A prized family recipe for orange cake that survived the Holocaust was reproduced by a Chilliwack bakery this week to honour a Holocaust survivor.
The survivor, Alex Buckman, is the keynote speaker for the sold-out event, A Conversation with a Holocaust Survivor, at the Abbotsford campus of University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) on Wednesday (Nov. 23).
Sebastian Huebel, who teaches a history course on the Holocaust at UFV, organized the event.
Huebel invited Buckman to share his story with the class, making arrangements through the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.
含羞草研究社淚 wanted my students to be able hear from and speak to a survivor,含羞草研究社� Huebel recounted.
But rather than only having the speaker address his 30 students, he decided to open the event to the wider community, thinking it might attract broader interest. And it did, having sold out.
The event was described as an opportunity to: 含羞草研究社淲itness a personal and powerful story of survival and courage while learning and reflecting on how we can engage in meaningful ways to build a better world.含羞草研究社�
Buckman survived the Holocaust as a child by being hidden in Belgium, but his mother perished at a concentration camp.
含羞草研究社淥ne thing that survived, however, was a cookbook including some family recipes,含羞草研究社� Huebel said.
The cookbook, and the cake recipe somehow made its way into Buckman含羞草研究社檚 hands, having been delivered to him by another survivor.
Huebel decided to approach Travis Neels of BeNanna Bakery in Chilliwack to see if they could reproduce the decades-old cake recipe in time for the event.
含羞草研究社淪ure enough, they did!含羞草研究社�
Neels said the recipe that they converted into cupcakes included both orange juice and a bit of orange zest. It was a fun challenge to take on for the European-style bakery.
含羞草研究社淚t turned out wonderful,含羞草研究社� Neels said. 含羞草研究社淚t was a simple recipe to do.含羞草研究社�
BeNanna staff baked off about 150 cupcakes from the orange cake recipe, and packed them into pastry boxes, which were handed out to attendees at the end of the Holocaust remembrance event.
In his closing remarks, the history instructor explained that one of the 含羞草研究社渓asting legacies含羞草研究社� of the Holocaust are the memories that need to be preserved.
含羞草研究社淭he Nazis in the end were not successful,含羞草研究社� Huebel said. 含羞草研究社淭hey tried to eliminate all things Jewish but they didn含羞草研究社檛. There are the family stories. There are the survivors, and the memories we need to keep alive. So it含羞草研究社檚 more than a simple cupcake!含羞草研究社�
So when the event was over attendees were offered a taste of those lingering memories as a meaningful way to end it.
含羞草研究社淪o maybe we can cherish his memory, and his family含羞草研究社檚 memory by taking that cupcake home, and the recipe, and live it.含羞草研究社�
RELATED:
Do you have something to add to this story, or a news tip? Email:
jennifer.feinberg@theprogress.com
Like us on and follow us on .
