Exquisitely delicious

Is it possible to buy cakes from yesteryear anywhere? The type that are exquisitely delicious but not too sweet? The entire cake industry in Australia seems to be in love with with saccharin and mock cream and their products have become inedible. They should have signs on them saying 'Look but don't eat'.

If you want a really delicious cake you have to make it yourself from granny's recipe book and because we are all time poor, this doesn't happen often.

There were two birthdays in our family last week so out came the recipe book: Covered Apple Cake (with rum and raisins). 

Covered Apple Cake (Photos by Kurtis)

Yes, it was exquisitely delicious.

Transported dough & second rate pastries

Salt and pepper shakers at Mirabelle Cafe

How lucky we were to stumble upon the Cafe Mirabelle in Carterton (NZ). Yes, I mentioned the Mirabelle previously, but my visit there was such a memorable experience I can't help talking about them again.  I would visit Carterton again just to eat their delicious pastries, all of which are made in-house.

Increasingly we hear of dough that is made in one part of the world and shipped to another for baking and the results are a culinary disaster. I first noticed this in Germany where the delicious looking displays no longer tempt me. All their cakes now taste the same and all taste second rate. Now my sister tells me a New Zealand cafe owner proudly informed her that the dough for the pastries she was selling came from France 'so it was really authentic'. I asked her if the pastry had been good.
'No, not really,' said my sister.

Places like the Mirabelle in Carterton restore your faith in cooks and food. How long will it take for the population to revolt and seek out cafes where the food is home made?

One place that still sells delicious and authentic cakes is Slovenia. Perhaps having been part of the Soviet block for so long had some benefits and perhaps all the former Yugoslavia still has good food (my Yugoslav experience is limited to Slovenia). Lets hope they don't ever change. And long live the Mirabelle.