When I visited New England for a long weekend earlier this year, my friend Ann kept insisting that we try whoopie pies, the official state treat of Maine. We went so far as to pick some up on our ride up from Boston to Portland but between eating lobster rolls, clams and linguine and finally, the famous mashed potato and bacon pizza from Otto over the course of the weekend, we never even came close to leaving any room for whoopie pies.
Though as time progresses, I find myself in the kitchen doing more cooking and less baking, I still get the urge to visit my stand mixer every now and again and bake something sweet. With whoopie pies still on my mind, I decided to dust off an old recipe for the Maine treat and give them some holiday flavor with International Delight White Chocolate Raspberry cream filling.
Cakes- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk (well-shaken)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- Filling:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cups confectioners sugar
- 2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
- ½ cup International Delight White Chocolate Raspberry Creamer
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cakes:- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, whisking until blended. In a separate bow, stir buttermilk and vanilla together.
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld. Add egg, beating until mixture is combined. Alternate mixing in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally. Mix on low speed until smooth.
- Spoon ¼-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 greased baking sheets. Bake in the upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking so that pies bake evenly. After 11-13 minutes, once tops are puffy and cake springs back when touched, transfer with a spatula to a cooling rack.
Filling:- Once rack is completely cooled, mix together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer for about 3 minutes, or until smooth
Pies:- Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes. Store for up to three days in an airtight container at room temperature separating cakes with sheets of parchment or wax paper.
