Classic Whoopie Pie vs Maritozzi con la Panna (Sweet Buns with Cream)

Both desserts tuck a sweet filling inside a baked shell, but they land in very different places. The Whoopie Pie pairs cocoa cakes, raised quickly with baking soda, with a dense, very sweet filling of butter, shortening and plenty of powdered sugar beaten until fluffy. Maritozzi start from a yeast dough enriched with egg, milk, butter and orange zest, kneaded and proofed twice into golden buns. Here powdered sugar only lightly sweetens a generous pocket of whipped vanilla cream, so the result feels airier and fresher than the rich, sugary Whoopie Pie.