I consider myself a better than average cook.
Immodest as that sounds, the opinion is informed by countless plates that have been virtually licked clean by discerning dinner guests and office colleagues who think I have cheated at the annual Christmas potluck by bringing in restaurant food.
Okay, so maybe these evaluation criteria fall a little shy of the weight of Michelin standards or of the pressure of a nightly audience of social media savvy restaurant guests that the pros have to contend with every day, but nevertheless, I feel confident that I can hold my own with the best of the weekday home dinner warriors.
What I am not, is a good baker. Owing perhaps to a hopeless incapacity to understand the fundamentals of chemistry (how could something called a mole be a reasonable unit of measurement?), the precise ratios that can make or break the success of baked goods remain both a mystery to me and a source of no little shame.
My wife DJ is an excellent baker. Before continuing this column, one that considers the creations of Gretchen Robinson at her Gretchen’s Here and Now bakery in North Vancouver, I need to establish for the record that my wife’s polvorones (a nut-heavy Spanish shortbread often called Mexican Wedding Cakes in North America) are the best I have ever had. Let me reiterate, DJ’s are the best I have ever had. Okay?
With that point firmly established, I can now safely tell you that Gretchen’s polvorones are the second best. The dense and crumbly, sugar-dusted rounds of pecan-laden dough are uncontestably delicious and are on offer through the holiday season at the bright and airy, infectiously happy new bakery nestled on the corner of Copping Street in North Vancouver, right across the train tracks at the bottom of Bewicke Avenue and a stone’s throw from Black Kettle Brewing Company.
Gretchen’s Here and Now has a number of seasonal specialties currently available as well as an ambitious roster of regular features, including the thick-as-a-brick Pretend It’s Your Birthday chocolate cake, an indulgent and satisfying creation that is worth a try on the basis of its name alone. Made with buttermilk and coffee, free-run eggs, butter, whipping cream and mountains of chocolate, the cake is a resolution-prompting affront to moderation and temperance.
“You must get up at four in the morning to get all this stuff made,” suggested a fellow patron sitting at the edge of one of only two tables in the bakery one recent Saturday morning.
“Yes, most days,” replied the eponymous chief baker, Gretchen, with a knowing smile.
Indeed, surveying the variety of elegant wooden displays of freshly baked treats throughout the shop, it is clear that a tireless discipline is at work here.
On my recent visit to Gretchen’s with my son, it took considerable discipline to refrain from buying one of everything. We focused mainly on holiday fare, but succumbed to the temptations of a number of other goodies.
A bag of crisp and aromatic ginger snaps was a universal hit with my family, the spicy ginger burst of each bite tempered only slightly by the deep and heady sweetness of molasses. I have been told, not being a morning tea drinker myself, that these cookies are especially enjoyable a day or two after purchase dipped into a hot, milky cup of English Breakfast.
For my taste, the penultimate treat was an apple galette (also available as a full pie), a four-inches-across round of rich and flaky pastry packed with tart, barely sweetened winter apples.
Also outstanding was a firm and heavy Road Trip Bar, a soft and chewy homemade oatmeal bar packed with peanut butter and chocolate; I would happily forfeit any future consumption of trail mix for an endless stash of these quick-boost-of-energy bars.
The Tropic of Capricorn cake, made of almonds, coconut, orange zest and rice flour, was wonderfully rewarding for a gluten-free confection. Its unusual coarse texture and perfumed citrus notes reminded me of some of the best sweet creations of the Middle East.
A slice of lemon and poppy seed poundcake made a great accompaniment to morning coffee, the dense and buttery cake brightened by bracing lemon notes and the savoury bitterness of the seeds. On our way out of the bakery, The Boy and I split an OMG, an aptly named, small sandwich-like goody comprised of two miniature cookies of oatmeal, raisins and chocolate pressed against either side of a creamy chocolate filling.
Gretchen’s Here and Now bakery lists all of the ingredients of its creations on little placards next to the displayed goods. The bakery shows a commitment to organic, non-GMO, and ethically produced local ingredients.
It is located at 700 Copping St., North Vancouver. hereandnowbaking.com
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
