What do we know about whoopie pies? Well, not much actually. Aside from the fact that they are a delicious tradition of the Pennsylvania Amish and formerly known as “gobs”, few actually know what they are. A cookie? A cake? A dessert sandwich? Whatever you label it, that fluffy mound is certainly not a pie.
Legend has it they were baked by Amish women and placed (lovingly) in their husband’s lunch pails. When their hardworking farmer beau’s would discover them at lunchtime they would reportedly yell “whoopie!” in excitement (much like my reaction in grade school when I happened upon the Kandycakes my mother would hide at the bottom of my otherwise disappointing brown-paper lunch bag); certainly a pleasant surprise for a tedious workday.
So why are we hearing so much about them? Whoopie pies have regained popularity in the last few years perhaps as a way to recreate the unadulterated elation and nostalgia embedded in such American desserts, especially during uncertain economic times. Will it dethrone the cupcake as the must-have trendy indulgence? Maybe not. But in most American bakeries on the east coast, they are already regular menu staples in a variety of flavors – pumpkin, peanut-butter, banana, maple walnut, red velvet or classic chocolate with marshmallow cream filling.
In Paris, however, its existence has only recently been mediatised, notably by L’Express whose visual representation of dear whoopie - with rainbow pegs and filling decorated with sprinkles- is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Questionable interpretation aside, it’s fair to assume the Parisian dessert landscape is no longer defined by just millesfeuilles, macarons and mont blancs but rather an increasingly omnipresent supply of brownies, cupcakes, cookies, and the whoopie pie, yet another Yankee creation out to win the belly’s of some of the world’s most radical of confection critics.
While a less sweet and marshmallow-free version is already on offer at Cupcakes & Co, I think we can expect it to take a bit more time before “whoopie” lands a permanent place in the French lexicon.
For an authentic, unmodified batch of the classic Whoopie Pie, give this Gourmet recipe a try.
Cupcakes & Co:
25, rue de la forge royale, 75011 Paris
+33 (0)1 43 67 16 19
Métro : Métro Faidherbe-Chaligny (ligne 8) or Ledru Rollin (ligne 8)
Open Tues-Sat., 11am -7pm
Lindsey Tramuta is a home & culture columnist for BitchBuzz and the creator of Lost In Cheeseland where she writes about food, love, life and obstacles in Paris. Follow her on twitter @LostNCheeseland.
Photo courtesy of Little Brown Pen.