Jane’s Sweets & Baking Journal -- janessweets.blogspot.com -- May 2012

(The recipe below was adapted from the book, Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito; Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, 2010. Please see pages 108-110, “Chocolate Whoopie Pies.”)

Black Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies

with Fluffy Stout Cream Filling

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two or more cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Ingredients for the cookie-cakes:

4 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached

scant 1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt

1 and 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 and 1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 cup natural cocoa powder (I used Penzey's brand.)

1 cup black chocolate stout, not cold (I used Dubious Black Chocolate Stout from North Peak Brewery.)

2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

3/4 cup canola oil

1 egg, large

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (I used Nielsen & Massey vanilla paste.)

1/2 cup buttermilk

Ingredients for the fluffy stout cream filling:

3 and 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted or whisked (I recommend Domino's 10x; if you use this, you can get away without sifting.)

2 Tbsp. black chocolate stout

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

1/2 cup unsaltened butter, room temperature

1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature

1 and 1/2 Tbsp. heavy cream

To prepare the whoopies:

Whisk the flour, salt, baking power, and baking soda in a medium size bowl, then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the cocoa powder to break up lumps. Pour in the black chocolate stout and whisk until it's well mixed.

In another medium size bowl, stir together the brown sugar and the oil. Pour this into the large bowl with the chocolate mixture. Add into that the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk. Whisk until very well combined. Carefully fold in the flour, using a rubber spatula, scraping the bowl as needed.

Then, I recommend letting the batter sit for about ten minutes. It sort of thickens a bit as the dry ingredients absorb the moisture and it becomes easier to scoop.

Use an ice cream scoop to portion the batter onto the parchment sheets, leaving at least an inch for each whoopie to spread out when it bakes. (I used a number 24 scoop; that holds 3 tablespoons. Feel free to make them smaller if you like, reducing baking time accordingly.)

Bake each tray for about 12 minutes, just until the whoopies look completely dry on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Cool the whoopies on the parchment for a few minutes, then use a thin metal spatula to remove them to a cooling rack. They may stick a bit, even on the parchment, so be careful when you're lifting them off of it.

Once they're completely cool, assemble your whoopie pies either by spreading the filling on with an offset spatula or by using a pastry bag. Store the filled whoopies well covered (I put them on a half sheet tray that was first covered with parchment, then laid a loose sheet of parchment atop that, then covered it all with plastic wrap.) You may want to keep them chilled until ready to serve, as the filling can become quite soft.

To prepare the fluffy stout cream filling:

In the large bowl of your mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese until soft and well combined. On the lowest speed, add in the confectioners' sugar, a cup or so at a time until the sugar is all mixed in. Add in the stout, vanilla bean paste or extract, and heavy cream. Beat on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, until light and fluffy. If the filling seems too warm and soft, chill it before filling the whoopies.