Share your love with a batch of all natural Red Velvet Whoopie Pies made with raw cacao, red wine, and cream cheese frosting.
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All-Natural Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
Raw cacao and red wine give this red velvet cake a natural hint of color, no dyes or additional ingredients needed. If you’ve never had the pleasure, whoopie pies are like the irresistable love child of a moist cupcake and a rich cookie, all fluffy cake batter and creamy frosting. This recipe for red velvet is flavorful and sweet without being cloying, and the dark chocolate flavors are balanced beautifully with the sweet and tart taste of the cream cheese filling.
Whip up a batch of heart-shaped Red Velvet Whoopie Pies for friends and family this Valentine’s (or Galentine’s!) Day. You’ll be sure to bring a smile to the faces of those you love.
Raw Cacao & Red Wine
While it might not be the bright red of storebought varieties, the reddish brown color of this cake batter is a lot of closer to the signature shade achieved from more historic, authentic red velvet recipes. Raw cacao (rather than more traditional cocoa powder) is essential to this recipe, so accept no substitutes. The acid from the buttermilk and the raw cacao creates a chemical reaction that modern chocolate doesn’t provide, and the red wine boosts that color factor up a notch while giving the cake a fuller, more complex flavor profile.
Learning how ingredients, and therefore recipes, have changed over the years is a fascinating topic for a history nerd like myself. If you want to know more about the evolution of red velvet cake and other classic American treats, definitely check out Bravetart by Stella Parks. It’s where I got the inspiration for this version of the cake batter!
Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Raw Cacao & Red Wine
Ingredients
Red Wine Velvet Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup raw cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool
- 1 egg
- ½ cup red wine
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling (Makes 2 cups)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Make the Cake Batter
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, cacoa, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together. Add the wet ingredients one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry mixture a half a cup at a time. The final batter will be relatively loose.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (or just snip the end of your piping bag). Pipe the batter out onto a parchment paper in v-shapes of similar size. As the cake bakes, the shape will expand outward into a heart-shape.
- Bake for 8 minutes until the batter rises and is cooked through. Let the cakes cool for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Make the Filling
- Cream together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the powdered sugar and salt.
- Transfer to a piping bag with a star tip.
Assemble the Whoopie Pies
- Once they are completely cool, match up the heart-shaped cakes into pairs as close in size as possible.
- Working one pair at a time, pipe the filling onto the flat side of one cake, outlining the edge of the heart shape. Press the flat side of the second cake to the first, sandwiching the filling. Repeat until all the whoopie pies are full. You may have extra frosting.
- Store finished whoopie pies at room temperature in a sealed container and eat within 3 days for best results, or store in the fridge for up to one week.
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