A Taste of Haldimand – May 22, 2025

It was during a visit with Rob and Debbie Daniels that Rob started to tell me about some of his favourite recipes, which were his grandmother’s. Rob grew up in Caledonia but he spent a lot of time during his youth on his grandparents’ farm. Vincent and Helen Smith owned a dairy farm near Clanbrassil. They had four children, Doreen, Bob, Donnie, and Eleanor. Rob is Doreen’s son and the eldest grandchild.

He showed me a beautiful book that had been created by his aunt on the occasion of his grandmother’s 90th birthday in 2002. In it are wonderful stories by various family members outlining the life of his grandparents and sharing memories of significant events. Everyone chose their favourite recipe of Helen’s to be included. Every family member received a copy.

Rob said his grandmother was always happy and always baking! She was renowned for her cakes, pies, tarts, and more. The walnut and jam tarts are among his favourites. He recounted a story from when he was probably around 14 years of age and, for some reason, was alone in the farmhouse. He spotted a plate of tarts in the refrigerator and just couldn’t help himself. He ate the whole plate. Later in the day, Rob told his grandfather he wasn’t feeling very well. At the same time, Helen discovered the empty plate! Apparently, his uncle Donnie had done exactly the same thing on a different occasion.

For every family birthday, Helen made her famous double layer chocolate cake. However, her son Bob did not like chocolate. So, for each occasion, Helen would always make a second cake, a boiled raisin cake, just so Bob could enjoy a piece. Rob said he remembers the chocolate cake as decadent, but he made sure he always enjoyed a piece of the raisin one too! Enjoy!