Dirty confessions of a food blogger: You know there was a time I wouldn’t post a recipe if I hated the photo. Silly—I know. Solid recipe or not, I would just let it languish on my memory card. Or worse yet, I would keep it around to re-shoot (to the point of the baked goods being no longer consumable).
Look at where I am at now. I don’t like the photos of these strawberry lemonade whoope pies.
Nothing about it makes you want to grab for one. The composition doesn’t show off the whoopie pie. There’s no atomsphere. The white is blown out. The styling is sub-par. The strawberries too blatantly laid out for a color pop. And yes, I know I am definitely hyper critical of myself—which is to say different than striving for perfection—but not that far off from being anal (nevermind the poor word choice for a food blog).
So why after all that would I post it? I like the recipe, its good. Why not re-shoot? Because I was tired and Matt and the little guy heard me griping about my dislike and dissatisaction with the set—which they both liked and told me, “If that’s the best you can do, that’s all you can ask for”. Sweet, comforting and honestly slightly depressing—that, this is my best?
Well it was for the day. And that’s what I’m finally learning–there’s always tomorrow.
Strawberry Lemonade Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- Lemon whoopie cake
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2cup carbonated water
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- Lemon buttercream frosting
- 21/2 cups confectioner sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (to ice cream consistency)
- 3-4 tablespons of whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- Strawberry Glaze
- 2 cups confectioner sugar
- 2 strawberries, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
To make lemon whoopie cake:
- Sift flour, brown sugar, baking powder and lemon zestin a bowl; set aside.
- In second bowl fold baking soda and sour cream until combined; set aside.
- Place egg, vanilla extract and vegetable oil in a bowl and whisk until well combined and mixture is slightly emulsified. Add in sour cream mixture and whisk until combined. Add carbonated water and and lemon juice whisk until combined.
- Combine flour mixture with wet mixture fold to combine.
- Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe onto a parchment line bake sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown.
To make easy lemon buttercream frosting:
- Place confectioner sugar and butter in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and beat butter and sugar on low until combined. Increase speed and beat for another 2 minutes. Add in lemon extract, 2 tablespoons of whipping cream and beat until combined. Add remaining whipping cream if needed for spreading consistency or more confectioner for more stiffness.
To make strawberry glaze:
- Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.
Assembly
- Place frosting on bottom side of one cookie and place a second cookie bottom side down on frosting. Pour 1 teaspoon of glaze on top.
I’m the same way. Or sometimes I press publish and never look at the pics again for fear of cringing too much or deleting the post. You’re pics are always so so beautiful and thoughtfully styled. Love this combo!
Please tell me the lemon buttercream doesn’t actually call for 41 cups of butter?
Recipe sounds tasty, thanks for sharing despite your displeasure over the photos.
I might not be a long time blogger but if food I make does not look pretty means there is no photo shoot. However I did make a black sesame loaf which turn out to be strangely photogenic… Lessons learned everyday.
I still love whoppies, even after the hype. They look so tasty!
This is me all. the. time. And my images don’t look half as gorgeous. Keep striving! You’re an inspiration.
I know how you feel — I still have photos on my computer of some delicious malted chocolate cookies that I’ve never published because I wasn’t satisfied with the photos. And I agree with Aimee — your photos are gorgeous! And I’m kinda hoping 41 cups of butter is the correct amount. 😉
You, of all people, have the best, prettiest pics EVER, always, consistently. We are always hyper critical of our own work, but trust me when I say, your pics DO make me want to reach out and grab one. I never reshoot food. By the time I’m done with it, I am so sick of it, the recipe, the whole vibe, I just publish it and make sure the post the next day is with pics I love. It happened to me this weekend and I hated my pics…and then FG put them in the top row. I thought for sure I was getting a rejection email. I honestly have no idea anymore and the more I shoot, the less I feel I know 🙂
J.K. YIKES, no that’s 1 cup. Thanks for letting me know! I’ve fixed it.
I think these pics are totes pretty!!! But I hear ya – and it sucks when you dont love your pics of food that you worked really hard to make
You are a constant inspiration and always have the best pictures! But it’s good to hear how critical you are of your own work…will teach us all to be.
Ok…you’re cray cray, because these pics are gorgeous! I love this flavor combination too.
everything about this recipe is perfect…can’t wait to try it! (and the photos are lovely)
Regardless of how you feel about the photos, they look gorgeous! And the whoopie pies sound delish, thanks for posting!
These are the prettiest thing I’ve seen all day!! Love this idea!
I’m glad you posted these because they are so pretty, love that strawberry glaze!
These pictures are so sweet Naomi. You are a perfectionist to be sure, but that is why everyone admires your work so much! An the idea of a strawberry Lemonade whoopie Pie is tempting!
I feel slightly better knowing that I’m not the only one that won’t post a damn-delicious recipe because of my crappy photos… my memory cards are bursting with ’em. That said, if this is your worst…ha!…trust me… this is beautiful!
Now if I could just inhale a few of your wonderful whoopie pies…
I am the very same way. it drives me crazy. I swear my brain tortures me!! Regardless, these are amazing and I think the photos are so incredibly pretty! I
I think they look delicious! I’ve recently traded my point and shoot for a DSLR and its been a revelation. I really wish I had done it sooner and find myself improving all the time 😀
When you click to print the recipe, the “41” cup eerror is still there and the recipe prints that way.
Ha! Girl you are too much. All the same stuff that always goes on in my own head except for very rarely. Nice treats!
So pretty!
The photos are very pretty. And looks delicious!
I have so many pics on my cards that never made it to the blog, even though the food was great. Good to know I am not the only one that’s struggling with that. Still, your pics are so pretty! Love these whoopie pies!
Thanks for keeping it real. I think we’re all a lot harder on ourselves than others are on us. I’ve noticed that my perspective on my photos is always changing anyway. What I thought was a great photo a year ago, I look back on now and cringe at. And now what I consider a not-so-great photo, I would have killed to have a year ago. I guess we can take heart that at least our self-critical attitudes mean we’re learning what a good photo is and getting better at it along the way. And, by the way, I think these look fantastic…especially the overhead shot. Yum-mo!
We all do this, I say post it, unless the photos are so bad they turn you off the recipe. this is not the case here
I know we are our own worst critic and that’s precisely why we strive to be better everyday! But, don’t beat yourself up too much. Your blog is the only blog that I notice that everyone comments on how awesome your pictures always look. I guess that adds more pressure and higher expectations right?! Beside you never know what you think is not up to par is actually quite stunning to someone else’s eye!
These are beautiful pictures and they make me want to make this recipe pronto! Keep up the great work! You inspire a lot of other food bloggers, me included!
As food bloggers we are always striking for perfection. On the other side our readers are looking for solid, delicious recipes that their family will love and that they will make again and again and again 🙂
This is why it is important to publish your ‘hits’ to the readers so that they come back for recipes that they actually can make in their home.
And to me that first pic has inspired me to bake this recipe. Thanks!
Your photos are Beautiful, your food styling is Amazing and the recipe sounds Delicious!!! I’m not a food blogger but I am a pastry chef so I’m a total perfectionist and I understand how you feel. When I was in school, my instructor had told me that the best thing to do in that situation is to walk away from it for a little while and then go back with a clear head. It absolutely works. And I’m definitely making this recipe!!!
You are truly an inspiration, love you pictures.
I find your photos so inspiring. 🙂 Completely gorgeous. All of them!