Boston Cream Whoopie Pies ~ Want to know the secret to making a great tasting and perfectly shaped whoopie pie? Keep reading to find out
Let me start by saying, I know maraschino cherries are not traditional on any Boston Cream Pie recipe, but these whoopie pies were begging to be accessorized. Extraneous? That depends on your taste.
If you are a regular reader of BR you know I just recently made Salted Caramel and Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies. The recipe for the whoopie cakes took me a few runs to nail down, so when I finally turned out a batch of delicious whoopie cakes with perfect round domes – I was ecstatic.
Fast forward a few days to when I took the vanilla whoopie cakes out of the oven-I was so disappointed. While they tasted great, the vanilla whoopie cakes lacked all the height and the round dome of the stout ones. Eighty whoopie cakes later, I should have called it a day. But determination over ruled laziness and I headed to the store to buy my hypothesized secret ingredient for round two.
Most of you know-for those of you who don’t, let me say I have no formal training in baking and most of what I discover and create is through learning from trial and error and process of elimination.
So here’s what I discovered . . . . the secret ingredient to perfectly shaped whoopie cakes: carbonation.
Keeping all appropriate ingredients proportional to my chocolate stout whoopie cakes, I realized the key difference was the beer. To be more exact, my thought process went with the idea that it was the carbonation in the beer that gave the batter the extra air to create the round dome. Putting that to the test I went and bought vanilla cream soda and plain carbonated water. After three rounds of testing I can confidently report that all those bubbles will definitely leave you with some nice round whoopie cake domes.
See the difference in the picture on the left? The rounder whoopie cake was made with vanilla soda—it has twice the height of the one without it. Now for the more important question – taste. I can tell you there is only a slight noticeable taste differences between the vanilla soda and carbonated water. That said if you don’t like the idea of soda in your batter, you can use carbonated water
Boston Cream Pie Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
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**THIS RECIPE WAS UPDATE ON 07.18.2013**
-
Ingredients
-
2 ¼ cup flour
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½ cup light brown sugar, slightly packed (75 g light brown sugar)
-
1 teaspoon baking powder
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½ cup sour cream
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1 large egg
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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½ cup vegetable oil
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½ cup plain seltzer water
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Pastry Cream:
-
Click here for the recipe.
Chocolate glaze here:
-
Click here for the recipe and double it.
Instructions
Instructions
- Preparation: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bake sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Sift flour, brown sugar and baking powder in a bowl; set aside.
- In second bowl fold baking soda and sour cream until combined; set aside.
- Place egg, vanilla extract and vegetable oil in a bowl and whisk until well combined and mixture is slightly emulsified. Add in sour cream mixture and whisk until combined. Add carbonated water and whisk until combined.
- Combine flour mixture with wet mixture fold to combine.
- Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe onto a parchment line bake sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Assembly:
- Fill pastry bag with pastry cream or using a spoon, place 1 teaspoon of pastry cream on the bottom side of one whoopie cake and place the second whoopie cake on top. Pour glaze on top and garnish with cherry.
Notes
A few notes:
- The whoopie cakes can be made two days in advance and kept tightly covered at room temperature.
- The pastry cream can be made 3 days in advance.
- Fully assembled whoopies are best eaten the day of.
Boston Cream Pie Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- **THIS RECIPE WAS UPDATE ON 07.18.2013**
- Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar, slightly packed (75 g light brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup plain seltzer water
Pastry Cream:
- Click here for the recipe.
Chocolate glaze here:
- Click here for the recipe and double it.
Instructions
Instructions
- Preparation: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bake sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Sift flour, brown sugar and baking powder in a bowl; set aside.
- In second bowl fold baking soda and sour cream until combined; set aside.
- Place egg, vanilla extract and vegetable oil in a bowl and whisk until well combined and mixture is slightly emulsified. Add in sour cream mixture and whisk until combined. Add carbonated water and whisk until combined.
- Combine flour mixture with wet mixture fold to combine.
- Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip and pipe onto a parchment line bake sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Assembly:
- Fill pastry bag with pastry cream or using a spoon, place 1 teaspoon of pastry cream on the bottom side of one whoopie cake and place the second whoopie cake on top. Pour glaze on top and garnish with cherry.
Notes
A few notes:
- The whoopie cakes can be made two days in advance and kept tightly covered at room temperature.
- The pastry cream can be made 3 days in advance.
- Fully assembled whoopies are best eaten the day of.
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
This is so smart, and the kind if thing I love to do!! I bet they’re scrumptious too!
Megan says
Is this the recipe for vanilla whoopie pies? It has cocoa and espresso powder? The picture looks amazing-I can’t wait to make them!
Erin Blodgett says
Looks awesome! I know what I will be making this weekend.. between shaping and baking birthday cakes!
Naomi says
Hi Megan,
Whoops! I was cutting and pasting from my other recipe. I’ve corrected the recipe.
Thanks!
Naomi
Tricia says
I’ve been wanting to get on the whoopie pie bandwagon and now I have found the recipe to to finally get in gear! Those are so fun looking and I bet they are just as delicious. Btw, I always add a cherry atop my Boston Cream Pie cupcakes. Definitely accessorize!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
So cute. Love the main picture and a very creative play on the traditional dessert 🙂
Cookbook Queen says
YUM!! And so darn cute 🙂
Amber | Bluebonnets & Brownies says
The carbonation definitely makes sense. Batter for things like fried fish is always puffier and tastier with the addition of club soda or beer too. I haven’t had a whoopie pie in ages. They look great, Naomi!
Kristen says
I am always so impressed with the effort you put into your recipes! They look great, Naomi!
SMITH BITES says
Naomi ~ every single time i come here, i’m blown away by your talent! and to think you have no training is just beyond my comprehension!!! LOVE!!
DIane {createdbydiane.blogspot.com} says
super cute!!!! love them. YUM!
Shannon says
Those are insanely adorable! I’m whoopie pie crazy right now and I can’t wait to try the carbonated addition. What a great find!
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction says
Don’t let my hubby see these! He’s a Boston cream doughnut addict, so I know he’d demand that I make them and then promptly eat them all before I got any. 🙂
CakeStory says
Hello! Just found your blog in a search for whoopie pies. Looooove the recipe. How big are these once baked? They look mini when piped out.
Naomi says
Hi Cakestory- They turn out to be 11/2 inches in diameter. You can certainly make them bigger. I just like to make them smaller.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Wow, that’s amazing the difference the carbonation makes. I’m always impressed by your creative thinking.
Christina says
I love it when dessert gets accessorized! So cute… and delicious, too!
what katie's baking says
naomi, these look amazing!
what a creative idea.
paddle attachment says
This is a fantastic tip that I will definitely try. My whoopie pies are almost always a flat (but tasty) mess. Thanks for sharing your fizzy secret!
bridget {bake at 350} says
Oh, those are DARLING!
Tracy says
These are totally cute! Love!!
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets says
Absolutely giddy here over how adorable these are. And boston cream pie-cake is one of my favorite cakes (and doughnut flavors). Just genius!
Michelle says
OMG… amazing, like always. I adore the cherry on top. I don’t think they’re extraneous at all. Cute food is awesome… you eat with your eyes first!
tinytearoom says
These are insanely cute. Its such a wonderful idea. Thank you for the recipe tips
Brooke (Baking with Basil) says
Smart thinking on the carbonation! The cherry on top is adorable!!
sweetsugarbelle says
These are gorgeous!!! Love 🙂
Aimee @ Simple Bites says
Thanks for sharing your secret tip!
Tiffany Rosenberger says
These are amazing! And Beautiful. Such a great job.
Nancy @SensitivePantry says
Naomi – thanks for the tip. I’m going to have to try that one out. Your whoopie pies are just beautiful, BTW.
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
I have a pretty strong love for whoopie pies. And this recipe hits all the right spots
Andrea says
Naomi, you are one clever girl! I just admire you & your work is wonderful. I love your photos.
Shaina says
These turned out just perfect, Naomi! So adorable.
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Book Comparer says
Those look glorious! If I could find a gluten free version my life would be complete!