Sunday, September 30, 2012

Whoopie Pie, Camberwell by Big Fil

Hmm, I know ‘Whoopie’ as an exclamation of surprise, and making whoopee is something we can all enjoy.  But when we received an email about a Whoopie Pie place opening in Camberwell I must admit I had no idea what it was all about.


I was a little embarrassed when I found out they originate in New England.  I’ve got friends who lived around there that I stayed with a few years back but don’t remember coming across Whoopie Pies.  Doesn’t really surprise me though, as we were so addicted to Kimball’s pecan and maple syrup ice cream that that remains just about my only food related memory from the trip.


Ok, so what is a Whoopie Pie?  To me, taking into account I had never tried them before and have no idea how authentic these were, they were neither a sponge cake nor a biscuit but had a texture somewhere in between, sliced in half and filled with a sweet, creamy filling.  The Whoopie Pie Bakery seemed to have around a dozen or so varieties, offered in bite sized and a larger size and quite delectable looking behind the glass fronted counter.


Having already had breakfast we were limited in how many were could sample but headed for the red velvet, salted caramel and tiramisu.  What were they like you ask.  Well, to be perfectly honest not really my thing.  I think they are a bit like cupcakes, some people absolutely go crazy over them and I can appreciate a really good one but for me they are a bit meh.


On an individual basis I thought the best and which I wouldn’t mind having again was the Red Velvet.  I love rich Red Velvet as a flavour – maccaron, cupcake, now Whoopie Pie, as long as it’s well made you can pretty much guarantee that I’ll like it.


The tiramisu on the other hand I thought was a strike.  The filling didn’t seem as smooth and the flavour was a little crude and unsophisticated. 

In between was the salted caramel, which could have used a bit more of a salted punch to bring out the flavours of the caramel.

Best thing about the bakery though was the wonderfully friendly woman who served us.  We weren’t sure what time the bakery was supposed to open and arrived really early but when we found ourselves standing outside in the cold she opened up especially early just for us.  The shop itself is nice and the red and white stripes reminded me of a candy store as much as a bakery.

Overall
Interesting and novel and worth checking out but not quite for me (or Snooze).

Verdict
Food – 6
Ambience – 7
Service – 8
Price – 6.5

Address
700 Bourke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Phone: (03) 48339041

The Whoopie Pie Bakery on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

MoMo and Coco Dessert Correspondents said...

We reviewed this place recently too, and just a few days later got an unsolicited email from an unknown person about it. Very strange that you say you receive an email about this place too. We hate PR types. Anyway, we found it ok, not really comparable to what we have had in the US though. Good intro though.

Snooze said...

I know Big Fil likes these--and I've read your review--but they just didn't wow me. The filling was all sweetness without good flavour and the "cake" part too dry for me.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to try the "real" thing in the US. That would be nice.

PS I liked your review--and your stamina in getting through all that sugar! Amazing effort.

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