[Sca-cooks] Medieval German "whoopie pies"???

[Johnna Holloway]

This would be one of those "facts" I'd almost consider worthy of  
writing the author about and asking exactly where she got her
"facts".

It does appear on the web--

http://mogallants.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/whoopie-pies-are-from-medieval-germany-pa-wins/

"Susan Kalcik says that according to her research for the Johnstown  
historical society in PA she found that cakes with filling originated  
in medieval Germany which means that the dessert would be more likely  
to have followed Germans to America.  And since PA has always had a  
strong German heritage Kalcik thinks that it showed up here and in  
other areas with a large German population."

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/WhoopiePieHistory.htm

Susan Kalcik, a folklorist and archivist with the Southwestern  
Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission in Johnstown, said her  
research shows that the Gob’s origin can be traced back to medieval  
Germany. "They were making a cake-like pastry with a filling. It  
probably was brought to America by various German groups like the  
Amish or German Brethren."

I don't know exactly how a chocolate filled cake (often with crisco  
cream filling) originated in medieval Germany prior to the voyages of  
discovery which brought chocolate back to the Old World, but there you  
have it.

So what exactly is this medieval German treat that is cake-like with a  
filling?

BTW- Maine and Pennsylvania are having a war over them.
http://heritageinmaine.blogspot.com/2011/06/making-whoopie-comment-on-whoopie-pie.html
http://mongooseofmystery.blogspot.com/2011/03/whoopie-pie-war.html

Johnnae


On Sep 2, 2011, at 8:22 AM, Bronwynmgn at aol.com wrote:

> Got this from a shire member and figured I see if anyone here knew  
> anything about it.  Seems awfully unlikely to me, but I don't know a  
> lot about German cookery...
> "Also I was reading my new whoopie pie book and in the fun fact  
> section it says that "...the origins of the whoopie pie are in  
> medieval Germany, where a cream-filled cake was baked". Does anyone  
> know about said dessert? I am interested in trying it."
>
> Brangwayna Morgan