The Baker and Food in Cuba

A blog post about The Chocolate Museum

The non-baker and baker are currently in different cities in different countries and thus the baker finds it necessary to wax poetic about the flavors and textures of Cuban food herself.

After a long arduous day of drifting the streets of La Vieja Habana, learning about the layered architecture from the 20th century, and staring at the imported Asian cars and antique US ones, the baker found herself worn out. It was time for a snack.

She has no kitchen in which to bake for herself in Havana, nor would she really want anything hot, as it is already so hot and humid here. Instead, she wandered into the line outside The Chocolate Museum.

This little chocolate café is in the center of old Havana, near shops and cluttered with people in line to get in and order their chocolate fresca.

As readers of this blog know, the Baker is an odd one because she does not enjoy cocoa flavoring. That means no chocolate pudding or ice cream or milkshakes or milk. However, this cold chocolate drink was a very notable exception.

First the lady fingers arrived. These were different shapes and sizes, but their lack of uniformity made them all the more intruiging. The baker bit into a plain one. The soft crunch was surprisingly airy and savory. But, it was also dusted with cinnamon sugar. Yum.

Then the chocolate fresca came. The tall cool glass was already precipitating from the cool liquid it encased. Foam filled the top eighth of the glass. The first sip was wonderful. It was cold and frothy, yet full of flavor. It was thick and not syrupy. An milky iceshake. Then a straw and a napkin were brought. The baker wiped her chocolate moustache.

Where did the shake go? Was the glass really that small? There was only about a fourth of the glass till full.

She dipped the lady finger cookie. It softened and grew in size a little as the chocolate froth permeated the crisp exterior. Then in her mouth, it dissolved into crumble. Why didn’t I dip this before and order about 5 more of these?

Then the shake was gone. Only the aftertaste of the sweet shake lingered softly and sweetly in her mouth.