tins, smooth the surface with a wide knife or pastry spatula.
Place the molds in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees, for 20-25 minutes. Bake the biscuit until tender, check it with a match or a splinter. While the biscuit is in the oven, you should not open the oven, otherwise the delicate air cake will fall off. Take the products out of the oven, cool slightly and remove from the mold. Allow the cakes to rest on a board or wire rack. Cut the cooled cakes with a knife or ordinary fishing line lengthwise into 2 parts. You should get 4 cake blanks. Some people prefer to make cakes from 2 layers, so they are more reminiscent of the original - "Whoopi" cookies. However, with such a coating, the cakes do not have time to soak in the cream, the dessert turns out to be drier.
Delicate cream with mascarpone: a step-by-step recipe
Young cream cheese makes the cream even more delicious, but adds calories. The nutritional value of such a cake is high, in order to fill up, it is enough to cut off a very small piece.
Ingredients:
- 200 g mascarpone;
- 350 heavy cream;
- 150 g icing sugar;
- a pinch of vanillin.
Beat the cold cream into a strong foam using a mixer. At first, the speed should be low, then it is increased. When the mass thickens, you need to add powdered sugar with vanilla and reduce the speed of the appliance.
Add mascarpone in portions, whisking at medium speed. If there is no mixer, you can use a whisk or an ordinary fork. When all the cheese has been added, briefly increase the speed of the appliance so that the cream is completely homogeneous, fluffy and fluffy. A little trick: to speed up whipping, it is recommended to cool not only the cream and cheese, but also the dishes in which the cream will be prepared.
Curd cream for cake: an alternative option
If you can't buy mascarpone, you can use soft, fatty cottage cheese. The calorie content of the cream will not decrease, but the taste will be slightly different. The cakes are prepared according to the classic recipe, the changes concern only the filling and decoration.
Ingredients:
- 450 g soft fatty cottage cheese without lumps;
- 400 g butter;
- 100 g icing sugar or very fine sugar;
- 100 g of condensed milk without vegetable fats.
Use a blender to grind cottage cheese with condensed milk. In a separate container, beat the butter and icing sugar. Combine both mixtures without stopping whipping. If the butter begins to flake off, place the cream in the refrigerator. The mixture should become fluffy, fluffy, and melt in your mouth. If desired, you can add a little vanilla essence to it
Assembling the cake: the final stage
The most interesting thing is to collect the finished cake from cakes and cream. This is easy to do, no special care is required. A properly designed product looks very impressive in the photo, the main thing is not to spare the cream and glaze.
Put the first cake on a flat dish. Place the cooled cream in a pastry bag with a masonry round nozzle. If not, you can use an ordinary plastic bag. After it is filled with cream, you need to carefully cut off one of the corners.
Place the cream in small round cakes, moving in a spiral, from the edges to the center. When the entire surface of the cake is covered with cream, cover it with a second layer of biscuit. Repeat the technique until the cakes run out. Instead of cream, chocolate glaze is applied to the top sponge cake. It is simple to prepare it; it is enough to melt 100 g of dark chocolate without additives, mixed with 80 ml of heavy cream in a water bath. Stir the mixture and spread over the biscuit with a silicone spatula. Do not remove streaks on the side parts of the cake, the product looks even more beautiful with them.
When the icing hardens a little, the surface of the cake can be decorated with fresh berries. Raspberry looks especially beautiful. It should be supplemented with mint or lemon balm leaves. An alternative option is to decorate with cream rosettes, which can be done using a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle. No less original decor - ready-made "Whoopi" cookies, which are laid out in a circle or placed in the center of the cake.
