Saturday, October 6, 2012

The Whoopie Pie Bakery - Camberwell - review



Ever since I had my beautiful daughter one year ago, I have been completely out of the 'foodie' loop; I wouldn't know what restaurant is hot, what's closed down and what's opened up on my own street. Needless to say, it's going to take me a while to catch up.
Just the other day, I found  myself with some time to spend, and used it to read some of my favourite food blogs. And whilst I was perusing Momo and Coco I was shocked to discover that not only had a Whoopie Pie store opened, but that it was merely a 10 minute drive away! After witnessing a whoopie pie explosion on American sites for so long,  I was so incredibly eager to finally sink my teeth into a whoopie pie, that as soon as my little girl had awoken, I had her dressed and out the door before she could even register that she had indeed, woken up. 

Taking Momo and Cocos review into account, here is what I selected.

Tiramisu

I don't drink coffee but this pie was my absolute favourite. It nailed the tiramisu flavours. The cake itself was that perfect balance of moist yet light and the butttercream frosting was sweet but not cloying. 

Chocolate peanut butter

Mr.M enjoyed this one the most. Whilst it was nice, I felt it could have had more of a peanut butter kick, the flavours were a little subdued for me.

Red Velvet

This was the least successful out of the selection for me, I found it lacked flavour.

Pistachio Rose Water

I was very eager to try this, as I LOVE rose. Alas, this turned out to be my second least favourite of the bunch. The pistachio made the cake a touch too crumbly and it lost its 'softness'. The rose however, was completely lacking. I really wanted that floral note to stand out, but I think, in order to suit everyone, they may have dialed down the flavours on this one.

Apple and Cinnamon

This was my second favourite of the day. The tart apple and heady cinnamon were wonderfully balanced, it was like a mouthful of apple pie. Really delicious.

Chocolate Salted Caramel (the kind owner generously gave me three small samples to try out).

I adore salted caramel, the saltier the better. Whilst the chocolate component was delicious, I felt the caramel could have used a touch more salt. That being said, it was still a delightful pie.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tiramisu and apple flavours, but unfortunately all of the family members who also sampled the goods found all of the pies to be TOO SWEET for them. I didn't think they were overly sweet at all, but then again, I am a sugar fiend.

The store definitely stands out with its vibrant red and white stripes (I am obsessed with red and white stripes at the moment.) Inside though, the decor felt a little too much like a bar/lounge to me with the dark leather sofas. I didn't feel as though I was in a bakery at all.
That aside, the packaging is divine and feels very upmarket.

The service is super friendly to the point that it took a good 20 minutes before I could even ask for the pies I wanted. I wasn't in a rush to be anywhere, so I enjoyed the chat. The counter display still had the previous day's whoopie pies on show which was a little off-putting as you don't know what the actual merchandise looks like (the older pies were dry and cracking and some flavours had sold out and weren't on display).

I, personally, would purchase a pie again, but as none of our company enjoyed them it would only be a snack for moi if I found myself in the neighborhood.

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