Back to Cocoa Locale, Part 1

Time again for a trip to Cocoa Locale, my favorite cake shop in Montreal by far.  Even if the cakes weren't so delicious, which they are, the shop's decor is a treat in itself.

You know a kindred spirit lies within when you spot a line of vintage aprons in the window!

And tea cups on the window ledge are another clue.

And then, over the counter at the back, are all the adorable vintage cooking implements in such pretty pastel shades.

But let us not get distracted from the cakes... chocolate chai, chocolate lavendar, vanilla rose, pumpkin spice...

Oh, but just look how cute this vignette is!

And those wee cupcakes garnished with rose petals!

Oh look, more teacups!

Cocoa Locale, my kind of cake shop!

Remembrance of Things Past

While baking a batch of madeleines the other day, I remembered how inextricably linked they are to a segment of  Marcel Proust's novel, In Rembrance of Times Past. 

She sent for one of those squat plump little cakes called "petites madeleines," which look as though they had been molded in the fluted valve of a scallop shell … I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure invaded my senses …

Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy? I was conscious that it was connected with the taste of tea and cake… Whence did it come? What did it signify? How could I seize upon and define it. 

And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray … when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Leonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane …. and the whole of Combray and its surroundings, taking shape and solidity, sprang into being, town and garden alike, from my cup of tea.

Taste sometimes propels me headfirst into a memory from the past, but for me that magical journey to another time and place is more usually achieved through the sense of smell. For example, the scent of diesel instantly takes me back to childhood visits to my grandparents in industrial Birmingham, England with the image of a bus station to accompany it. Wax crayons, and fresh notebooks to the first days of school and the tummy tingling sense of nervous anticipation . The scent of certain colognes reminds me nostalgically of certain teenage crushes.

Gingerbread Cakes

There's nothing quite like the delicious smell of gingerbread baking. And I have to say the taste is one of my absolute favourites. There is something old-fashioned and so cozy and comforting about the smell and taste of deep and rich spicy gingerbread.

I had decided that this year I was not only going to make gingerbread in a loaf pan but that I was going to make some mini gingerbread in small fluted tins.

While the large of the tins was non-stick, the smaller ones were old vintage tins. Instead of coating with oil and flour I oiled them and then sprinkled cocoa in them, so that I wouldn't end up with big white flour lumps when I turned them out. The oil and cocoa powder, worked like a charm, they slid out easily once baked.

The small tins are just two inches across, making them two-bite size. The "larger" tins are also quite small, only three inches across. Just enough for two servings. Either size is perfect for giving as gifts, especially if you like to give an assortment of baking and want things to be sampling size.

They look lovely straight from the pan, but I also like to sprinkle them with icing sugar as if they had just had a light dusting of snow.


The recipe I use makes a truly delicious moist gingerbread with rich flavour and comes from the Crabtree & Evelyn Cook Book, c1989. Here, with a few changes of my own, is the recipe.

English Gingerbread

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I use allspice)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon ground gingerroot (optional)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons icing sugar (to dust with once baked and cooled)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In saucepan, melt and mix in brown sugar, molasses, and corn syrup. Stir over low heat until well dissolved and mixed. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In mixing bowl, combine flour, spices, lemon zest and salt. Add butter mixture and eggs in center of dry ingredients. Stir well until mixture is smoothly blended.

Add baking soda to boiling water, stir and add to mixing bowl. Pour over batter and stir slowly until batter is well blended.

Pour batter into a 9-inch square pan or a loaf pan (buttered and floured), or a series of smaller pans or tins. Bake in 350 degree F. oven for 30 - 40 minutes (less perhaps for smaller tins or pans). Test with a toothpick or skewer to see if done. Toothpick will come out clean when inserted into the middle of baking

Remove from oven and let cool in pan. Turn out and dust with icing sugar before cutting.

Enjoy!

Cocoa Locale Revisted

What better way to begin a visit to Montreal than at the wonderful cake shop, Cocoa Locale. It is such a delightful little place, filled with a retro vibe. Just look at all the pretty little details that make up the whole.






But in the end it's all about the cake. And the cake is so good you have to arrive at Cocoa Locale's fairly soon after opening time since they sell out quickly. Once the cakes are gone, that's it... they are closed for the day. Knowing this sad fact only too well from my very first visit, I made sure I arrived at three minutes before noon yesterday, which is when owner and baker Reema Singh opens the store on Saturdays.

I ended up selecting four cakes to take home: vanilla orange, and chocolate lavender (which I'll show you another day because they are now in my freezer), and my personal favourite...


chocolate chai...


as well as a seasonal choice, pumpkin.


If you want to try the cakes at Cocoa Locale, you'll find the shop at 4807 Park Avenue, Montreal.