Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Raspberry Whoopie Pie

A Whoopie Pie is a baked good made out of two round pieces of chocolate cake or cookie with a whipped, sweet frosting in between.  Its origins come from the Amish (the 'Pennsylvania Dutch') community, where it is said that the farmers' wives would put them in their husbands' lunches, at which point, the farmer would shout "Whoopie" upon discovering the pie in his lunch pail.  This dessert, however, according to a fairly recent New York Times article has finally hit the mainstream.  Now, this Amish dessert can be found right here in New York, and perhaps in your kitchen too, as they are not too difficult to make at home.  In fact, even Oreo has started marketing its own version of the Whoopie Pie, the Oreo Cakester. 

To make this Pennsylvania Amish classic, I adapted a recipe that accompanied the New York Times article into a Chocolate Raspberry Whoopie Pie.  I followed the original recipe for the cakes, but adapted the whipped frosting into a raspberry flavored buttercream that complemented the rich chocolate cookie-cake nicely.  The cakes are good, but quite decadent and best split between two people.  

Chocolate Raspberry Whoopie Pie (adapted from the New York Times)

Cakes:

1 stick of butter at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa (I used Droste)

1/2 cup buttermilk

Buttercream:

3 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

2 sticks butter at room temperature

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 T seedless raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  To prepare the cakes, beat the butter and the brown sugar in a stand mixer until creamy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and creamy.  Then alternate adding the dry ingredients (mixed together in a bowl) and the buttermilk.  Using an ice cream scoop, spoon or 1/4 cup measuring tool, scoop the batter into round circles on parchment paper lined baking sheets.  The recipe should make 10 to 12.  Bake at 350 for approximately 14 minutes (mine took about 16 minutes) until the cakes spring to the touch and are toothpick clean on the inside. 

To make the raspberry buttercream, use a double boiler, or a pot of water and a metal bowl.  Bring the water to a boil and combine the egg whites sugar in the top half of the double boiler.  Whisk until a baking thermometer reads 180 degrees and the sugar is dissolved.

Transfer the egg mixture to a mixer, and beat on high for a couple minutes until the mixture doubles in volume (as if you were making an Italian Meringue).  Use the whisk attachment on your mixer.  Beat in the butter on high one half Tablespoon at a time.  Add the vanilla, and beat in the salt and raspberry jam.  Whisk in the mixer for another minute on high, and continue to whisk if the mixture curdles at all, until smooth.  Scoop with a large spoon between two of the cakes for your decadent Chocolate Raspberry Whoopie Pie.

Whoopie Pies