Fudgee-o Whoopie Pies

Fudgee-o Whoopie Pies

My teen daughter Olivia has been in the kitchen baking again. She took a break from her recent obsession, those utterly amazing Nutella Swirl Brownies, which she has made a half dozen times in the last few weeks to make these terrific whoopie pies based upon a favorite Canadian fudge sandwich cookie that we featured before in our recipe for Homemade Fudgee-o Cookies.

These double chocolate whoopie pies are pretty easy to make and would make a fun baking project with little kids; great for after school snacks and lunchboxes too.

Makes about 10 whoopie pies

• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp sifted flour
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup sour milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.

Beat together shortening, butter, sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla

Add milk, cocoa and hot water. Then add the dry ingredients.

Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter onto a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet and space at least 2" apart.  Small sized ice cream or cookie dough scoop works really well too. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until centers spring back when touched. Cool completely.

Chocolate Fudge Filling

• 2 1/2 cups icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2-3 tbsp milk

Mix together the icing sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla and a couple of tablespoons of milk until smooth. Add more milk as needed to bring the frosting to a thick but smooth and spreadable consistency. Spoon between two of the whoopie pie sections and press together slightly.

Rum and Chocolate Buttercream Torte

This Rum and Chocolate Buttercream Torte is very well appreciated every time I serve it. I sometimes like to sprinkle toasted and roughly chopped hazelnuts over the filling and on top of this torte, which makes a very delicious variation to this basic recipe.

Vanilla Cake

Cream well:

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp butter
1 cups sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Add

1 egg

Beat until well creamed.

Sift together
½ cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour
½ cup + 1 tbsp cake flour
3/4 tsp baking powder

Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, alternately with

1/3 cup +1 tbsp whole milk

Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour batter into a 9 inch cake pan that has been greased and floured and the bottom lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Chocolate Buttercream Filling:

1 cups sugar
1/3 cup water

Combine and bring to a boil. Continue to boil over medium heat without stirring until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Meanwhile beat together to stiff peaks

3 egg whites at room temperature
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Slowly pour in the sugar syrup hitting the side of the bowl and not the beaters. Continue beating the frosting for 10-15 minutes until the meringue is completely cool. When completely cool, slowly begin to add, a few tablespoons at a time

1 cup softened unsalted butter

Beat until smooth after each addition.

Combine and melt in a double boiler:

8 ounces chocolate, chopped in small pieces
¼ cup butter

Add to the meringue mixture and beat well until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. This may take 15 minutes or so and you may have to chill the frosting for several minutes before beating it again to get it to stiffen. Alternatively, you can place the frosting bowl in an ice bath while continuing to beat constantly until the icing stiffens sufficiently.

To assemble the torte:

Split the vanilla cake into 2 layers. Sprinkle each half of the cake with

1 ounce dark rum

Fill and frost the cake with the buttercream frosting and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours before finishing with the Chocolate Ganache Glaze.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup scalded whipping cream
Pour scalded cream over the chocolate chips and let stand for 5 minutes before stirring until completely smooth. Pour and spread over the entire torte.

Raspberry-Orange Chocolate Buttercream Torte

This tempting torte was thrown together for dessert a couple of nights ago based on some leftover chocolate buttercream frosting and raspberry compote that I already had on hand. A really delicious mix of flavours in this one for sure and it was well appreciated by my dinner guests and a couple of lucky friends who received the leftovers the following day.

As an alternative to brushing the cake with orange syrup you can use a couple of ounces of Grand Marnier or similar orange based liqueur or even a raspberry liqueur if you prefer.

Orange Cake
Cream well

1 cups sugar
½ cup butter
Zest of one orange

Add
2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together
1 1/3 cups + 1 tbsp cake flour
1 tsp baking powder

Fold in the dry ingredients in three equal portions, alternately with
½ cup whole milk, in 2 equal portions

Always begin and end with dry ingredients. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 or 10 inch round cake pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes at 325 degrees F or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Watch them carefully as they can over bake quite quickly. Cool on a wire rack .

Orange Syrup

½ cup sugar
Juice of one orange + enough water to make ½ cup
Zest of one orange

Boil together in a small saucepan until the mixture becomes syrupy about 10-15 minutes.

Raspberry Compote
3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tbsp cornstarch dissolved in a little water

Bring the raspberries and sugar to a rolling boil. Add enough of the cornstarch slurry to slightly thicken the compote. Cook for an additional 30 seconds to a minute. Set aside to cool.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

2/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup water

Combine and bring to a boil. Continue to boil over medium heat without stirring until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Meanwhile beat together to stiff peaks

2 egg whites at room temperature
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Slowly pour in the sugar syrup hitting the side of the bowl and not the beaters. Continue beating the frosting for 10-15 minutes until the meringue is completely cool. When completely cool, slowly begin to add, a few tablespoons at a time

2/3 cup softened unsalted butter

Beat until smooth after each addition.

Combine and melt in a double boiler:

6 ounces chocolate, chopped in small pieces
3 tbsp butter

Add to the meringue mixture and beat well until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. This may take 15 minutes or so and you may have to chill the frosting for several minutes before beating it again to get it to stiffen. Alternatively, you can place the frosting bowl in an ice bath while continuing to beat constantly until the icing stiffens sufficiently.

Chocolate Ganache
12 ounces chocolate, chopped in small pieces
½ cup scalded whipping cream

Pour scalded cream over the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes then stir until completely smooth. Note: You can add a teaspoon of finely grated orange zest to the ganache for extra orange flavour if desired.

To Assemble the Torte
Split the cake in two layers and brush each layer with the orange syrup. Using a piping bag or a plastic bag with the corner snipped off pipe a ½ inch thick border of buttercream frosting around the perimeter of the bottom layer of cake to form a sort of well to contain the raspberry compote. Pour the chilled compote into the well and top with the second layer of cake. Frost the entire cake with the remainder of the chocolate buttercream frosting. Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before spreading on the chocolate ganache. Chill for another half an hour. Garnish with raspberries and or orange slices if desired.