Mocha Whoopies

Ingredients

• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 160g (1 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
• 1 tbs instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tbs hot water
• 1 egg
• 50g (1/2 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 300g (2 cups) plain flour
• 310ml (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk

• Coffee butter cream

• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 230g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar mixture
• 1 tbs instant coffee granules
• 2 tsp hot water
• 2 tsp milk

• Coffee glace icing

• 1 egg white
• 250g pure icing sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1/2 tsp hot water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Use an electric beater to beat the butter, sugar and coffee in a bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg.
2. Stir in the cocoa and bicarbonate of soda to combine. Use a metal spoon to fold in flour and buttermilk, in alternating batches, until just smooth. The mixture should be a little stiff.
3. Use a 3cm-diameter ice-cream scoop to place rounds of the mixture onto prepared trays, leaving 5cm for spreading. Use your finger to smooth mixture around the edges.
4. Bake, swapping the trays halfway through cooking, for 10 minutes or until firm. Cool slightly. Place on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat, in 2 more batches, with remaining mixture.
5. To make the filling, beat butter and icing sugar in a bowl to combine. Dissolve coffee in water. Add coffee mixture and milk to butter mixture and beat to combine.
6. Place whoopies, base-side up, on a clean work surface. Spoon the filling into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm fluted nozzle. Pipe stars onto a whoopie base before topping with another whoopie. Pipe half the whoopies with the coffee butter cream.
7. Top with remaining whoopies and press lightly to sandwich together.
8. To make the icing, whisk the egg white in a large bowl until frothy. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar until smooth and glossy. Whisk in the coffee until the mixture is spreadable.
9. Spread tops with coffee glacé icing. Top each whoopie with 2 coffee beans.