A friend recently celebrated her birthday, her first as a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free gal. Her super thoughtful hubby asked me if I would bake a box of treats for her. He quite specifically said, “Chocolate, anything chocolate.” I pressed for a little more direction and he said chocolate and raspberries would work.
I absolutely adore the combination of chocolate and raspberries. Even though we can buy raspberries year round here in the midwest, the best tasting ones are long gone this time of year. Instead of fresh, I decided to use the freeze dried raspberries available at Trader Joe’s and in lots of stores dried fruit departments. I love this frosting for many reasons, the first being that I can keep the freeze dried fruit in the pantry and make a fruity frosting without a trip to the store. Another reason is that the frosting takes on the prettiest color of pink with no food coloring added.
The frosting recipe below will work with any freeze dried fruit, not just raspberries. I’ve also used strawberries and blueberries, both from Trader Joe’s. The blueberries required a bit of smooshing before using, unlike the raspberries and strawberries. Just put them in a ziploc bag and give them a good whack with your rolling pin. A little stress relief goes great with baking. 😉
One last quick note on this recipe: Most of my dessert recipes these days are free of refined sugar. I have been using a lot of coconut sugar and maple syrup lately. That said, the frosting below contains good ol’ powdered sugar. I’m not going to apologize for it, as it’s delicious and meant to be an occasional indulgence. If you prefer to avoid refined sugar, these whoopie pies are delicious without the frosting. I like them with a schmear of nut butter instead of frosting. Everyone’s welcome to eat in my kitchen, regardless of their stance on ingredients.
Raspberry Frosting for Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup freeze dried raspberries (or other freeze dried fruit, break up full blueberries a bit)
- 1/2 shortening (I use Spectrum Organic)
- 1 t . vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened , non-dairy milk (I use almond)
- 1 lb . powdered sugar
Instructions
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In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix the freeze dried raspberries until they are slightly crumbled. They do not need to be pulverized into a powder, just smaller pieces than what you started with. I let the mixer run for 2 to 3 minutes.
-
Add shortening and vanilla bean paste. Mix on medium until well incorporated. Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, allow each addition to incorporate.
-
Once all of the powdered sugar is mixed in, add the non-dairy milk a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Once you get to the consistency you like, you can turn the mixer up on high and let the frosting whip for a couple of minutes to make a lighter, fluffier frosting.
-
Pipe or spread on the flat half of one whoopie pie and then sandwich its mate on top. Enjoy!
Raspberry Frosting for Chocolate Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup freeze dried raspberries (or other freeze dried fruit, break up full blueberries a bit)
- 1/2 shortening (I use Spectrum Organic)
- 1 t . vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened , non-dairy milk (I use almond)
- 1 lb . powdered sugar
Instructions
-
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix the freeze dried raspberries until they are slightly crumbled. They do not need to be pulverized into a powder, just smaller pieces than what you started with. I let the mixer run for 2 to 3 minutes.
-
Add shortening and vanilla bean paste. Mix on medium until well incorporated. Add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, allow each addition to incorporate.
-
Once all of the powdered sugar is mixed in, add the non-dairy milk a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Once you get to the consistency you like, you can turn the mixer up on high and let the frosting whip for a couple of minutes to make a lighter, fluffier frosting.
-
Pipe or spread on the flat half of one whoopie pie and then sandwich its mate on top. Enjoy!
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