More Than Cupcakes at Flying Monkey

When Elizabeth Halen took over Flying Monkey Bakery at the Reading Terminal Market nearly four years ago, the stall was most known for its cupcakes.

Cupcakes remain a fad, if a bit fading, and Flying Monkey still sells a bunch of them. But the Center Court patisserie offers a whole lot more.

In addition to whoopie pies in various flavors, bar cookies and brownies, I'm an easy mark for the crumb cakes Elizabeth makes, particularly the fruit-accented versions, like the blackberry one pictured here. With its sour cream tang, this cake is an "adult" dessert.

Much more sweet and decadent, though, is Elizabeth's riff on the classic German buttercake, a.k.a. butterkuchen. Though there's certainly plenty of sugar it's considerably less off-putting than the St. Louis version, which is lovingly referred to by denizens of that city as "gooey" buttercake. The Philadelphia version, and Elizabeth's, is another "adiult" dessert.

Whoopie!

Elizabeth Halen, the new proprietor of Flying Monkey Patisserie at the Reading Terminal Market, has been getting plenty of ink (and electronic coverage) with her Pumpple Cake, including Monday on the fourth hour of the Today Show. The combination of pumpkin cake and appie pie sells for $8 a slice (though one slice can serve three).

A bit more manageable are Elizabeth's pumpkin Whoopie pies. It's a simple treat: buttercream filling in a hamburger-sized pumpkin cake bun. The cake is gently spiced and the buttercream rich but not overwhelming. At $2.50 apiece, a delightful splurge. And a tad less caloric than Elizabeth's Pumple Cake or Elvis Cake (banana-flavored butter cake, chocolate chips, peanut butter buttercream).

I saw lots of chocolate Whoopie pies during my recent trip to Maine where they are as much a part of the culinary landscape as lobsters.