Ingredients

• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 160g (1 cup, lightly packed) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon coconut essence
• 1 egg
• 45g (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 300g (2 cups) plain flour
• 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk

Lemon curd filling

• 250g mascarpone
• 95g (1/3 cup) lemon curd

Lemon glacé icing

• 1 egg white
• 250g pure icing sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Lemon food colouring
• Coconut chips, roasted

Method

• Step 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 coconut essence in a bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in the egg.
• Step 2 Stir in the desiccated coconut 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.
• Step 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.
• Step 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.
• Step 5 To make lemon glacé icing: Whisk the egg white in a large bowl until frothy. Gradually whisk in the icing sugar until smooth and glossy. Whisk in the lemon juice and 3 drops of lemon food colouring until the mixture is spreadable.
• Step 6 To make the filling, use a balloon whisk to whisk mascarpone and lemon curd in a bowl until the mixture thickens and just holds its shape. (Don’t overbeat or the mixture can curdle).
• Step 7 Spoon filling into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle. Pipe a dollop over a whoopie base. Pipe half the whoopies with the filling.
• Step 8 Top with the remaining whoopies and press lightly to sandwich together. Spread tops with lemon glacé icing and top with roasted coconut chips.