Photo: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies (Kelly Leavitt/KTUU.com) |
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Cake Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (10 oz.)
3 T. natural cocoa powder
½ t. baking soda
¼ t. fine salt
1 stick (4 oz. or 8 T.) unsalted butter, brought to room temperature
1 (packed) cup light brown sugar (7.6 oz.)
1 t. vanilla extract
1 large egg
¾ cup buttermilk
1 ½ T. red food coloring
Filling Ingredients:
FILLING:
2 T. unsalted butter, brought to room temperature
1 cup marshmallow cream (3.5 oz)
4 oz. cream cheese, brought to room temperature
¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
Special Equipment:
1-ounce ice cream scoop
Procedure:
1. For the cakes: Preheat the oven to 350. Position rack in the top and bottom third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat, and set aside.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light in texture, about 2 to 3 minutes more (creaming). Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the vanilla and the egg, beating until well combined; scrape down the sides again.
4. Reduce the speed to low; add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the food coloring and mix just until the final addition of flour is fully incorporated.
5. Use a 1-ounce ounce cream scoop to drop mound of batter onto the prepared baking sheets; space the 1-inch apart. Three rows of 4 should fit on a standard baking sheet. Bake until the tops are puffed, just beginning to crack, and a cake tester inserted into the center of one of the cakes pulls out clean, about 12 minutes; rotate the pan halfway through the baking time. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Cakes are fragile when warm, so be careful.
6. For the filling: combine the butter, marshmallow cream, cream cheese confectioner’s sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until smooth.
7. To assemble: spoon or pipe a heaping tablespoon of filling onto the center of the flat side of one of the cakes. Cover the filling with a second cake (flat-side facing inward), and press gently until the filling reaches the edges of the whoopie pie. Repeat with the remaining cakes and filling. Wrap individually in plastic wrap, or place on a plastic wrap-lined platter in a single layer, and cover with a second sheet of plastic wrap. Do not stack unwrapped whoopee pies, as they will stick to each other. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days.
