Bollocks to Baking: Whoopie Pies from Outsider Tart

The wonderfully kind folks at Outsider Tart recently contacted Domestic Sluttery to enquire as to whether we'd like to get our gobs round one of their Whoopie Pies. Our initial reactions, as one might expect, was an indignant "I beg your pardon?" You see, we hadn't heard of Whoopie Pies before and were a bit baffled as to what they might be.

Apparently in America, Whoopie Pies are a classic tasty baked treat, much obsessed-over by folks of all ages. But until now hardly anyone on these fair isles has heard of them, never mind feasted on their creamy, chewy, biscuit-based goodness.

But the charming American chaps behind US-style boutique bakery Outsider Tart have decided to address this, and now Whoopie Pies are making their UK debut at their shop on Chiswick High Street. And according to them, they've been flying off the shelves.

Satisfyingly stodgy without being too sickly sweet, the Whoopie Pies are available in seven different delicious flavours, including chocolate, oatmeal and pumpkin, and each whopper costs £3. They're round cake sandwiches, with frosting fillings, sort of like a giant custard cream - if you can imagine such a surreal sweet treat without short-circuiting your keyboard by drooling all over it.

I'm not ashamed to admit that, a touch hungover, on a recent grotty and rainy morning, I indulged in a Whoopie Pie for breakfast. The resulting sugar-high powered me through the entire day, and the chewy biscuity cake base had a melting texture which dissolved in my mouth. Whoopie Pies somehow manage to be both deliciously indulgent comfort food, as well as an innovative and original twist on a traditional tasty baked format.

They're available from Outside Tart at their boutique bakery or at the Richmond and Chiswick Farmers' Markets at weekends. They'd be a perfect present to take to a party, or if you can't be bothered with baking to feed dinner guests for dessert. We're definitely converted to the wonders of the Whoopie Pie, although next time maybe we'll try to avoid drinking quite so much booze the night before we indulge...