Description
Delightful Apple Spice Cake Whoopie Pies featuring soft, spiced cake rounds filled with a creamy vanilla cream cheese frosting. These whoopie pies combine the warm flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves with moist apple and sour cream for a perfect fall-inspired treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper to prepare for baking.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to evenly distribute the spices and raising agents.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter with both brown and granulated sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy, ensuring good aeration for tender cakes.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add eggs one at a time to the creamed mixture, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing just until combined to avoid overworking the batter.
- Fold in Applesauce and Sour Cream: Gently fold in the applesauce and sour cream until the batter is smooth and uniform, adding moisture and a tender crumb.
- Portion Batter: Drop tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow spreading during baking.
- Bake: Bake for 12-15 minutes until edges are lightly browned and tops spring back when touched, indicating the cakes are set but still moist.
- Cool Cake Rounds: Let the baked cakes cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely to prevent sogginess.
- Prepare Filling: In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy, forming the base of the filling.
- Add Powdered Sugar and Vanilla: Gradually add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until fully incorporated, then mix in vanilla extract for added flavor.
- Assemble Whoopie Pies: Once cooled, spread or pipe the cream cheese filling onto the flat side of half of the cakes, then top each with the remaining cakes to form sandwich-style whoopie pies.
Notes
- Make sure all dairy ingredients are at room temperature to ensure smooth batter and filling texture.
- Spacing the batter properly on baking sheets helps achieve evenly sized cakes that fit well for sandwiching.
- For firmer filling, refrigerate the cream cheese frosting for 20-30 minutes before assembling the pies.
- Store assembled whoopie pies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- For a spicier version, increase cinnamon and nutmeg by 1/4 teaspoon each.
