Amp up your St. Patrick's Day with an Irish twist to a classic chocolate treat. Chocolate, salted caramel, and stout beer come together to create pillowy whoopie pies that are the perfect combination of sweet and salty!
Makes 24 whoopie pies
Ingredients
Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp espresso, finely ground (espresso powder)
1 tsp salt
½ cup full-fat sour cream
1 large egg
½ cup chocolate stout beer
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup full-fat buttermilk
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp salted butter, room temperature, cubed
½ cup heavy cream
¾ tsp kosher salt, or to taste
Salted Caramel Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
⅓ cup homemade caramel sauce
Directions
Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a whoopie pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, espresso, and salt; set aside
In a second bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg, beer, vanilla, and buttermilk until well combined; set aside.
Place the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, and be careful not to overmix the batter.
Spoon the batter into each cavity of the prepared pan, and evenly spread the batter to the edges of each cavity using an offset spatula. Each cavity should be about ⅔ full (about 2 tablespoons per cavity).
Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when touched. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pan and place on wire racks to cool completely before assembling.
Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
Add the sugar to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has melted and the resulting liquid turns amber in color. (Use a bigger saucepan than necessary so the mixture does not bubble over.)
Once the sugar has dissolved, immediately add the butter. Be careful because the mixture will bubble a lot. Stir the mixture until the butter dissolves completely, about 2-3 minutes.
Very slowly add the heavy cream to the mixture while stirring. The mixture will again bubble a lot. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt. Allow the caramel to cool.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and vanilla on high speed until the butter is pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the mixer down to medium and gradually add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until incorporated.
Add in the homemade caramel sauce and beat until combined.
Assembly
Fill a pastry bag with the buttercream and pipe the buttercream on the flat side of half of the whoopie pie cakes. Spoon about one tablespoon of caramel sauce on top of the buttercream. Place a second whoopie pie cake on top to create a sandwich. Sprinkle the tops of the assembled whoopie pies with coarse sea salt, if desired.