Emerald Street, the daily email created by the team that brings you Stylist every week, gives you a recipe for an alternative to the classic Victoria sponge, from Sophie Grey's cookbook Let's Make Whoopies! (£14.99, Michael Joseph).

Some see the whoopie pie as a cupcake alternative, but we prefer to think of them as large, proper cakes shrunken down to snack size. This means everyone eats them and it avoids the 'last-slice-of-cake-going-weird-in-the-office-kitchen' problem.

Here’s how to make them:

SPONGE
200g plain flour, 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 50ml buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 80g butter, 100g caster sugar, 1 free-range egg, beaten.

FILLING
150ml double cream, 50g raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Sieve the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Mix the buttermilk with the vanilla and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, using a hand-held electric whisk, until pale. Scrape down the bowl while whisking. Slowly add the beaten egg a little at a time, while continuing to whisk.

Once the egg has been incorporated, fold in the wet and dry ingredients with a large metal spoon – use the 'figure of eight' action – keeping air in the mix until you have an even colour (do not over-mix).

Pipe or spoon 16 x 4cm dollops (at least 4cm high) onto the baking tray, spacing them well apart to allow for spreading, and bake for eight minutes. While the sponges are cooking, whip the double cream until it holds soft peaks.

Take the sponges out of the oven and leave them to cool on the tray. When cool, lift them off with a fish slice. Sandwich them together with whipped cream and raspberry jam, and dust with icing sugar. Delicious!

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