Thanks Shane Edwards for sending this to me… Nothing better than writing or talking about cake!!!
Freiman’s department store in downtown Ottawa was famous for its whacky promotions. One of them was this giant 4,000 pound cake baked by the Standard Bread Company on Gladstone.Standard Bread opened in 1924, and it seems from the lady’s dress that this picture was taken not-long after that.(LAC Mikan 3615467)
Archibald J. Freiman was known for his promotions. Here is one from what appears to be the Twenties, featuring a lady and a giant birthday cake made by the Standard Bread Company. This was the kind of promo that made Freiman’s the most successfully Ottawa-owned department store of its era.The Standard Bread Company — whose slogan was “The Mother Loaf” — opened in 1924 on Gladstone just west of Preston. The building is still there, now used by numerous artists. At the bottom of the sign is a reference to Mosgrove Street, which used to run from Rideau to George. It no longer exists, having been incorporated into the Freiman Mall/Hudson’s Bay complex across the street from the Rideau Centre. (LAC 1972-229 NPC)
December 12, 2016 ·
Linda Seccaspina shares a cake recipe from Freiman’s department store on the occasion of their 58th birthday. Freiman’s opened their first business in 1900.
Says Linda: Linda SeccaspinaLost Ottawa
December 11, 2016 ·
ONE-TON CAKE FOR FREIMAN’S LTD. BIRTHDAY. 1958
The five-layer, one-ton cake above will be cut into 8,000 quarter-pound slices for the first customers into the A. J. Freiman Ltd. store tonight as “open house” is held in observance of the firm’s 58th birthday. The massive cake contains, in part, 480 pounds of raisins, 300 pounds of mixed fruit, hundreds of dozens of eggs, 120 pounds of sugar and stands nine feet high. Its bottom layer is five feet square.
June 1, 2020 ·
Susan Love poses an unusual Morning Puzzler, seeking the recipe for a cake recipe made by National Bakers here in Ottawa (and this is the only picture I could find quickly, showing two of the ladies who worked there in 1956, when it seems the window was broken.)
Writes Susan:
“My four sisters and I are trying to recreate my father’s favourite cake, which came from the shop on Bank Street. It was a simple white cake, with a marshmallow centre and a light coloured butterscotch icing that hardened when set. Delish!
If anyone can shed light on this mystery, we would all be eternally grateful!”
Any former National Bakers out there?
Lorie Elizabeth DunlopI’m not sure about the cake… but for the icing, look for a penuche recipe. It’s delicious!
Susan BeamishI call it the ugly cake and I make every year for my husband’s birthday I got the recipe for the caramel icing from The Joy Of Cooking and you can purchase the marshmallow cream in most grocery stores
December 16, 2018 ·
A chef puts the finishing touches on the Christmas Tree at the Green Valley Restaurant in December of 1955.
That’s a piping bag in his hand … for the icing on a really big cake!
(City of Ottawa Archives CA036036)
June 11, 2018 ·
A young lady hands out some cupcakes during this Ottawa celebration in 1968. That summer marked the first “birthday” of the permanent Sparks Street Mall. They even had a three-tier cake to mark the occasion!
Starting in 1960, the street was closed to traffic in the summers in an attempt to improve commerce. It would only be permanently closed year-round as of 1967.
(Shared by Trevor Button)
July 1, 2017 ·
Queen Elizabeth cuts the big cake on Parliament Hill at the end of the big Canada Day Celebrations in Ottawa, July 1, 1967.
There’s seems to be some debate about just how much of the cake was fake, but the story goes that it was so big they had trouble getting it through the gates onto the Hill.
This picture was used on a Centennial Greeting Card by Judy La Marsh who as Secretary of State was in charge of Canada’s Centennial celebrations.
(City of Ottawa Archives CA024297-W.jpg)
June 27, 2014 ·
Lunchtime in Lost Ottawa … Government House Chef Zonda puts the finishing touches on an elaborate cake he has created to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, in 1953.
(LAC Mikan 4297886)
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lindaseccaspina 