Updated Post- Heart-shaped Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Hi everyone!  I apologize for posting a day late, but hopefully later is better than never!  Today, I want to share with you a fun and tasty dessert in honor of heart month:  heart-shaped chocolate whoopie pies 😋!

But before I get to that, I want to share a bit about my life with all of you.  Two years ago yesterday (so February 15, 2017), my life turned upside down.  Long story short, my heart did not feel good while biking home from school, so an ER trip ensued and it turned out that something really was wrong:  I was having atrial tachycardia.  This sounds really complicated but basically means that the electrical system of my heart was going haywire, causing my heart to beat really fast- (at one point at about 270 beats per minute 😬💓!)   After attempts to lower my heart rate with drugs didn't work, I had to "go to sleep" and get a low-voltage shock to my heart to get it back into its normal rhythm.  Praise God, that worked and after staying overnight in the hospital to make sure everything was ok, I was able to go home 🙌.  (And please don't worry because my heart is, as far as I know, working just fine now 😉.)   I think it's good to remember how God has brought me through some bumps in the road like this in my life and to share it with others as a testimony to His faithful mercy to me.

Now, on a lighter note, let's talk about today's recipe!  It has two main components:  the chocolate pound cake and the marshmallow frosting.  I'm going to walk you through these two elements briefly now.

1.  Chocolate  Pound Cake

The cake part of these whoopie pies is simple, using kitchen and baking staples that you probably have at home.  I call this a pound cake because it's essentially a cross between chocolate cake and brownies; it's cakey but dense.  (While I'm on the topic of pound cakes, you should make this.)  And since this cake has a denser crumb, it's a little dry.  You don't have to worry about that, though, because it will be slathered in gooey marshmallow frosting.  In addition, these pies soften after sitting a day.

2.  Marshmallow Frosting

I'll admit that when I think about frosting for a cake, I mentally think of either buttercream or a cream cheese frosting.  The frosting for this recipe, however, is an anomaly because it doesn't exactly fall into either of these categories, though I would say that it is a riff on a classic buttercream.  In order to get marshmallows into this frosting, I used marshmallow creme, which is essentially what happens when marshmallows get blended 😋.

I slightly tweaked this recipe to bring you today's recipe.

That's all for now.  Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!  I look forward to posting again on Monday 😊!  (Hopefully, a way to make a tasty Mexican dish in the slow cooker 😋!)

Heart-shaped Chocolate Whoopie Pies

For the Chocolate Cakes:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup buttermilk

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, then grease each cavity of the whoopie pie pan with cooking spray.

2.  Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer and a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until it's light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

3.  To the butter mixture, add the egg and vanilla, beating until combined.

4.  In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.

5.  Add half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix them in on low speed.

6.  To the butter mixture, mix in the buttermilk and after that the rest of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

7.  To each prepared cavity of the whoopie pie pan, add 1.5 tablespoons of batter, spreading it to the edges of each cavity.

8.  Bake in a preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when touched.

9.  Let the cakes cool in the pan for 8 minutes before removing them.

10.  Once the cakes have completely cooled, sandwich each pair together with the marshmallow frosting (recipe below).

11.  Enjoy, storing the pies at room temperature for a day or two and refrigerating for up to 3 days.

For the Marshmallow Frosting:

• 3 T. unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 sprinkle of salt
• 3.5 oz. marshmallow créme
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1.  Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer and a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy.

2.  To the butter, add the sugar and salt, mixing well.

3.  Add the marshmallow créme and vanilla, mixing well.

4.  Enjoy, spreading between two cooled cakes.