True Confections (Broadway) - Vancouver, BC

It's Canada Day!  Happy Canada Day Everyone!!  The problem?  It completely slips our minds as we head downtown for dessert.  Having found that the core is a gridlock for cars and with no interest in being amongst the throngs of people for the fireworks, we head out to find a dessert place open late on a Sunday.  The only place we can think of on the fly is this place...

True Confections has been open since 1989 and was Vancouver's first "dessert only" restaurant started by two friends with a devotion to sweets.  They carry a variety of cheesecakes, ginourmous cakes, several pies and some trifles - basically you'll be able to find something that you'll like even if you're the pickiest of eaters.  Owners/bakers Alanna and Nadine embrace making their desserts "from scratch", meaning using only natural ingredients i.e. no stabilizers or chemicals.  Somehow that makes us feel better for eating dessert after a big meal.  It's all natural so it's ok right?  It's all natural so it's ok to have seconds of dessert right?  Yeah, I'm just going to stick with that.  Come hither desserts!

Hazelnut Belgian Mousse - $7.95

Flourless dark chocolate cake, piled with chocolate mousse and shards of chocolate

I have to admit this is not the prettiest dessert but it tastes pretty darn good.  The mousse is light but with deep hazelnut chocolate flavor and the dark flourless chocolate cake is a nice contrast with the hazelnut flavor.  I didn't finish it all and brought half of it home for dessert the next day and it still tasted great.  If you like Ferrero Rocher or any combination of hazelnuts and chocolate, you'll love this dessert.  The whipped cream is a nice way to cut the chocolate but I also wish it came with some type of coulis or fruit component to give it that extra dimension.  

S'Mores Cheesecake - $6.95

Creamy chocolate swirl cheesecake, graham wafer crust, puffs of marshmallow, toasted marshmallow on top

Mr. Piglet L-O-V-E-S this dessert!  He can't get enough!  He's holding back so that I can have a bite or two but if I weren't there, that thing would've gone down his gullet in all of 30 seconds.  The cheesecake is creamy with a hint of chocolate, the graham wafer crust is moist and thicker (which I really enjoy - I'm a crust lover!), the puffy marshmallow and chocolate layer just cuts through the heavier cheesecake really nicely.  Absolutely recommend this one to everyone who loves the campfire s'mores of their youth!

Overall, there aren't a lot of places that are even open late in the Lower Mainland during the week, let alone dessert places and these Piglets have been a few times already so needless to say we'll be back again.  It's not that this place is only worth going to because it's open late - the desserts are also quite tasty and there are others that these Piglets still want to try.  Sure it's not the fanciest place with the most creative offerings but sometimes you just need a slice of something sweet and a cup of tea at 11 pm at night and True Confections satisfies that craving in every way.  Bon appetite!

Pros:

• Wide variety of desserts
• Open late (until midnight from Sun-Thurs and 1 am on Fri and Sat)
• Very tasty desserts
• Free parking - the lot is tiny but there's also street parking nearby

Cons:

• Small sitting area - very busy on the weekends
• Hot and cold service - sometimes really good but sometimes non-existent
• On the pricier side