banana whoopie pies with nutella cream cheese filling

On rainy days, I like to cook.  And guess what? It is raining here today.  I know most people wake up to rainy days and are bummed about the weather, but when I woke up this morning, I was thrilled to see the drizzle outside.  You see, I have this recipe I've been wanting to try and just haven't been able to get around to it....until today.

The recipe comes from a blog I read, Une-Deux Senses.  The french name first got my attention, then the context.  She makes the most delicious looking food! Most of her recipes look way too difficult for me, but I'm determined to challenge myself with some one day.  This recipe, however, seemed a bit easier than the others.  I also, conveniently, had all of the ingredients in my cupboards.  Oh, and did I mention it looked delicious?  Well, it did.

So, banana whoopie pies with nutella cream cheese filling it is!  Does everyone know what a whoopie pie is?  They're kind of a New England thing, I think.  They're sold all over the place here, but a lot of my friends from outside of New England have never heard of them.  In case you don't know, they're essentially two pieces of round cake (kind of like the tops of cupcakes, but a bit more dense) filled with this filling that's a cross between whipped cream and frosting.  And they're so, so good.

For the cake, you'll need:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
 1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1 banana)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling, you'll need:
1/2 stick butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature, cut into pieces
1/2 cup nutella
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium size bowl.  (I sifted and whisked, because my sifter isn't big enough.)

Stir together mashed banana and sour cream in a small bowl.

Beat butter and both sugars on medium high speed for about 3 minutes.  Then add the egg and vanilla, beat to combine.  Then add half of the banana sour cream mixture, beat to combine.  Add half of the dry mixture, beat to combine.  Continue with the other halves of the wet and dry mixtures. 

Spoon the mixture onto the parchment lined baking sheet.  I needed two sheets.  Fyi the mixture doesn't spread much.  Make sure you have an even number of spoonfuls if you want a top and bottom for every whoopie pie and try to keep the size consistent...I didn't keep the size very consistent, so some of my whoopie pies look lopsided.  Place whoopie pies in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the cake will pop back up when lightly pressed.

While the pies are in the oven, start on the filling.  In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium high speed for about 3 minutes.  Then add the nutella and vanilla and mix to combine.

Sift the powdered sugar into the mixture and beat to combine.  Continue adding powdered sugar until soft peaks form (I added 1 1/2 cups). 

When the whoopie pies are out of the oven AND cooled, spoon some frosting onto half of the cakes, using the other half as tops.  We made half of the whoopie pies when the cakes were only partially cooled and the filling definitely melted and ran.  It didn't change the taste any though :) 

In true Pioneer Woman Style, I'll put the whole recipe here:

For the cake, you'll need:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

 1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1 banana)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling, you'll need:

1/2 stick butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature, cut into pieces

1/2 cup nutella

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

For the cake: Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium size bowl. Stir together mashed banana and sour cream in a small bowl.  In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars on medium high speed for about 3 minutes.  Then add the egg and vanilla, beat to combine.  Then add half of the banana sour cream mixture, beat to combine.  Add half of the dry mixture, beat to combine.  Continue with the other halves of the wet and dry mixtures. Spoon the mixture onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving about an inch in between each mound.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until they will pop up quickly after pressed in the middle.

For the filling: In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium high speed for about 3 minutes.  Then add the nutella and vanilla and mix to combine.  Sift the powdered sugar into the mixture and beat to combine.  Continue adding powdered sugar until soft peaks form (I added 1 1/2 cups). 

When the whoopie pies are out of the oven AND cooled, spoon some frosting onto half of the cakes, using the other half as tops.