I probably the whole world, mocha cake is my favourite dessert. A good fluffy, fresh white cake with lots of mocha icing. For my 30th birthday my sister bought me a mocha cake - now, she made a mistake when ordering it and instead of ordering enough for 30, she ordered enough for 60! Not that we minded... We all had cake at the party, and for breakfast, and for lunch, and then we froze some and had it later too... (Frozen mocha cake is also REALLY good).
But please note - if it's not a Dutch mocha cake, it is NOT in this category of excellence. Sorry, Italian bakers, you do some good mocha-like stuff - but you like to add little zests of this or that - and it takes away from the beauty for me.
(I told you, I love it)
Anyway, when I was preparing to leave London, my aunt and uncle (SS and LS) told me that there's a Dutch shop in Winnipeg that I have to go find. So, when KT asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday - I knew the answer - find The Bake Oven. On their site it said that they were open until 8 (perfect!) and I called and they had "mocha logs" (I didn't know what these were - but sounded like it was in the category). Looked like we were set.
Now before we continue on the mocha-hunt, let's pause for a minute and talk about why my aunt and uncle wanted me to find the Dutch store. The original owner of the Bake Oven was from the same village as LS in The Netherlands - and they had even helped each other immigrate to Canada. (Tons of these stories in all Dutch-Canadian families). Here's what SS wrote to me about the Bake Oven:
Marten Posthumus, who along with his wife, originally started the bake shop, grew up in the same village as LS. He now seems to be more or less retired and his son (s)? have taken over.
Beside being a baker he is a phenomenal pen-and-ink artist who has drawn many, many buildings in Winnipeg which are no longer there. In 2000 he also published a small book with stories and places of his childhood with appropriate drawings on every page. And besides that, he is a very engaging and likeable fellow to talk to.
The bake shop is now called THE BAKE OVEN and is apparently a great place to visit, have a coffee and buy Dutch specialities.
www.bakeoven.ca
So - after 1/2 a day of work and 1/2 a day of video chats with my best friend and my family - I met up with KT and we went and found the Bake Oven...
Setting my sights on mocha...
And finally...
Unfortunately - the two teens in the store weren't interested in my family history... So, I'll have to go back and see if I can meet any of Marten's family and connect them back to mine.
It was a great Dutch store - they had A LOT of cooking ingredients, meats, and desserts. They didn't have as big of a bulk droppe selection as Mike's Meat Market in London, but how often are my parents going to be here making use of it anyway... I also bought my self a yellow clompen key chain (wooden shoe) and a Friesan flag shopping bag (area where my dad's from).
After that - we went to a fondue restaurant - another "classic birthday" treat of mine. It was yummy! And, was of course - followed up with more mocha cake...since it wasn't really "mocha cake" I'd gotten, but a mocha log...remember? So... these are actually small cookies (like a digestive) with icing on top - not a full piece of cake. I had eaten the first one in the car, because I couldn't wait... (That's what birthday's are for - making up your own rules!)
It was a great birthday! Thanks so much to KT for taking me to the Bake Oven (it's FAR from my apartment!) and out for dinner! She rocks. And of course, thanks to the Bake Oven for making some delicious Dutch mocha. And to LS for helping them come to Canada to share their Dutch mocha with me, decades later... ;)
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