06 Jul Whoopie Pies with Personality
Failing to find a decent whoopie pie “that actually tasted like chocolate,’’ Alan Mons, and his wife, Julie Ganong, both in financial services at the time, decided to perfect their own version. They also wanted to avoid a dry whoopie pie, something all too common. So the couple blended three types of chocolate to create their cakes.
Each week, Mons and Ganong make between 3,000 and 4,000 whoopie pies ($1.68 each or $20.16 for a baker’s dozen) to sell at Chococoa, their charmingly small shop in Newburyport, which opened two years ago. They offer chocolate cake with vanilla, chocolate ganache, raspberry, and espresso fillings. Other varieties include lemon and raspberry cream; additional flavors are added seasonally. The pair use local, free-range eggs and all natural ingredients. Raspberry cream, made from frozen raspberry puree, is light and refreshing. Each filling is creamy and not overly sugary. For those who like it, the espresso is quite strong. And best of all, the chocolate cakes are indeed moist, dense, rich, and not the least bit dry. Chococoa, 38 Washington St., Newburyport, 978-499-8889, www.chococoabaking.com, or South End Formaggio, 268 Shawmut Ave., Boston, 617-350-6996 (3 for $6.95).