Whoopie for Whoopie Pies!!

These tasty little orbs of chocolate cake-y gooey goodness are beyond delicious.  So mouth watering, in fact, that I'm always amazed by how many of my friends have never heard of them, let alone tasted them.   Seriously folks, where did you grow up?!


In all fairness, after a little fact checking, it turns out that whoopie pies are actually a regional treat of Amish origins.  So, for those of you who haven't experienced these irresistible goodies first-hand, think of Suzy-Qs.  Only better.  Way better.


The recipe that I use is from epicurious.com.  If you follow the original recipe and use quarter-cupfuls of batter, the recipe will yield 8 whoopie pies.  Because I normally only use a rounded tablespoon, I get about 15 whoopie pies from a single batch. 


For the cakes:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg


Preheat oven to 350F.  Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined.  Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.  Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well.  Reduce speed to low and alternatively mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.


The original Epicurious recipe says to spoon the batter in 1/4 cup mounds onto greased cooking sheets.  To me, that seems like a lot of batter, and makes too huge a pie.  And after all the effort, who wants to end up with only 8 whoopie pies?!  Instead, I drop rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched.  If you are baking the large size, Epicurious recommends leaving them in the oven for 11 to 13 minutes; for the smaller size, I bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Transfer to a rack to cool completely.


Below are two different options for filling.  The first is the marshmallow-based filling included with the original Epicurious recipe.  The second is a recipe for a less sweet old-fashioned whipped cream frosting that a reader recommended as an alternative.  I actually prefer the second recipe.  Shocking, I know, because normally the sweeter the better for me!


For the filling:


Option 1 - Marshmallow based filling
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2 cups marshmallow creme, such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla


Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, until smooth, about 3 minutes.


Option 2 - Old fashioned whipped cream frosting
1 cup whole milk
5 tablespoons sifted flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla


Pour milk into small saucepan. Add flour.  Cook on medium heat until thick. Cool. Cream together butter and shortening until creamy. Add salt, confectioners sugar and vanilla. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated. With mixer on slow speed, add the cooled flour mixture one tablespoon at a time. Beat on medium high for 3 - 4 minutes or until mixture has a fluffy-creamy texture.


Assemble pies:
Spread a rounded tablespoon of filling on flat sides of half the cakes and top with remaining cakes.


Cakes can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature.  I actually prefer to make the whoopie pies a day ahead of time and layer them as suggested above, because the longer they sit, the moister the cake gets.