Contributed by Lorna McNeill. Thank you to Lorna, Elizabeth Cressman and Mark Durieux for contributing photos.
This September, the 60th Cake Bake took place – and it was a full production. What started as a small group of women 60 years ago who used their own mixers and raised money for mission work, has grown to a large-scale production line in our commercial-grade kitchen raising and disbursing hundreds of thousands of dollars to make our world a better place. This year, 61 volunteers made 850 cakes – 400 mini and 450 regular cakes.
This project is not just about fruit cake – it’s about fellowship within the church and about mission and outreach. The planners start in June and finish in November. Our very hard-working executive who make everything happen are Barbara Henson, Broda Stuart, Fran Cormack, Sherry Buckle, Norma Hunchak, Henrietta Van Huigenbos, Deborah Winston and Lorna McNeill. We are grateful for the support of staff – our office wizards, our facilities team and Rob and Alan, and the fantastic volunteers. This could not happen without all of this wonderful support!
Cake Bake Fun Facts
- Our cakes have been enjoyed worldwide, from England to France, the USA and throughout Canada’s provinces.
- Cake are made from the original recipe from 1962 — only now we make 320x that recipe.
- The project began with the Dorcas Group of the Women’s Fellowship Committee and has since expanded to include all segments of Women’s Fellowship, augmented by countless volunteers from the church and our friends.
- We are grateful to have the help of many men on the Saturday when the fruit arrives from Medicine Hat via Rosenau transport and then the Co-op order arrives — all those pounds of fruit, flour and butter have to be carried down into the kitchen/dining room area. Unloading the trucks takes most of Saturday morning and lots of muscle!
Interesting Facts from 2022:
- We used 55 Kgs of liquid eggs
- 34 Kgs sugar
- 68 Kgs flour
- 111 pounds of butter
- 68 cans of evaporated milk
- 100 Kgs of raisins
- 222 Kgs fruit
- 16 Kgs of coconut, and
- 19 Kgs of slivered almonds
What a few volunteer members of the Cake Bake Team have to say!
