the way of haiku

NOTES

I didn’t realize this until I got to Maine last year: I love whoopie pies. My enjoyment of whoopie pies has had me thinking of better ways to make them, because, while I have a bit of an obsession with them, none of the whoopie pies I’ve had so far have been perfect.

Let me be clear: I’m talking about traditional whoopie pies with chocolate cake and vanilla cream. I’ve tried other flavors, and the only one that I’ve found to be delicious is the pumpkin spice variety. However, when I finally perform my whoopie pie experiments in the kitchen, I’ll focus on the traditional ones.

The closest to perfection was probably the one I had at Sweet Cheeks Bakery on Verona Island, Maine. I had another excellent whoopie pie at Red Devil Roast in Fort Kent, Maine. That one was gluten-free pumpkin spice!

I’ve had a couple of impromptu discussions with bakers who’ve made whoopies I’ve purchased. One of them seemed insulted that I’d like to try to improve the original. The other offered that the original filling has to be less dense than, say, a buttercream frosting (which I’d mentioned) so it matches the softness of the fluffy cake.

I’m looking forward to my experiments.

If you’re not sure what a whoopie pie is, or if you’d like to start your own experiment, here’s a Google search for recipes: https://www.google.com/search?q=best+whoopie+pie+recipe&oq=best+whoopie+pie

While many of the whoopie pies I’ve tried here in Maine and also in Vermont have been from small-batch kitchens, Steve’s Snacks (not my company) is the best of the mass-produced ones. You can order them here: https://www.stevessnacks.com/collections/whoopie-pies/products/the-classic-maine-whoopie-pie-case-of-12