A few years ago, I was in Pasadena with my husband on a little husband/wife getaway. We were walking down Colorado street and there was a little corner bakery, in fact I think it was called Corner Bakery. We stopped there for lunch. While trying to decide what I wanted for lunch my eyes were drawn to the bakery case where these Whoopie Pies, little cakes filled with creamy filling, were enveloping my attention. No longer could I think of lunch, I had to have one of these little cakes. Hmm….I thought to myself…I could start with dessert and eat lunch after right? But guess what they were like $2.00 for a little cake and to my dismay they were not gluten free. No fair!!! My lunch was not quite as enjoyable or appetizing after that, because all I could think about was that creamy filled cake. Ever feel that way? Get your heart set on something to eat and then when you can’t have it, it is just a huge let down? So I was left with the desire to go home and make these cakes gluten free, and I made a dark chocolate version filled with Raspberry Cream Cheese Filling. They were, of course, DELICIOUS!
Whoopie pies are basically just two small shaped cakes that are filled with creamy fillings. For a quick and easy filling, you can just buy some chocolate or vanilla frosting from the store. You can make a simple vanilla or cream cheese butter cream filling. Or you could go really easy and delicious and fill with a whipped cream filling. With the chocolate flavored cakes I used raspberry flavored cream cheese frosting. I thought that would be appropriate for a Valentine’s treat, being fruity and pink colored. I have made them with several types of frostings. You could make them with strawberries instead of raspberries. They are delicious filled with whipped cream as well. I have included below a few different fillings you can choose from. Choose what delights you or choose a different one each time.
For more success making these delicious treats it helps to have a Whoopie Pie Pan. Basically it’s a pan that has about 12 perfectly sized spaces to make just the right sized little cakes. They bake up to be about 1/2 inch thickness and then you spread your creamy filling on one cake and then top it with the second cake, making a sandwiched cake. You can buy different shaped whoopie pie pans round, heart shaped, even owl shaped! I used a heart shaped pan for Valentine’s Day. I also have a round shaped pan that works great for any occasion. I even have a rectangle shaped pan that you could fill the cakes with a chocolate buttercream and spread the top cake with chocolate ganache and you have chocolate zingers. Do you remember those delicious cakes Hostess put out back in the 80’s? They were so delicious. I will try to make those in the coming weeks so you can see what I mean, they are very yummy!
Anyway, if you don’t have a whoopie pie pan, you can use a muffin pan. You will want to first spray the pan with cooking spray. If you aren’t using a non-stick pan, you will want to grease the pan and coat with flour. Using a 1 inch scoop, drop a single scoop into each muffin space and it will bake the perfect sized round cakes that bake to about 1/2 inch in thickness. If you don’t have a 1 inch scoop, fill with about a heaping Tablespoon of batter. If you want to pick up a whoopie pie pan, click the links at the bottom of this page and you can purchase from Amazon. You can find these pans at stores like Target, TJ Max and World Market and any kitchen store.
So let me tell you about these chocolate whoopie pies I made. I used dark chocolate cocoa. If you don’t like dark chocolate you can use regular unsweetened cocoa. You could make these mint flavored by adding 1 tsp. peppermint extract. You can give them an orange and chocolate flavor by adding 1 tsp. orange extract. Have fun with them!
Ingredients
- 2 cups
[url href=”http://store.glutenfreemama.com/gluten-free-flours/” target=”_blank”]Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour[/url]
- ⅓ cup cocoa, regular or dark chocolate
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray whoopie pie pan with cooking spray. Or grease and flour muffin tin.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Mix and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter until soft. Then add sugar and vanilla, mix well. Scrape down sides of bowl. With mixer running on low speed, add eggs, one at a time until each one is mixed in well. Scraped down sides of bowl again.
- With mixer running on low speed, alternate adding flour and milk until it is all mixed in. Mix on medium speed for about 1 minute.
- Using a 1 inch scoop, add batter to each space on your pan, using the back on your scoop to even out.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes. Touch the top of the cakes and if they bounce back they are done. Don’t over bake as the bottoms will be crispy and we want the cakes to be soft. Cool completely.
- Take half of the little cakes and spread filling on each one. Then top with the remaining cakes.
Ingredients
- 4 oz. cream cheese, (Dairy free use Daiya dairy free or Tofutti cream cheese)
- 1/4 cup butter or dairy free margarine
- 1/4 cup shortening (Mama’s uses Spectrum shortening…it’s dairy free and soy free, made from palm oil)
- 1/4-1/3 cup pureed strawberries
- 1 lb Confectioners Powdered sugar (More if needed to thicken)
- 1-2 Tbsp. milk (Only if necessary to thin out)
- Cream butter and shortening till smooth. Add strawberry puree mix well.
- Scrape down sides of bowl and slowly add powdered sugar until completely mixed in.
- If the icing is too thick. Add 1 Tbsp. at a time of milk until desired consistency.
Ingredients
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ¼ cup butter or dairy free margarine
- ¼ cup pureed or mashed raspberries
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp. milk or dairy free milk, for desired consistency.
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter on high speed until soft and creamy. Add vanilla, raspberries and mix well.
- Add one cup of powdered sugar at a time and mix on low speed until well mixed.
- If needed to achieve spreadable consistency, add 1-2 Tbsp. of milk.
Ingredients
- 1 jar of marshmallow cream
- ¼ cup butter or dairy free margarine
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 – 16 oz. package powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tbsp. of milk or dairy free milk, for consistency
- In a mixing bowl cream butter with marshmallow cream and vanilla.
- With mixer running on low speed, add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time until mixed in. If needed add 1-2 Tbsp. of milk to achieve spreadable consistency.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ¼ cup pureed strawberries or raspberries, if desired
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whip heavy cream on high speed until thickened. Watch closely as if you whip too long it will turn to butter.
- Add sugar and vanilla mix well.
- If desired, fold in pureed fruit.
For more success with this recipe, Mama Recommends
Gluten Free Mama’s Almond or Coconut Blend Flour, Click Here
Heart Shaped Whoopie Pie Pan, Click Here
Round Shaped Whoopie Pie Pan, Click Here
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