Nature's Fare

Bakery: Nature's Fare
Address: 1876 Cooper Rd #120, Kelowna BC
Website: http://www.naturesfare.com
Style: North American, Gluten-free 
Price: $$ 

Nature's Fare is a smaller chain of health and organic food stores with about half a dozen stores through the Okanagan along with locations in Kamloops, Langley and White Rock. Think of it as a slightly smaller, homegrown Whole Foods. As is the case with these larger, more "gourmet" health food stores, Nature's Fare has a bakery, though the vast amount of items are packaged and brought in from other places; however, I was looking for something entirely different (yes, this was a Cake Tour done on the side, a little bonus onto my shopping trip, you could say) and spotted a teeny-tiny shelf where they do have a small selection of baked goods, either simply saran wrapped or packed in plastic containers. These included cookies, some slices of cake and possibly a few treats.

I think the one thing that did frustrate me a little was the fact that everything in their sweets section was gluten-free... I never like the assumption that because I want to eat healthy, it can never include good flour (and dairy), especially when gluten-free baking has become more attainable than in the past. On the other hand, finding organic baked goods, either entirely or with a majority of organic ingredients, is quite rare.

 Anyways, my mini rant over, I was intrigued by their gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake ($2.69), simply because it smelled so good, even through the saran wrap. Its aromas wafted through the bag and enticed me until it was finally time to bite into it. Unlike many gluten-free baked goods, the dough was a golden yellow, spongy and very moist, far from the white pasty stuff I've often  encountered. It was interlaced with plenty of fragrant and flavourful cinnamon and sprinkled with a bit of crumble. I wasn't a fan of the icing drizzled on top; there was something that bugged me about it and the crumble was, I admit, a little too sandy. Actually, the topping detracted a little bit from the texture of the cake, but it was pretty tasty. For all skeptics out there, you'd never know....

Rating: **1/2