These Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies are two soft and moist spiced carrot cake cookies stuffed with cream cheese frosting. These are easy to make with and can be made ahead of time with easy freezing options!
Are you a big fan of carrot cake? If so, check out this Carrot Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for serving a larger crowd!
Tell Me About This Recipe
- classic carrot cake in individual, pre-portioned treats
- two moist and spiced carrot cake cookies stuffed with rich cream cheese filling
- make ahead and freezing options
- easy to make in 30 minutes of your time
Whoopie Pie Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour: Regular, plain, all purpose flour creates moist and fluffy cake disks!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Both leavening agents work together to give these whoopie pies a rise and that gorgeous dome!
- Salt: Salt enhances flavor.
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Ground Ginger: The classic carrot cake flavor comes from these spices!
- Granulated & Light Brown Sugar: Both sugars add to moisture, sweetness, and structure.
- Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil is used for moist cake pieces that maintain moisture!
- Egg: One large egg at room temperature creates chewiness and structure.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream ensures a moist and tender texture. You can substitute it with greek yogurt!
- Carrots: Carrot cake isn't carrot cake without carrots! Use finely chopped or grated carrots.
Step By Step Process
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper. This is incredibly important for ensuring the cake pieces come off of the pan without breaking.
STEP 2: In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together until combined. In a large bowl, whisk the wet ingredients with a whisk until smooth.
STEP 3: Carefully, whisk the dry ingredients into the large bowl of wet ingredients. Fold finely chopped carrots into the batter. Allow the batter to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to gain structure.
STEP 4: Divide the batter into 1-tablespoon-sized dollops at least two inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Bake for 9-12 minutes until domed, shiny on top, and firm in the center.
Cream Cheese Filling
STEP 1: To prepare the frosting, beat room temperature cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
STEP 2: Pour powdered sugar into the bowl and mix until combined. Then, add marshmallow fluff and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
STEP 3: Frost half of the cooled cake disks with cream cheese filling. Place one unfrosted cake disk on top of each frosted disk to create the cake sandwich.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whoopie pies are two soft and moist cake disks baked similarly to cookies on a sheet pan. The two cake disks are stuffed with filling to create individual cake sandwiches.
If your whoopie pies flatten, you either undermeasured your flour, did not accurately measure your baking powder or baking soda or they were expired, or the whoopie pies were underbaked.
YES! You can freeze these whoopie pies for up to 4 months. Individually wrap them and place in a freezer bag or container. Leave them out at room temperature to thaw before serving.
How to Store Whoopie Pies
Whoopie pies can get sticky! To ensure that their flavor and moisture are best preserved and that they remain intact, I recommend individually wrapping each cake sandwich in cling wrap. After they have been wrapped, you can store-
- at room temperature for up to 2 days
- in the fridge for up to 4 days
- in the freezer for up to 4 months
Expert Tips
Room Temperature Ingredients: For the lightest, moistest, and most gorgeous whoopie pies, use room temperature ingredients in both the batter and the frosting. Room temperature ingredients combine most easily and create a more even batter.
Measuring: Measure your ingredients with a kitchen scale for accurate measuring. If measuring flour without a kitchen scale, use a spoon to transfer the flour to your measuring cups before using a knife to sweep across the top and level it.
Tablespoon-Dollops: Do not use over a tablespoon of batter for each whoopie pie. A tablespoon is the perfect amount that allows the cake disks to rise and create the perfect dome.
Other Spring Recipes
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Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 whoopie pies
- Category: Cake, Carrot Cake, Spring, Easter
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
- 1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup (105g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120g) light brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup (66g) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 cup (90g) finely chopped carrots
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 oz (113g) cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (110g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups (310g) powdered sugar
- ¾ cup (72g) marshmallow fluff
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. This is incredibly important to ensure the sticky whoopie pies do not stick to the pan.
- In a medium bowl, use a wire whisk to mix all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger together until combined.
- In a large bowl, mix granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vegetable oil, room temperature egg, and room temperature sour cream together with a wire whisk until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the large bowl of wet ingredients. Carefully mix the ingredients together with a whisk. Do not mix past when you see the flour pieces disappear into the batter. Overmixing could lead to dense cake disks.
- Add chopped carrots into the batter and mix until evenly distributed. Let the batter rest at room temperature for 10 minutes to firm up and gain structure.
- Divide the batter into 1-tablespoon-sized dollops on your prepared pans. Make sure the batter dollops are at least 2 inches apart on the pans.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes until the tops are domed and shiny, the edges are light golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cake pieces comes out with a few crumbs.
- Allow the cake pieces to cool before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Filling
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer that is fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter and cream cheese together on high speed until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar to the mixture, and beat on low speed to avoid spilling the powdered sugar. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure all of the ingredients are properly incorporated.
- Add marshmallow fluff to the frosting. Beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until the frosting becomes velvety, smooth, and bright white in color. For more control, transfer the frosting to a piping bag or zippable plastic bag with the corner cut off of it if desired.
For Assembly
- Frost half of the cooled cake disks with the cream cheese frosting.
- Top an unfrosted cake piece on top of the frosting to create a cake sandwich. If you have time, let them rest and firm up at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving or storing.
- Individually wrap them in cling wrap before storing them at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your sour cream and egg are at room temperature before adding them to your cake batter. Use room temperature butter and cream cheese for a smoother, creamier frosting.
Rest Time: Allow the batter to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before dividing it into dollops. The whoopie pies could come out flat without this time to gain structure.
Storing: Individually wrap each whoopie pie in cling wrap to store. This will prevent the whoopie pies from sticking together and breaking apart.
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