Gingerbread Haus Bakery

Bakery: Gingerbread Haus
Address: 1138 Queen St, Halifax NS
Website: http://gingerbreadhausbakery.com/
Style: German, Austrian
Price: $$

Taking into account my fondness for German baked goods (especially given the high probability of poppy seed goodies ^^), you can bet Gingerbread Haus was on my to-visit list since my inaugural trip to Halifax last year. Sadly, I didn't have the time to go then, but I had the chance to go this time. Located down a few steps on the side of an old building in a historic neighbourhood, this has an old-world feel even before entering. Entering the little cafe, you have a variety of whole cakes and, off to one corner, a smaller selection of slab cake and fancier cake slices, as well as a few baked goods that weren't too German (danishes and croissants, if memory serves me correctly). Everything is labelled and priced. Personally, I was devastated to find not a single poppy seed treat, both in terms of cakes and sweet buns. What, impossible! ;__;

Slice of Swiss "alp-ple" cake... ha ha, get it? Yes?

I was debating this time around between two items: the classic apple strudel ($3.50) with its thin dough and generous apple filling or the Swiss apple square ($3.00). Seeing as I've tried the former and never heard of the latter (perhaps it's not too authentic then, not sure), I was leaning towards the second. The fact that it was cheaper (hey, I am on a budget!) and that I espied spice cake underneath -- I do love spice cake -- I ended up going with the Swiss apple cake. Yes, it was indeed spice cake! Delicious spice cake that complimented the apples perfectly; it was slightly milder than gingerbread and was topped with a nice big layer of crumble, with sliced apples hiding somewhere in between. Seeing as I had it as part of my picnic (well, it was my picnic besides some water .__.), it was difficult to enjoy without a fork and getting everything in one mouthful required some stretching, but it was pretty good: I loved the moist spice cake and the apples. The crumble was tasty too, but I thought it a little too oily. Altogether, a tasty, though simple cake, though I would have preferred poppy seed. *weeps*

Rating: ***