Cocoa Locale

And now for my big disappointment! Before leaving for Montreal I googled "desserts Montreal" and this wee cake boutique kept coming up. There was even a short video of its charming owner. The place looked so cute and funky and the cakes yummy. They have been described in reviews as homemade and old-fashioned. Cakes like your mother would make, or like mothers used to make. So I made it part of our plan to go there. Noticing that the shop is closed on Mondays, we drove to Montreal on Sunday and found Cocoa Locale at its Park Avenue location.

And I knew right away that Reema Singh and I just might be kindred spirits when I saw the line of vintage aprons strung up in her front window. Although the shop closes at 6:00 on Sundays, we were there in plenty of time, around 1:30 in the afternoon (after all, they only open at noon).

Or so I thought! Much to my dismay there was a sign on the door that said, "Sold out!" How could that be?! Still, if selling out so early in the day doesn't say something about the popularity of her product, then I don't know what does.

I bent to look under the blind that had been pulled halfway down the front window, and I could just make out Reema working at the back. I had this urge to knock on the door and say please just let me have a peek inside... but I didn't, after all I wasn't the Paul Liam who, via the blue post-it note stuck to the door, was instructed to do just that!

Oh well, the next time I'm in Montreal, I'll try again, only I'll aim to get there at opening time.

In the meanwhile, I can always comfort myself with some of my own cupcakes, pictured here, made with buttercream icing.