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Tafadzwa Zimoyo
When it comes to choosing a dessert for that special occasion, the options are endless — from birthday cakes, anniversary cakes, graduation cakes and anything sweet and succulent.

It is true that you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a chocolate cake and be happy.

“Even though sugar was expensive, people consumed it till their teeth turned black, and if their teeth didn’t turn black naturally, they blackened them artificially to show how wealthy and marvellously self-indulgent they were”, once said Bill Bryson of the “At Home: A Short History of Private Life”, book fame.

Did you know that today’s cake has a long history that speaks of traders, travellers and invaders?

The boundary between cake and bread is blurred: the precursor of cake is probably a hard bread made from oats, barley, salt and water.

Generally, cake has traditionally been  food of celebration, friendship, sharing, joy and grieving. It is served at birthdays, weddings, funerals, with friends or simply as a conduit to bring the “team” together at the workplace.

In short, cake signifies place and connection and in that regard there is no better place to unwrap this bliss than in Spoon and Maiden, the prodigious makers of chocolate cake.

It is great pleasure that they finally came to town after treating cake lovers, envying the European feel of the popular Gourmet cakes.

When it comes to the Gourmet cakes one thinks of internationally-acclaimed award winning company, “The Gourmet Cupcake Company” in Essex, United Kingdom, and that company is popularly known for doing cakes for some of the international superstars who order online.

Well, yes, you can order a cake and get it delivered at your doorstep.

Interesting to note is the cake still arrives as fresh as ever.

In fact a new baby in town called Spoon and Maiden now does that.

Do you know that feeling of stepping into a patisserie that is laced with sweet scents and the aroma of fresh bakes, and how your heart would skip a beat when you set your eyes on the wondrous display of cakes and patisseries?

A lot of people understand, because we are lucky to have experienced that excitement many times.

Everywhere some people go, they keep their eyes peeled for patisseries, and boy, the world really spoils us silly.

Saturday Herald Lifestyle caught with Spoon and Maiden operations manager Ruramai Moyo soon after the official launch of the online store and shared their vision on how it will change the lifestyle of many cake lovers in and around Harare.

“Technology has catapulted us to a place where online has become the everyday place to be and our lifestyles have now curved to adapt. Online is now the contemporary way to live life and it has revolutionised sales and business as a whole. Launching Spoon and Maiden was one of the biggest feat in the history of cakes. You can order you cake in the comfort of your home and we deliver,” she said.

Moyo said they embrace the new phenomenon of the online space.

“Spoon and Maiden is a local company, which was recently launched online.

“The company has become synonymous with luxury cakes, and fortunately they have been reckoned leader of culinary excellence in the food industry.

“From the Belgian chocolate cake which is our signature flavour to exquisite treats such as white chocolate, cheese cake as well as sugar free treats, our cakes stand distinctly apart,” she said.

Asked who does the baking and where they are located, Moyo said they have a qualified cake boss, Kudzai Munjanja.

“We have an in-house baker Kudzai, in our lab where we perfect the ingredients and recipes for chocolate cakes. We specialise in chocolate cakes with a variety of flavours in the chocolate range. We have specialty cakes like New York, Cheese cake and sugar free cakes as well as banting cake. We even do an alcoholic cake and it’s called Borboun,” she said.

The operations manager said she can’t share the recipes of the popular gourmet cake they make with everyone, just like Coca-cola no one should know as of yet.

“Yes the cakes are done in Zimbabwe, and unfortunately we can’t share the recipe, maybe the ingredients, but this should be our secret and what makes us tick,” she said.