Mini Chocolate Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies

I made these three-bite chocolate whoopie pies with a salted caramel frosting filling for a Super Bowl gathering yesterday at our place. The cakes were dense and very chocolatey, so I made sure to pipe a generous amount of the deliciously sweet, salty, and creamy filling in between. Since they're mini, I think the ratio made them look like little burgers, which is cute, but next time I probably won't pile the batter as high on the sheet tray so that the cakes turn out a little flatter once baked.

Mini Chocolate Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies

Cakes
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk buttermilk and vanilla together. In stand mixer, cream butter and brown sugar together until fluffy, and then add egg and mix until uniform. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients to mixer, beginning and ending with dry. Mix until just combined. Spoon or pipe circles 2 inches from each other on parchment covered sheet trays. Bake for 13 minutes, or until cakes spring bake when pressed. Remove from tray with spatula and move to cooling rack. The cakes can be frozen for later use.

Adapted from: epicurious


Filling
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp fleur de sel
1/4 cup sour cream
6 tablespoons softened butter
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions
Make a caramel in a saucepan with the sugar, corn syrup, and water, cooking until a light golden color and immediately remove from heat. At the same time, have cream and salt heated in separate saucepan. Add the cream to caramel and whisk to combine. Wait a few minutes and then whisk in the sour cream. Allow the caramel to cool. In stand mixer, cream butter. Add cooled caramel and powdered sugar all at once and beat until smooth and creamy. Pipe onto one side of cake and sandwich with another cake.

Adapted from: Cate's World Kitchen