Whoopie pies
Whoopie pies are a speciality of New England, and of Maine above all, though Pennsylvania Amish kitchens claim them too — nobody can settle it. They are two soft, domed rounds of chocolate cake sandwiched with a thick layer of white, fluffy filling. They are neither biscuit nor cake but something between: the texture is closer to sponge. Buttermilk is what keeps them moist, and the rounds must cool completely before filling — on warm ones the filling simply runs.
Your own work in that: 35 min.
- Batter 20 min
- Baking 35 min
- Cooling 30 min
- Filling and assembly 15 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneMix the dry ingredients
Sift the flour with the cocoa, bicarbonate and salt into a bowl.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 50 g cocoa powder · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · ½ tsp salt · 100 g butter, soft · 200 g brown sugar · 1 pcs egg · 250 ml buttermilk · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cream butter and sugar
Cream the butter with the brown sugar for 4 minutes until lighter. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 50 g cocoa powder · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · ½ tsp salt · 100 g butter, soft · 200 g brown sugar · 1 pcs egg · 250 ml buttermilk · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add the buttermilk
Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk alternately in three additions, mixing only until combined. The batter should be thick but spoonable.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 50 g cocoa powder · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · ½ tsp salt · 100 g butter, soft · 200 g brown sugar · 1 pcs egg · 250 ml buttermilk · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Spoon onto trays
Heat the oven to 180°C. You will have about 910 g of batter — spoon it out in rounds of about 38 g onto lined trays, leaving 5 cm between them, as they rise and spread sideways. This quantity gives 24 rounds, that is 12 finished pies; eight fit on a tray.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 50 g cocoa powder · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · ½ tsp salt · 100 g butter, soft · 200 g brown sugar · 1 pcs egg · 250 ml buttermilk · 1 tsp vanilla extract
About 38 g each, 5 cm apart.Bake
Bake one tray at a time for 10–12 minutes, until the tops spring back and hold no fingerprint. That is three batches, about 35 minutes in all with the changeovers.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 50 g cocoa powder · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · ½ tsp salt · 100 g butter, soft · 200 g brown sugar · 1 pcs egg · 250 ml buttermilk · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Springy to the touch — do not dry them out.Cool
Cool the rounds on a rack at least 30 minutes, to room temperature.
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour · 50 g cocoa powder · 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda · ½ tsp salt · 100 g butter, soft · 200 g brown sugar · 1 pcs egg · 250 ml buttermilk · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Make the filling
Beat the butter with the icing sugar for 3 minutes, then add the melted marshmallows (30 seconds in the microwave or over a water bath) — they must be no more than lukewarm but still fluid, as fully cooled they seize into a rubbery lump. Add the vanilla and salt and beat until fluffy. You will have about 400 g.
Ingredients: 120 g butter, soft · 180 g icing sugar · 100 g marshmallows · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 pinch salt
Assemble
Spread the filling on the flat side of half the rounds — a heaped tablespoon, about 33 g per pie — and top with the rest, pressing gently.
Ingredients: 120 g butter, soft · 180 g icing sugar · 100 g marshmallows · 1 tsp vanilla extract · 1 pinch salt
A thick layer of filling is the point.
Before you start
Without marshmallows
The classic filling uses ready-made marshmallow fluff, sold by American food shops and online; if you find it, use 150 g in place of the melted marshmallows. A third route: whisk 2 egg whites with 100 g sugar over a water bath into a Swiss meringue and beat it into the butter — less sweet.
Without buttermilk
Use 250 ml of milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice, left 10 minutes. The acid is needed for the bicarbonate to work.
Storage
Filled pies keep 3 days in the fridge in a closed container; take them out 20 minutes before serving. The plain rounds freeze for 2 months.
