Whoopie Pies

Traditional whoopie pies are very large — sometimes 10 cm/4 in or more across — but in these recipes we suggest that you make smaller ones. Whoopie pies are also traditionally made with buttermilk — a form of deliberately soured milk that reacts with bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to make the cakes rise. But, as buttermilk can be difficult to find in some places, our recipes use conventional self-raising (self-rising) flour instead. The original whoopie pies did not have icing on top, and we have kept decoration fairly simple so that they are not difficult to hold.