Whoopie pies, despite their name, are awesome.
There’s a whoopie pie revolution taking over my kitchen.
But before I tell you why, I have to get this out of the way: “whoopie pie” sounds way too much like “whoopie cushion.” It’s unfortunate, because who wants to think about whoopie cushions when they’re eating dessert? The associations — bodily functions best left unnamed, dumb practical jokes — are gross enough to take away any well meaning appetite.
And I believe it is this unfortunate association that is the true reason I never tasted a whoopie pie before two weeks ago, when I served them at a party for our church choir.
It was this New York Times article on whoopie pies that made me realize the truth: made right, a whoopie pie is a cake and frosting sandwich. Before that article, I didn’t know that whoopie pies could be anything other than a gross, smushed, sticky, sweaty pastry wrapped in plastic wrap and sold at the convenience stores of my youth. After that article, I knew that making whoopie pies was my destiny, at least for my next dinner party.
Chocolate whoopie pies with mint buttercream frosting.
I doubled The Times’ recipe for the cakes, since the original recipe only made six pies. In retrospect, I should have realized that this meant that the pies were going to be huge — my finished product was a good five inches across. The cake was easy to mix up, but the baking process was time consuming. Because the each cake needs a good six inches of “spread” room, I could only fit six or seven on a pan, meaning I had to bake them in four batches.
I also didn’t use the Times buttercream recipe, opting instead for Chockylit’s mint buttercream frosting. This buttercream frosting was a revelation, because it was the first time I actually sifted my powdered sugar. The result was frosting ambrosia. Smooth and creamy, this frosting didn’t have that stick-to-your-teeth feeling of many powdered sugar frostings. I also upped the amount of mint extract to a full teaspoon, since I didn’t feel like the 1/8 of a teaspoon was minty enough.
And the final result? I loved them. My guests loved them. The whoopie pies were a huge hit. I’ve made cupcakes for parties before that have sat uneaten on trays, but I only had two whoopie pies left over after my party – and I only had those because they didn’t fit on the serving platter! I cut each pie in half to serve — if I made them again I’d make each pie half the size. That being said, I still ate two whole pies at the party. And then, after everyone left, I had one more.
I liked these pies so much because, as I suspected, the frosting/cake ratio was a much better fit to my tastes. If you are the type of person who is always scraping half the frosting off your cupcake, then this a welcome change. Because the frosting is sandwiched between two pieces of cake, the frosting acts as a compliment to the cake, but doesn’t overwhelm it.
Maybe this means I was wrong – maybe whoopie pies really are the next cupcake. At the very least, I have a strong inclination to make them my go-to party dessert.
Viva la revolution!
ModernDomestic 