Chocolate Espresso Custard

When I gave myself the gift of summer, I hoped for adventure and I hoped for leisure. While adventure is on the horizon (I'm headed off to France in two weeks!), this week was spent catching up on a year's worth of much needed relaxation. I pulled a deck chair out into the sun, slathered on the sunscreen, and read my way through a couple good books. With a tall glass of ice water at my side, it felt very much like a dream.

I have been savoring these little moments, taking them in and bundling them up for a rainy day. When summer ends and the responsibilities start up once again, I'll take one of these memories out, smooth out the edges, and remember the feeling of the sun and the smell of the grass.

Custards are among the things I do not need to be reminded to savor. As a part of my own tradition, I use the smallest spoon in the drawer. Eating it slowly, one small bite at a time, letting the flavor linger. These custards are simple to prepare, an afterthought to create after dinner, but they can be enjoyed for several evenings after.

Chocolate and espresso go together effortlessly and it shows in this simple dessert. Perhaps this can be your own reminder to slow down and take in the moment with a little more awareness than before.

Chocolate Espresso Custard is a sweet, cool treat to enjoy any time of the year. While this version is dairy-free, utilizing coconut milk and coconut whipped cream, I have added substitutions to make it a bit more traditional. The smooth flavors of chocolate and espresso are both pronounced. When garnished with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and chocolate covered espresso beans, this custard will disappear in no time.

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Coconut Tapioca Pudding

I admire the resilience of the coconut—the tough outer shell, the softer interior. It may not be a traditionally beautiful fruit, as it hides itself between layers of thick husk, but the brilliant white meat is worth the trouble. Coconut used to be a passing fancy for me, an afterthought more than a headlining ingredient. I would toss a few flakes in granola or a quick banana bread, but I never gave it much attention, or appreciated it for what it was.

All of this changed when I was diagnosed as lactose intolerant, and I could not be more grateful for the coconut and its countless uses.

When I was in Hawaii a couple years ago, I insisted on pulling the rental car to the side of the road to stop at a small fruit stand. One coconut, please, I requested.

Young or old?

There's a difference?

Since it was a quiet afternoon, the stand owner took some time to give me a little lesson in coconuts. After chopping through two with a hatchet, he allowed me to sip the water from each. Young coconut water was fizzy and refreshing. Old coconut water had a thick musky scent and flavor—not bad, but not terribly pleasant either. Then, it was time to taste the meat. For the young coconut, he handed me a plastic spoon. The young coconut flesh was so tender, so soft, it had the consistency of custard. The old coconut had the hard white flesh I was already familiar with. When the lesson was through, he packaged them up and sent me on my way.

This coconut tapioca pudding combines coconut in three different forms. Rich coconut milk forms the base of the pudding. Whipped coconut cream, dolloped on top, provides a creamy thickness that is wonderful to eat between bites or to stir straight into the pudding. Lastly, a few flakes of toasted coconut are sprinkled on top, for flavor and for a pop of color.

A trifecta of coconut, in pudding form.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding is perfect for the unpredictable weather of spring. The pudding can be served warm or cold to suit the scene outside the window. Coconut is the clear star of the dish, adding flavor in texture in three separate forms. This is a simple dish best served for afternoon pick-me-ups or lazy evening treats.

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Coconut Macaroons

It rained today, a slow drizzle from the sky bringing as much gloom as a single afternoon could muster. Never, I dare say, has such a day felt more needed. This feeling spread like a contagion through the high school, my students infected with the Friday afternoon jitters though it was only Monday. It was a sign that winter was going to end, that the months spent hiding indoors were worth the wait, a sign that we could begin to breathe again.

I feel as if I've been holding my breath too long.

I am afraid winter managed to get the best of me this year. It was a longer and colder winter than I can remember from years past, weakening my spirit in subtle, but significant ways. The sun didn't bring warmth to my skin; the wind cut through my winter coat. With a heavy workload and small town isolation, I often slipped into a melancholy mood, feeling as if the light behind my eyes had dimmed.

Standing in the crowded school hallway, the bell ringing to signal the changing of classes, it smelled like rain and dirt and people. I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs. I never thought that this smell was one I could miss. I never imagined that this scent, damp and dank, would be the sign of spring I was so desperate for.

I paused to take another breath before heading back to class.

The best coconut macaroon I've had was at a small bakery tucked away in a large market. It didn't look like much, so small as it was, but the texture—dense and endlessly chewy—was worth noting. I've thought of those macaroons often since then, whipping up a batch here or there in my own kitchen. The cookies were neither dense nor chewy enough to satisfy my tastes. Though each cookie was eaten, but I could not help but compare them with each bite.

After fiddling around with this recipe, I uncovered a version that comes quite close to the coveted texture of that small bakery. I am satisfied.

Coconut Macaroons are a simple, five ingredient cookie, that celebrates coconut. With maple syrup to sweeten and vanilla to complement, these cookies become quite addictive (especially if you have a cup of tea in hand). If you prefer a lighter macaroon, simply decrease the baking time, but I enjoy them best when dark and golden (which the recipe reflects below).

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