May West
Encyclopedia
A May West is a round dessert cake with cream filling. It was created in Canada
, and continues to be particularly popular in the Province of Quebec
. It is currently made by Vachon Inc.
, a division of Saputo Inc.
The cake was invented by René Brousseau, patissier
at Vaillancourt Inc., a Quebec City
bakery. As of 1932 the May West was then made by Stuart Ltd, run by the wealthy Montreal-based Allard family and subsequently bought out in 1979 by their longtime competitor, Vachon Inc. Vachon continued to market them under the Stuart brand, before retiring the Stuart brand and rebranding the line to reflect a consolidated Vachon lineup.
The cake's name was originally identical to that of the movie star that inspired it, but got changed in the 1980s to its current spelling. The original creme filling was custard
, however it has since then been replaced by a shortening
-based vanilla creme close in taste and texture to the filling found in Twinkies.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and continues to be particularly popular in the Province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. It is currently made by Vachon Inc.
Vachon Inc.
Vachon, Inc. is a Canadian maker of popular snack pastries, owned by Saputo, Inc.Vachon was founded by Joseph-Arcade and Rose-Anna Vachon Giroux in 1923 when the couple left his home village of Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage to develop a bakery in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce in Quebec.Brands include:*May...
, a division of Saputo Inc.
The cake was invented by René Brousseau, patissier
Pastry chef
A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...
at Vaillancourt Inc., a Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
bakery. As of 1932 the May West was then made by Stuart Ltd, run by the wealthy Montreal-based Allard family and subsequently bought out in 1979 by their longtime competitor, Vachon Inc. Vachon continued to market them under the Stuart brand, before retiring the Stuart brand and rebranding the line to reflect a consolidated Vachon lineup.
The cake's name was originally identical to that of the movie star that inspired it, but got changed in the 1980s to its current spelling. The original creme filling was custard
Custard
Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce , to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used as...
, however it has since then been replaced by a shortening
Shortening
Shortening is any fat that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry. The reason it is called shortening is because it prevents cross-linkage between gluten molecules. Cross linking is what causes doughs to be sticky. Seeing as cake is not meant to be sticky, shortening is used...
-based vanilla creme close in taste and texture to the filling found in Twinkies.