I love Whoopie Pies! In honor of Drew's birthday, they are today's Favorite Thing Friday.
Drew loves whoopie pies too and requested them for "the rest of his birthdays."
For those of you who aren't familiar with this delicious treat, whoopie pies are a dessert that originated in the northeast with the Amish.
Physically, a whoopie pie is 2 chocolate cookie/cakes with fluffy vanilla frosting in between them.
Spiritually, it's heaven on earth. With just enough sugar sin to make it feel good.
When in Maine, you'll find awesome whoopie pies at Wicked Whoopies. I've had them and if you're ever in Maine, you need to get one. The memory of them makes me smile.
Everyone who's not lucky enough to live near either Wicked Whoopies or an Amish bakery, fear not...you can make them at home!
This recipe was taken from a combination of those found at I Dream of Dessert and Epicurious. I made a few changes and it worked out really well!
First, you make the cakes.
Cake:
2C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1 + 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1T white vinegar + 1C whole milk*
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter at room temperature
1C packed brown sugar
1 egg
*Combine the vinegar and milk to make buttermilk. It will curdle -- this is gross, but it tastes great ultimately
1) Preheat oven to 350ºF
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, + salt
3) In the bowl of your mixer, beat butter + brown sugar until fluffy (about 3 mins)
4) Add the egg + beat to combine
5) Add the flour mixture + milk in small batches,
*begin + end with the flour!
6) Beat to combine, scrape down the walls often
7) Prepare your baking sheets by lining with Parchment Paper
8) Spoon batter onto sheets. You can make them as big or small as you like. I like mine to be 1 pie = 1 serving, so they are about 2" diameter
The cake will puff, but won't spread too much, so you may want to press down (lightly!) and spread them a little with the back of the spoon before baking.
9) Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 mins.
Bake in the lower + upper 1/3s of the oven, switching spots halfway through baking.
The cakes are done when they have puffed slightly and spring back with some pressure
10) Remove from baking sheets to cool on racks.
While the cakes are cooling, start making the filling.
Filling:
1/2C whole milk
2T flour
1 stick butter at room temperature
pinch of salt
2C powdered sugar
1 + 1/4 tsp vanilla
1) Heat milk (gently) in a small saucepan
2) Sift in flour, stir to combine
3) Heat over med heat until thick, about 3 mins.
4) Remove from heat + place in another bowl to cool more quickly
5) In mixer bowl, beat butter with the paddle attachment until creamy
6) Sift in salt + powdered sugar, beat until creamy
7) Add vanilla, beat to mix
8) On slow speed, add cooled flour mixture, 1T at a time
9) Beat on medium speed, 3-4 minutes, until fluffy
At this point, Drew requested his filling be orange, so I added some color. You don't have to do this step and it will be white.
Once the cakes are completely cool (wait at least 1 hour), smear some filling on the flat side of 1 cake, then top with another cake.
I like to wrap them in plastic wrap, then put in a sealed container (a cake pan + lid here) to keep them fresh for a few days.
Grab a cold glass of milk and enjoy!
