It's Business Time: Chai Tea Whoopie Pies with Orange Scented Buttercream

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I'm a little obsessed with Cardamom.  It's so delicious and kind of peppery and it's in my favorite drink from Argo AND it pairs with my favorite citrus: Orange.  I should probably warn you that this will not be the last time you see Cardamom and Orange on this blog, but I do promise I'll wait at least a month.


Enough about me, let's talk about whoopie.  At my job, recently, we've been making all kinds of wacky changes and really trying to embrace house-made and not just house-decorated bakery items.  I went crazy!  I'm researching, I'm testing.  I'm making.  It's awesome.  Then I got this awesome book, Whoopie Pies, on my Kindle and BAM, my whole world opens up.  I'd never, ever had a whoopie pie before.  Delicious!


This particular recipe is based off of the vanilla and vanilla recipes from this book, but I put my own, personal spin on them.  These whoopie pies are deliciously sweet, but not too sweet, and they have the wonderful bite of the orange mixed in with the vanilla filling.  You'll love them for their adult flavors, and you'll probably be able to get your kids to eat them, too!


Chai Tea Whoopie Pies

• AP Flour: 2 1/4 C 
• Chai Spice: 3 T
• You can also use a combination of ground Cardamom, Clove, Ginger and Cinnamon
• Baking Powder: 1 1/2 t
• Salt: 1/2 t
• Butter, Unsalted (room temperature): 4 T (Half a stick)
• Shortening (room temperature): 4 T
• Granulated Sugar: 1/2 C
• Light Brown Sugar: 1/2 C
• Eggs: 2 Large
• Baking Soda: 1 t
• White Vinegar: 1 t
• Milk: 2 T
• Vanilla Extract: 1 t
• Buttermilk: 1/2 C
• You can also use 1/2 a cup of milk and 1 1/2 t of vinegar

Preheat your oven to 375° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  You can also use a whoopie pie pan, if you're into that kind of thing.


The first thing I'll say is that I recommend having all of your ingredients at room temperature.  Leaving them out at room temperature (covered!) should get everything to where it needs to be.  Place your butter, shortening, and sugar into your mixing bowl together and beat them together with a paddle on medium speed for about two to three minutes, or until it's light, fluffy and light, light yellow.  Start off slower, until things start coming together so they don't fling out of the bowl at you, then go up to medium, or four on a Kitchen-Aid.


Add your eggs one at a time, beating till they're incorporate, and scraping down the sides after each addition.  In a small bowl, combine the baking soda, vinegar (remember those volcanoes from elementary school projects?), milk and the vanilla and stir until they're combined.  Add to the mixing bowl and mix until incorporated.  Don't forget to scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl!

Stop Mixing Here!

Sift together your AP Flour, Chai Spice, baking powder and salt over a piece of parchment or wax paper.  Pour a third of your dry ingredients into the bowl, on low speed, until the center is completely moistened.  The edges will still have some obviously dry ingredients, and that's alright!  Now, add half of your buttermilk and mix until everything is just moist.  Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl.  Repeat the same process, again, with a third of your dry and the rest of the buttermilk, then finally mixing in the last of your dry.  Mix until almost everything is moistened, but stop while there is still some dry ingredients on the outside of your bowl.  Mix the rest of the dry ingredients by hand with a spatula.

Fold It In

Use an ice cream scoop (I use a very small ice cream scoop, which you can find at any home good store) to scoop out nice and even half orbs onto your parchment paper, leaving at least two inches of room between each, and more if you're making larger pies.  


Bake for about 10 minutes, or until just firm when pressed on their tops.  Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, before you move them onto a wire rack.  Let them cool completely before you ice them.  If you're in a hurry, you can always put them in the refrigerator after they're no longer hot.

Orange Scented Buttercream

• Powdered Sugar: 3 C, Sifted
• Butter, Unsalted: 8 T (One Stick), at room temperature
• Orange Zest: 1 T 
• I use Minced, Dehydrated Orange Zest because it's so much easier than buying an orange every time I need orange zest, and it's tasty!
• Heavy Cream: 3-4 T
• Vanilla Extract: 1 t
• Salt: 1/8 t

Mise En Place

Put your butter and orange zest into your mixing bowl and beat for one minute on medium speed to really infuse the orange flavor right into the butter.  Add your powered sugar and beat into the butter until completely combined.  Scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl.  Add your heavy cream, vanilla, and salt and beat on medium to incorporate, and then on high for up to three minutes, until it's super fluffy!

Delicious Fluffy Filling Goodness

Put'n It All Together

The rest is so easy!  Depending on what you have at your disposal, there are a few different ways you can do it.

• Spread the butter cream on one pie, then place it's match on top.
• Use the same ice cream scoop you used to scoop the pies, and scoop the butter cream on one half, then smoosh the second half on.
• Use a pastry bag with a medium sized tip and pipe a 1/2-1 cm layer of butter cream on one pie half and top with the second half.

There you have it!  These are tasty and easy just to have around, and they're a great bribe.  I gave them to my leasing office at my apartment building and now I'm resident number one.  

Enjoy!