German Chocolate Whoopie Pies
A couple of years ago Scharffen Berger switched up the theme of their annual chocolate contest from Chocolate Adventure to Elevate a Classic. This challenge provided special inspiration for me since I had been working on elevating a German Chocolate Cake for my dad and thought how could I switch it up a bit. That led me to the whoopie pie. I hadn’t made these in a while and It brought back great memories whipping these up for a friend’s birthday this week. I hope you have as much fun with these as I do. I made a couple of changes to the recipe when I made them, adding more pecans and coconut to the filling and taking care to make sure the filling thickens up.
There is a bit of controversy as to where the whoopie pie originated. In fact there are battles to bragging rights between Maine and Pennsylvania, but the legend as to where the name comes from makes me smile. An old Amish legend says that when women put these dessert treats in their husbands or children’s lunch pails, when the dessert was discovered, men and children alike would squeal with delight and yell “Whoopie” when they saw they were getting one of these treats. This makes sense to me. . .wouldn’t you say whoopie if you got one of these as a surprise treat.
Whoopie pies were traditionally dark cake with a sweet filling and called Big Fat Oreo (BFO), Black Moon, or Gob.
My Chocolate Lovers Whoopie Pies combine these traditional desserts with my dads favorite dessert, German Chocolate Cake. I changed up the recipe just a bit from my original submission. I added extra coconut and pecans and be sure you cook the filling long enough so it thickens up.
Here was my submission for the Scharffen Berger Elevate a Classic Contest with just a couple changes.
German Chocolate Cake is the cake of my dad’s childhood. The recipe was published June 3, 1957 in the Dallas Morning Star and made for his 14th birthday by his Granny on July 10. Fifty years later he still loves this classic but prefers dark chocolate. This inspired me to elevate this dessert with a delightful blend of Scharffen Berger chocolate and cocoa. For a fun twist I transformed the cake into whoopie pies with a pecan coconut filling and finished with a ganache drizzle. While inspired by the original, these cakes elevate chocolate intensity for the true chocolate lover.
For the Toasted Pecan & Coconut Filling
- 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut
- 4 egg yolks
- 1-14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into several small pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Triple Chocolate Whoopie Pies
- 1 block SCHARFFEN BERGER 99% Cacao Unsweetened Chocolate (nearly two ounce block) chopped into small chunks
- 2 blocks SCHARFFEN BERGER 62% Cacao Semisweet (nearly two ounce blocks) chopped into small chunks
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup SCHARFFEN BERGER Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Ganache Drizzle
- 1 block SCHARFFEN BERGER 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate (nearly two ounce block) chopped into small chunks.
- 2 ounces heavy whipping cream
Preparation
Make the filling first so it has time to cool before assembly.
For the Pecan Coconut Fillings Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spread chopped pecans on a cookie sheet. Toast for 8 minutes. Spread coconut on a second sheet and toast for 7-8 minutes. Both the nuts and coconut will turn very quickly so be sure to monitor.
Meanwhile, in a heavy medium sized saucepan whisk eggs. Add sweetened condensed milk and salt and whisk together.
Add butter chunks and stir over medium-high heat until bubbly and thickened – about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in vanilla. Let cool. Before filling whoopee pies, stir in toasted coconut and toasted pecans.
For the Triple Chocolate Whoopie Pies Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare two baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Bring about an inch of water to a simmer in saucepan on the stovetop.
In a large heatproof bowl put the chopped Scharffen Berger unsweetened and Scharffen Berger semi-sweet chocolates and butter. Place over saucepan and heat gently stirring occasionally until smooth.
While chocolate is melting, Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. When chocolate is melted and smooth, remove from heat. Pour a small amount of chocolate mixture into whisked egg and sugar mixture. Whisk to combine. Pour egg mixture into chocolate and whisk to incorporate.
Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened. Use a rubber spatula to finish gently folding together – do not over mix.
Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop a tablespoon of batter onto the prepared pan. Repeat to make 24 cookies – 12 per cookie sheet – spacing them about 1-inch apart.
Bake until the cookies spring back when lightly touched, about 6 minutes – don’t over bake – cookies will dry out quickly.
For the Ganache Drizzle Place chopped chocolate in small microwave proof bowl. Measure 2 ounces heavy cream into glass measuring cup. Microwave for 35 seconds to bring cream to a boil. Pour cream over chocolate and cover with plate for five minutes. Stir to combine cream and chocolate. If chocolate doesn’t completely melt put bowl in microwave for ten seconds and continue stirring. Repeat if necessary. Cool Slightly.
Assemble Whoopie Pies Pair up like size and shaped pies – with an offset spatula divide filling equally among 12 cookies and place second cookie on top.
Spoon ganache into corner of sandwich baggy. Cut a very small hole in bag and drizzle ganache over assembled whoopie pies. When plating drizzle ganache over plate and place whoopie pie on plate.
Presentation
These cookies look beautiful on a platter or on individual plates. If you have guests who are not fans of coconut a chocolate mousse filling is delicious in these cookies or they are absolutely delicious all on their own – just drizzle tops with ganache and don’t make into a pie. If plating on a platter drizzle ganache over platter and place pies down middle of ganache design. If using single plates, make design and place whoopie pie in one corner.
I also packed these up to go to send a special treat for a friend’s birthday. I hope when they see the treats the yell Whoopie!!
