Whoopie Pies: A Very Sweet Valentine’s Recipe

I’ve wanted to make whoopie pies for a while, but the recipes looked so complicated.  Others required items that I didn’t have or have any clue where to find.  When a friend gave me this recipe, I thought, “I can do that”.  The ingredients are basic – flour, sugar, milk, eggs – and the steps are simple.  The only ingredient I didn’t have was marshmallow fluff, which I’ve never even tried until now.  Wow, have I been missing out.

What you will need (chocolate cake):

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup milk

What you will need (marshmallow filling):

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 cup marshmallow fluff

1/2 tsp of vanilla

1/4 tsp of red food paste

Directions:

Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2 – Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Step 3 – Beat the sugar, butter, and eggs with a mixer for approximately 30 seconds.  Add the vanilla extract and beat for an additional 30 seconds.

Step 4 – Slowly ad the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, alternating with milk and beating until smooth.

Step 5 – Use an ice cream scoop, drop batter onto the lined baking sheet.  I used a mini ice cream scoop.  Remember to allow room for the cookies to spread while baking.

Step 6 – Bake for 10 – 12 minutes if making mini whoopie pies, or 15 minutes if you are making bigger whoopie pies.  To see if they are ready, press on the center of the cake and to see if it springs back.  Once it springs back, they are done.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.Step 7 – Time to make the marshmallow filling!  In a bowl, beat the butter, confectioner’s sugar, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Add the red food paste to get the color that you are looking for.  I used about 1/4 tsp.

Step 8 – Frost the flat side of the cake with marshmallow filling.  I got to use my new dessert decorator – LOVE it!  Talk about making my life a whole lot simpler for $11!  Step 9 – Top with another cake and enjoy!The recipe for the cake is from Chuck Hughes, but I wasn’t sold on his marshmallow filling recipe so I decided to make my own.  I ended up combining a few different recipes I found around the blogosphere and then used food paste to get the color I wanted.  The filling is so amazingly good.  It could very well be used as icing on a cake, and I’m determined to use it that way once I find the right cake recipe.

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that the cake part of my whoopie pie is a little thinner than most.  For that reason, I considered deeming these a failure and almost didn’t post them at all.  But, they are so delicious, I couldn’t keep them to myself.  The cake is soft and not too rich.  The filling is pretty and perfect for Valentine’s Day.  Plus, it took very little time to put them together.  I’m considering sending these with Greenleigh for her Valentine’s day party.  The “mini” and slightly thinner size is perfect for toddlers and they will love the color of the filling.  I suppose if you wanted your cakes to be fluffier, you could always try adding a bit more flour (maybe a 1/2 a cup more) to change the consistency of the batter.  Either way, these are a can’t miss!