Like an inside-out cupcake, these lemon whoopie pies have a dreamy lemon cream cheese filling between two lemon cakes. It makes them easily transportable, easy to serve and easy to eat! Whoopie pies are perfect for picnics, parties and school lunch boxes.
I love making these lemon whoopie pies, not only because I’m a lemon fanatic, but also because they are so dang easy. I’ll be the first to admit this is not a pretty dessert, but it’s a dessert that is so delicious, it doesn’t matter what they look like.
Whoopie pies are also fun to say and you can make them in a hundred different flavor combinations like these peanut butter whoopie pies or chocolate peppermint pies.
Ingredients
Let’s look at what goes into these whoopie pies. I won’t go through every detail like salt here, but some key ingredients are below:
- All-purpose flour. Typically I use cake flour when making cakes, but because these are sturdier and meant to be picked up and held, an all-purpose flour is better here.
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk makes for a tender cake with a slight tang which pairs perfectly with our lemon tartness.
- Unsalted butter. Butter makes for a flavorful cake and filling.
- Cream cheese. The key to our filling. I prefer to use a generic brand here, I think it whips up better over the creamier/wetter brands.
- Lemon juice & lemon zest. Real lemon is needed here, using the zest in the cake and juice in the filling is the best of both worlds.
Quick Buttermilk Substitute
No buttermilk on hand? No problem, you can make a quick substitute with whole milk and a little of your lemon juice. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to 1 cup whole milk and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before adding to the batter. This will slightly sour the milk the give you a great buttermilk swap.
Making Lemon Cakes
This lemon cake recipe is a pretty straight-forward recipe. I tested it first with some lemon juice added into the mixture, but the increased acidity made for a tasty, but claggy cake.
I already tend to keep the juice to a minimum in cakes, but here the zest will do the heavy lifting since the cakes are so small the texture can go awry quickly.
We’ll make these whoopie pies with what is called the creaming method – the standard way to make most butter-based cakes.
Whip butter and sugar well. This the creaming part of the creaming method. Really whip your butter and sugar until you have a light and fluffy texture. This will give your final cake the same texture.
Zest just enough. When zesting any citrus, make sure not to scrape past the colorful rind. The white pith layer is very bitter. I recommend using a microplane for the best zesting or you can use a cheese grater.
Add lemon zest with the sugar. Zest releases its best flavor when it’s rubbed a bit, especially when you rub it into sugar. If you ever want to make a flavored sugar, rub a bit of zest into your sugar (like I do in these lemon poppy donuts coating). Here, we will add the zest with the sugar and butter to let it whip up at the same time.
Add flour in additions. A trick of the trades is to alternate adding the flour and liquid to a cake batter. This serves two purposes – it prevents the mixture from splitting and from overmixing. Just add 1/3 of your flour and mix on low until just a few streaks remain, then add 1/2 of the buttermilk. Repeat until everything is just about incorporated then switch to a rubber spatula to hand mix the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baked and filled whoopie pies can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days. Unfilled, baked cakes can be stored in a freezer-safe bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost and fill with icing.
There are two possible culprits. First, you may not have added enough confectioners’ sugar to thicken the icing. Add a bit more as needed. Alternately, the cream cheese can thin out if you overwhip. If you notice the mixture is getting thinner as you whip, this may be the issue. It’s hard to salvage at this point, but placing in the fridge may help to firm up.
Lemon Whoopie Pies
Ingredients
- 360 g all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 113 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest about 2 lemons
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
Cream Cheese Icing
- 56 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 170 g cream cheese room temperature
- 396 g confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-3 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk or sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.360 g all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with hand-mixer, whip butter, sugar and lemon zest on high until mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed.113 g unsalted butter, 200 g granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- On low speed, add in egg and vanilla extract.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Alternating in three additions, add in 1/3 of the flour mixture followed by 1/2 of the buttermilk. Continue alternating between the flour and buttermilk until everything is combined. Switch to a rubber spatula to mix in last few streaks of flour by hand, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom well. Batter will be thick.1 cup buttermilk
- Using standard (2 1/2 tablespoon) cookie scoop, scoop dollops of batter onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 2" between. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cakes spring back when touched.
- Cream cheese icing. While cakes are baking, prepare cream cheese icing. In a large bowl, whip butter until softened. Add cream cheese and whip on medium-high just until smooth. Do not overwhip or the cream cheese can go runny.56 g unsalted butter, 170 g cream cheese
- Add confectioners' sugar and salt, mix on low until combined. Add lemon juice to desired consistency.396 g confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 2-3 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Once cakes are baked and cooled, flip half of the cakes over and place generous spoonful of icing. Top with other cake to create a sandwich.
Notes
- Store leftover whoopie pies in fridge for up to 2 days.
- Unfilled, baked cakes can be stored in a freezer-safe bag and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost and fill with icing.
- If icing is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar as needed.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
