The Wedding Cake Shoppe

On our way to the Wedding Cake Shoppe, Melissa muses, "imagine one of us was going to pick out our wedding cake right now?"

The thought is more jarring to me than it probably should be. I thought we were just going to get some cupcakes. But it does serve the purpose reminding me that our destination is actually wedding cakes first, cupcakes second, which would be evident to most people (though I have a very selective consciousness) in the moniker.

And what cakes they are! Many examples of these works of art dot the store, light up the window display and peek out from behind rows of the fresh-baked personal-size versions I am so fixated upon. Some impossibly ornate, some with modern patterns and colours that I have always wanted in my food, but nature wasn't kind enough to give me.

But it (nature) did allow this bright and lovely place to practically land on my doorstep a few months back, sneaking its way into my not infrequent moments of "weakness"- or, as I prefer "(in desperate need of) sweetness". The second I saw the signage go up, I knew that this was exactly what my neighbourhood and I needed.

The array of buttercreams is breathtaking; colourful and comprehensive, it's hard to narrow down a choice- even when taking home a half-dozen. I have done this more than once, and yes, I do share them with others; people like my roommate who literally exclaimed, "they're so light!" with his first bite. Mm-hmm.

The cake is miraculously moist, living up to the expectation that the purveyors truly know what they are doing and can work a brand of magic that is impossible in your mortal kitchen. This happens less often than you may think.

So this is why my coconut cupcake enjoyed on this Friday afternoon is the third- yes, third- that I have had this week. I lament my lack of imagination to Melissa, "I keep coming back to the coconut," as though it were out of my control. Melissa says, "if it ain't broke..."

Ms. Coelho, owner and cake artist extraordinaire, overhears and now knows that her establishment and I go way back. She seems pleased, and I seem sheepish, which seems right. The coconut proceeds to work its chewy voodoo on me, while Melissa (predictably) goes for the Chocolate Toffee, like a pro.

Melissa digs in, "wow, it's so light." Indeed they are; light like happiness.

Almost as if answering my subconscious toffee jealousy, we are suddenly presented with a sample of cookies and chocolates provided by Christina of Les Fetes Sweets, sold here as well.

Tiny toffee cookies melt in my mouth so divinely, that know I have to try the chocolate-chip specimen, the base of which is so perfect to me (chewy, nutty and oat-y), that I accidentally consume some of the chocolate and don't even mind (I have a life-long, uncorrectable aversion to chocolate, for which I am very sorry). Our Americanos from I Deal Coffee give our table of sweet things the balance it needs.

Somehow, my dietary concerns are serendipitously taken care of, as the chocolate treat I am given is of the white variety. This is good news.

By this time, I am convinced that a wedding is just an awesomely huge party with an awesomely huge cake. A cake more beautiful than any of my possessions and guarded by action figures. I could get into this.