Strawberry layer cake & mini red velvet whoopie pies

A bit overdue for a new blog post!
Winter is in full bloom here in the Midwest with cold weather and snow blanketed yards. Emersyn turned five months old on the 1st and we're getting more and more settled into our new place. Ive had many goodies that I've meant to share and have even taken photos but the actual sharing part is what I've had some troubles with ha.

So in light of Valentine's Day and the month of February, here's a few "red" goodies I've tried lately that we've gobbled right up. First, a strawberry layer cake via The Little Epicurean. Recipe can be found here. We really liked this cake.  It was light, fresh and delicious! A perfect Valentine’s Day treat.

And next up, red velvet whoopie pies! These are colored all naturally with beets and adapted from Baking a Moment. Erik’s work was having a cookie contest at work with the criteria being red cookies that were under 100 calories so I went with mini pies!  Each of these whoopie pies are approximately 50 calories each and about an inch round.  They’re also very addictive … yum!

Mini Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
**makes approximately 50 pies about an inch round
Ingredients:

• Cakes:
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 egg, separated
• 3/4 cup beet puree (I roasted two beets in the oven at 400 degrees for 60 minutes then peeled and pureed)
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Filling:
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Cakes:
2. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, and then mix in the egg yolk.
3. Add in the beet puree, milk, lemon juice, vinegar, vanilla, and combine.
4. Add the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and combine.
5. In a separate bowl, whip the egg white until fluffy and stiff. Fold the egg white into the cake batter.
6. Drop approx 100 scoops of batter (about the size of a quarter) onto lined baking sheets, and bake at 375 degrees, for 7 minutes. Cool completely, and fill with fluffy cream cheese filling.
7. Filling:
8. Whip all the filling ingredients together until fluffy.