I was literally drooling as I read through the list of amazing cheesecakes available across South Africa. Drooling and fondly remembering how, as a child, cheesecake was my ultimate sweet treat.

Like most children growing up in the eighties, the first restaurant I recall going to was Spur. To be precise, the Silver Spur in Bellville, one of the first in the country. Yet, unlike most kids, I could not stand the macabre Chico the Clown for dessert. No, I was a cheesecake girl. Cheesecake and ice cream. I felt so grown up. (Incidentally, I was also a Salad Valley girl. Not necessarily because I was into salad, but because the then-free buffet included a large bowl overflowing with tiny blocks of cheddar. Heaven.)

At birthday parties and Sunday post-church teas, I did not gravitate towards brightly coloured cupcakes and creatures made from ice cream cones and smarties and marshmallows. Nope, I just wanted cheesecake. A beautiful slice that I could slowly and meticulously eat with a teaspoon. I was a particular child when it came to food: cake forks were also not my thing. It somehow felt as if some of the creamy cake disappeared when eaten with a fork. A spoon was much better – it could be licked clean!

I asked around the office and everyone has vivid memories of sweets and treats as children. The boys (art director Ian and sales dude Werner) were both peppermint crisp tart fans. Editorial assistant Kelly was into caramel mousse and Coke floats. Although our managing editor Alicia doesn’t really have a sweet tooth anymore, she remembers loving bazaar pudding – lots of custard and jelly!

Business manager Bronwyn recollects Milky Lane ice cream dipped in caramel or chocolate sauce – a favourite Sunday night treat with her parents and brothers. Juliette in sales remembers her favourite birthday spoil being an orange-flavoured ice cream from a parlour in Rondebosch.

Our copy editor Linda laughingly remembers ‘tamboessies’ (a dollop of custard cream sandwiched between two delicate pastry squares and topped with sour lemon icing) from a tuisnywerheid in Lyttelton, Pretoria: “We used to get them in two rows on a tray, housed inside a clear plastic bag blown up by a tannie!”

At account manager Claire’s home, desserts and cakes must have been plentiful as she has a long list of childhood favourites: bread and butter pudding, chocolate pudding, apple crumble, and yoghurt cake with icing sugar sprinkled on top. She recalls often eating slices of the latter after school.

Online editor Katharine remembers how, when she was five, her preschool published a recipe book for kids, for which she drew some of the pictures. “There was a recipe for Cowboy cookies. They were the most amazing chocolate chip cookies in the entire world – full of oats and brown sugar and loads of butter and salt, and the chocolate melted and oozed when just out the oven. This didn’t happen very often though; the dough was so incredible that we used to eat most of it before it got into the oven!”

Mmmm… raw cookie dough. Now there’s something I also remember eating my fair share of! So, what are your fondest sweet treat childhood memories? Please share. I like licking my screen and drooling on my keyboard.

Happy shopping and cooking!
Anelde

Photograph: Karen Booth