Whoopie!!!
Well, cupcakes are far from over in Paris, but the new thing to have reached London via New York has squeaked its way into Paris ALREADY. The WHOOPIE pie is here!
The "What?" I know, it didn't click immediately with me either...
From my home state of Pennsylvania, the whoopie pie is a tradition among the Amish people, the Dutch farmers known for avoiding excess. Maybe that's why, according to lore, farmers would scream "Whoopie" when they found a pie with the lunch packed by their wives. While it was never a huge thing to eat as a kid, it's funny to see the resurgence of this dessert. Who actually DID eat whoopie pies as a kid? I remember buying them at the New York farmer's market at Union Square as a wee college student, but mom never made them, that's for sure.
Nevertheless, Magnolia's in NY and Hummingbird in London have made room on their shelves for the whoopie pie, and Paris is not one to be left behind. During an impromptu trip to Cupcakes&Co near the Bastille neighborhood I was shocked to see what I thought was a giant brown macaron in the glass case. But no, the ladies behind the counter introduced me to Paris' first whoopie pie. Weirdly out of place in Paris but at home in a cupcake bakery, I have my doubts...
Is Whoopie Pie & Co. the next big company to open or is this just a cute addition to American baked goods in Paris, headlined by the cupcake? I have huge doubts. Either way, the pie was pretty good, simple to make, and has almost as modifiable as the cupcake. But it's essentially just an inside-out cupcake, and not as cute. The Times in London calls it manly, but it's called a whoopie pie...I don't know that manly is the first thing I think about...
Cookies, brownies, cheesecake, cupcakes, now whoopie pies...what will be the next food trend to be thrust onto the international scene? Cupcakes have barely started to catch on among normal people in Paris so the whoopie pie seems a little forced and rushed, and definitely doesn't represent the best that we have to offer. Still, kudos to embracing new things, Paris!