Saturday, November 26, 2011 - Indulge Your Sweet Tooth

Introduction

In today's puzzle, Cox and Rathvon serve up a veritable smorgasbord of tasty treats - desserts, dessert toppings, and candy. A few of these are quintessentially Canadian - but should be fairly well known beyond our borders. Less well known, perhaps, is Canada's first - and only - female Prime Minister, whose term in office was rather short. After sampling the sweets, one may well need to pay a visit to the professional at 25d.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

Butter Tarts

1a   B(UTTER| T)ART - BART (Simpson boy [cartoon character Bart Simpson]) containing {UTTER (total) + T (portion of the; i.e., the first letter of 'The')}

A butter tart is a type of small pastry tart highly regarded in Canadian cuisine and considered one of Canada's quintessential desserts. The tart consists of butter, sugar, syrup, and egg filled into a flaky pastry and baked until the filling is semi-solid with a crunchy top.

6a   SCAT - double definition; "sing jazzily" & "make tracks"

9a   C(A|MILL)A - {A (†) + MILL (factory)} contained in (in) CA (California)

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla Rosemary; née Shand, previously Parker Bowles) is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and is the current holder of the titles of Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay and Countess of Chester. Although Camilla became the Princess of Wales upon her marriage to the Prince of Wales, she has chosen to be known by the alternative and lesser title of the Duchess of Cornwall, thereby avoiding confusion with her husband's first wife, the late Diana, Princess of Wales. She is known by this title worldwide, but in Scotland protocol determines that she is properly styled the Duchess of Rothesay.

10a   D(ECO)RUM - ECO (Italian novelist [Umberto Eco]) contained in (wearing) DRUM (barrel)

12a   HASH - double definition; "make a mess of" & "hemp product"

Nanaimo Bars

13a   NAN(AIM)O BAR - NANOBAR (little bit of pressure) containing (about) AIM (plan)

The bar is a unit of pressure equal to 100 kilopascals, and roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. A nanobar is one-billionth (10⁻⁹) of a bar.

The Nanaimo bar is a dessert of Canadian origin popular across North America. The Nanaimo bar is a bar cookie which requires no baking, and is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. It consists of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured butter icing, which is covered in chocolate made from melted chocolate squares.

15a   S(EVIL|L)E - {EVIL (bad) + L (piece of luck; i.e., the first letter of 'Luck')} contained in (in) SE (southeastern)

There is definitely some cryptic misdirection here, as Seville is actually located in southwestern Spain.

16a   T(I|BET)AN - {I (†) + BET (wager} contained in (invested in) TAN (bronze; as bask in the sun)

18a   F(OR)EVER - FEVER (frenzy) containing (around) OR (operating room)

20a   CALIPER* - anagram (plastic) of REPLICA

Egg Custard Tart

22a   {EGG CUSTARD}* - anagram (fresh) of DAGGER CUTS

Custard tarts have long been a favourite pastry in the British Isles, and are also widely enjoyed in Australia and New Zealand [as well as Canada, I might add]. They are often called egg custard tarts or simply egg custards to distinguish the egg-based filling from the commonly-served cornflour-based custards. They are sold in supermarkets and bakeries throughout the UK.

24a   F(RE)T - RE (about) contained in (entering) FT ([abbreviation for] fort)

26a   G(IVES) IN - IVES (Currier's partner [in the American printmaking firm Currier and Ives]) contained in (in) GIN (spirit)

27a   {MADE WAR}< - reversal of (returning) {RAW (unprocessed) + EDAM ([Dutch] cheese)}

28a   TOLL - double definition; "tax" & "chime"

Maple Syrup

29a   {MAPLE SYRUP}* - anagram (turned) of YAMS PURPLE

Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees that is often eaten with waffles, pancakes, oatmeal (porridge), and French toast. It is also used as an ingredient in baking, and as a sweetener and flavouring agent. It is frequently used in desserts or simply poured over them - in the case of ice cream, for example.

In cold climates, maple trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in the spring. Maple trees can be tapped by boring holes into their trunks and collecting the exuded sap. The sap is processed by heating to evaporate some of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup.

Quebec, Canada is by far the largest producer, making about three-quarters of the world's output. Vermont is the largest producer in the United States, and generates about 5.5 percent of the global supply.

Down

1d   BA(C)CH|US - {BACH ([German] composer [Johann Sebastian Bach]) + (with) US (our group)} containing (taking) C (cup)

In Greek mythology, Bacchus was another name for Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Semele. Originally a god of the fertility of nature, associated with wild and ecstatic religious rites, in later traditions he is a god of wine who loosens inhibitions and inspires creativity in music and poetry. Bacchus is the name which was adopted by the Romans for this god.

Mesa Verde Cactus

2d   _TI|ME SA|VER_ - hidden in (through) cacTI MESA VERde

The Mesa Verde cactus or Mesa Verde fishhook cactus, Sclerocactus mesae-verde, is a species of cactus in the Sclerocactus genus occurring in habitat at 4000–5000 ft. only in Colorado and New Mexico in the Four Corners region, United States.

3d   ELL|A - ELL (wing) + (along with) A (†)

Ella Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996), also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella", was an American jazz and song vocalist.

Teacake

4d   TEA CAKE - sounds like (heard) TEAK (wood) + ACHE (yearn)

A teacake is a light yeast-based sweet bun containing dried fruit, typically served toasted and buttered. However, as detailed in the Wikipedia article cited, there is much variation in teacakes (or tea cakes) around the world, and even regionally within the UK and the US.

5d   RED|RAFT - RED (embarrassed) + RAFT (multitude)

7d   CAROB - anagram (developed) of BROCA

Paul Broca (1824 – 1880) was a French physician, surgeon, anatomist, and anthropologist who is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe of the brain responsible for articulated language that has been named after him. It seems that, in Crosswordland, he may also have moonlighted as a food scientist.

8d   T(A|MAR)IN - {A (†) + MAR (blemish)} contained in TIN (metal)

11d   C(A|MP|B)ELL - CELL (room) containing (occupied by) {A (†) + MP (legislator; i.e., Member of Parliament) + B (British)}

Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, PC, CC, QC is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993 (132 days). Campbell was the first and to date the only female Prime Minister of Canada, the first baby boomer to hold that office, and the only PM to have been born in British Columbia.

14d   F(LAV)OURS - LAV (john) containing (getting into) FOURS (quartets)

17d   TOP-DRAWER< - reversal (brought back) of {REWARD (prize) + POT (Mary Jane; i.e., marijuana)}

18d   FR(E)IGHT - E (empty) contained in (in) FRIGHT (panic)

19d   ROTUNDA* - anagram (dancing) of DO A TURN

Caramel Candy

20d   C(A|R)AMEL - CAMEL (ruminant) containing (eating) {A (†) + R (bit of rock; i.e., first letter of 'Rock')}

21d   RAT|TRAP< - reversal (going the other way) of {PART (leave) + TAR (sailor)}

23d   GA(V)EL - GAEL (highlander) containing (grabbing) V (vibist's first; i.e,, first letter of 'Vibist' [a musician who plays the vibraphone])

25d   A|DDS - A (†) + DDS (dental surgeon's degree; i.e., Doctor of Dental Surgery)

Signing off for today - Falcon