What's in the oven? Whoopie Pies ala Chuck Hughes!

Chef Chuck Hughes has to be one of the most down-to-earth people on this planet. And I suspect he's probably one of the nicest. For those of you not familiar with this brilliant chef, he is a well-known Canadian chef, tv personality and restaurateur. He hosts the popular Chuck's Day Off on Cooking Channel and participated in the Food Network's The Next Iron Chef with other brilliant culinary experts like Anne Burrell, Robert Irvine and Michael Chiarello, just to name a few. Chef Hughes is also the only Canadian chef  and one of three competitors to defeat Chef Bobby Flay in Kitchen Central on Food Network's Iron Chef America. For those of you familiar with Chef Flay's abilities, that's quite an accomplishment! Chuck Hughes is a genius in the kitchen, funny and an all-around great guy with delicious, mouth-watering recipes.

I came across this recipe while looking through Chuck's recipes. I think it makes for a perfect 4th of July treat! Chef Hughes' instructions make very large pies and, as much as we like our sweet treats, they were just a little too big. So, I used the small cookie scoop and make mine just a little bit smaller. You can make them any size you like, but remember they spread out when baking, so take care not to crowd the baking sheet.

Chuck Hughes's Whoopie Pies

Courtesy of Cooking Channel

Makes about 8 Whoopie Pies


For the chocolate cake:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetened)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup milk


Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.


Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir with a whisk a few times. This is a quick way to sift the dry ingredients!


Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy; add the eggs, one-at-a-time. Add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Beat until smooth.

Drop mounds of batter (about 1/2 cup) onto the baking sheet (6 per sheet - they spread during baking). Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter.


For the filling:


1 cup sugar


2 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

2 egg whites, room temperature

2 tbsp. water

Using a hand mixer, combine all the filling ingredients in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl of a small saucepan of simmering water. Beat with the mixer until the mixture is thick and creamy and stands in peaks, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat for 1-2 minutes more. Cool completely. The filling can be refrigerated until ready to use. I mixed my filling first and then made the cakes.


To assemble:

Spread a generous amount of filling on the flat side (bottom) of a chocolate cake. Sandwich with another cake (bottom-to-bottom), pressing down gently to spread the filling evenly. Repeat with remaining cakes. Serve immediately or wrap individually in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator. They may also be frozen.

Enjoy!

One other thought to leave you with:  this is some of the best-tasting marshmallow creme (fluff) I've ever had and it's super-simple to make at home. I may never buy marshmallow creme again!

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