A Tale of Three Whoopie Pies

It seems that every bakery and coffee shop now carries whoopie pies! They are everywhere. I would venture to say that they may take over as the new trend. They are cute, delicious, and portable! One of my friends (J.) gave me a copy of Whoopie Pies, and since I know when someone is trying to give me a hint, I got busy the very next day and made not one, but three whoopie pies to share. I give you these three options: a luscious chocolate whoopie pie filled with mascarpone vanilla bean cream, a traditional marshmallow filled whoopie pie, and a savory and cheesy cornbread whoopie pie. And if you like whoopie pies you should definitely get the book. It gives you options for the cakes and for the fillings. You can mix and match as you like.

Cornbread/Goat Cheese Whoopie Pies and Chocolate/Mascarpone Vanilla Bean Cream Whoopie Pies

Mascarpone Vanilla Bean Cream Filling
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
8 ounces mascarpone, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean and place in a bowl of an electric mixer. Beat the mascarpone until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar little by little and beat until smooth. Beat in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Pipe filling on one chocolate cake and top with another cake.

Chocolate Cake for Whoopie Pie, adapted from Whoopie Pies
1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

*Note: I don’t particularly like using shortening for a variety of reasons, and prefer to use lard. I have made this recipe with shortening and with lard and I did not find a difference in taste in terms of the cakes having a lard aftertaste. If you do use lard, get it from a butcher; don’t get the stuff that has been sitting on supermarket shelves. I get mine from the farmers market.

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Beat in half the flour mixture, and then half of the milk. Repeat with the rest of the flour and milk.
4. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Using a 1 tablespoon scoop (or a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon) drop mix on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Rap cookie sheet against counter so that the mixture spreads out a little bit.
5. Bake the cakes in the middle rack of the oven, one cookie sheet at a time for 10 minutes. Let cakes cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.

Traditional Whoopie Pie with Marshmallow Filling

Marshmallow Filling, adapted from Whoopie Pies
1 7.5 ounce jar marshmallow Fluff
1 ¼ cup vegetable shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the marshmallow with the shortening until combined. Beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until well incorporated and fluffy.

Jalapeño Cornbread Cake for Whoopie Pies, adapted from Whoopie Pies
1¼ cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely minced
½ cup cheddar cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
2. Stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together buttermilk, butter, and egg until well incorporated. Beat in half the flour mixture until combined. Beat in the jalapeños and cheddar cheese.
4. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Using a 1 tablespoon scoop (or a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon) drop mix on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Rap cookie sheet against counter several times so that the mixture spreads out.
5. Bake the cakes in the middle rack of the oven, one cookie sheet at a time for 12 minutes. Let cakes cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.

Goat Cheese Filling, adapted from Whoopie Pies
4 ounces soft goat cheese, at room temperature (or cream cheese)
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk
6 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled
1 tablespoon scallions
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the goat cheese, cream cheese and milk until smooth. Beat in the bacon and scallions. Pipe filling into one of the cornbread cakes and top with another cake.

The chocolate mascarpone vanilla bean whoopie pie was my favorite. The filling was creamy and smooth, with the delicious flavor and aroma from the vanilla beans.

The traditional whoopie pie marshmallow filling made with fluff marshmallow cream and shortening was ok. I don’t like the greasiness and oiliness that the shortening imparts. I do wonder if the traditional marshmallow filling can be made with butter instead of shortening? Maybe I will try it with butter next time. And did you know that marshmallow fluff also comes in raspberry and strawberry flavors?

The cornbread goat cheese whoopie pie was definitely something different. The cornbread was sweet and savory, cheese and a bit spicy from the jalapeños. My friend J. totally loved it. Make sure you fill them with plenty of the goat cheese/bacon/chive filling. Next time I plan on making them a lot smaller (1/2 tablespoon of the mixture for each) and perhaps I will add about 2 tablespoons of sour cream to the cake mixture to make them a bit more moist.