Decadent Whoopie Pie Cake

For the Cake: 
1 Cup buttermilk
1 Cup water

2/3 Cup oil (vegetable or Canola)
2 Cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Cups flour (sift)
3/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa- sift (dark cocoa is best)
For the Whipped Cream Filling: 
6 oz. cream cheese
1 C confectioners sugar
16 oz. heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (optional - to stabilize the whipped cream filling)
2 Tablespoon cold water (optional - to stabilize the whipped cream filling)
For the Ganache Icing: 
1 Cup heavy whipping cream
8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (I used two-4-oz. Ghirardelli semi-sweet baking-quality chocolate bars)
Directions

Cake: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and line the bottoms of two 9" round cake cake pans with parchment paper.  Be sure to grease entire pan.  once the parchment paper is lined on the bottom of the pans, be sure grease the paper too. Cooking spray works well. 

In a medium size bowl, mix buttermilk, water, oil, sugar and eggs until well blended. Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl (baking soda, salt, flour and cocoa).  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.  

Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans.  

Bake at 350 F on the middle rack for approximately 30-35 minutes.  Check with toothpick to make sure it comes out clean.  When done, remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove cakes and place on cooling racks.

Cream Filling: 

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and confectioners sugar well until creamy and smooth.  Set aside. 

In a large bowl (preferably chilled), beat the whipping cream with a mixer until soft peaks form.

*Note, for this cake, my sister decided to stabilize the whipped cream filling to make it last longer and retain its shape (the whipped cream filling without the addition of unflavored gelatin tastes wonderful, but the cake tends to get VERY messy after the first slice is cut because the creamy goodness goes everywhere, thus detracting from the beauty of the cake.

To stabilize the cream, put 2 Tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin over the cold water.  Let the gelatin stand for a minute or so until the gelatin is absorbed by the water. Next, microwave the gelatin for about 30 seconds on high.  The gelatin will be clear and melted. Let the gelatin cool for 2-3 minutes, but do not allow it to cool long enough so that the gelatin begins to set. You are now ready to stabilize the whipping cream. 

Begin to beat the whipping cream again until firm peaks begin to form.  With the beaters going, slowly add the gelatin mixture to the whipped cream.  Mix well, but do not over beat (over beating causes to whipped cream to break down).  Next, gently fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream. Set mixture aside (or refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake). 

Assemble the Cake: 

Place one of the 9-inch cakes on a cake platter dome side down.  Spoon all of the whipped cream mixture onto the cake (it will be a thick layer).  Place the other 9-inch cake on top of the cream layer dome side up. Your cake should resemble a giant whoopie pie. 

Ganache Icing (prepare last, just before icing the cake): 

Chop the chocolate into small pieces (almond size) and set aside. 

In a sauce pan on medium to medium-high heat, bring the whipping cream to a boil, stirring constantly. Once the cream boils, remove from heat. Add the chocolate to the hot cream and stir until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.  Set aside and let cool for about 3 minutes.  

Once cooled, pour the ganache icing over the cake and smooth the top using the back of a large spoon.  The icing should drip/fall over the sides of the cake. It's OK if it's messy!  This is a homemade cake.  The imperfections are part of what make this so wonderfully delicious! 

Chill the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.   ENJOY!!!

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Optional Holiday/Autumn Pumpkin Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 Cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 Cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Using a mixer, beat all ingredients together well. Fill the cake with the mixture.