Almond Joy Tart

One of the more interesting things I like to do when traveling abroad is to go shopping in foreign grocery stores. This may sound ridiculous. This may sound like a waste of time. Many of you may even be appalled that I'd take time out of sightseeing to peruse something so commonplace as a grocery store, but I'm going to stand behind myself on this one. It's quite amazing what you'll find.

It's one thing to dine in the unfamiliar restaurants of another country to get a sense of the food culture (and the flavors!), but dining out isn't how most of the population eats. I'm lucky if I dine out once a month. If you want to get a true idea of how people eat (and everybody eats), the market will show you just about everything you could wish to know.

I like to marvel at the differences from my own store and the foods I'm used to. Depending on where you live and where you are traveling, the fruits and vegetables vary. I've often picked up fruit I couldn't recognize, tried to translate the sign I couldn't read, and ended up snapping a photo to identify it later. The amount of boxed and processed foods scattered throughout the store can say quite a bit about the culture you're visiting. I've noticed that there seems to be a much greater focus on fresh food everywhere but the United States. I also find the sweet treats to be fascinating but, then again, my life tends to revolve a bit around butter and sugar.

Food says a lot about a culture and the people who live there. Next time you're in a far away land, eat as much as you can! But when you get full, take a minute or two out of your day to walk through a market and explore. You might just learn more than you expected.

Believe it or not, this tart tastes exactly like an Almond Joy. It is as if you've placed an Almond Joy on a flaky shortbread cookie and taken a big bite. Seriously. The sweet coconut is covered in just the right amount of chocolate—neither overwhelms the other. Sliced almonds are spread over the coconut giving each bite that rich and subtle almond flavor instead of the occasional big crunch in a real Almond Joy. This tart converted my coconut hating boyfriend into one who now requests I make more coconut treats.

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Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Lately, I've been having a streak of recipe failures. Normally, I'm okay with a failed recipe or two (and even then once every blue moon). After I stop whining and complaining (kicking, screaming, crying), I find there's usually something to learn. Maybe I didn't have the right ratio of flour to fats. Maybe I substituted an ingredient I really shouldn't have. There are dozens of things that could have gone wrong and it's my job as the baker/detective to sort it out. I'm okay with solving baking crimes (well, it is a crime to see good food go to waste!). What I'm not okay with is a failed recipe where there was nothing to learn and I have no idea what went wrong.

That just makes me mad.

In the past week, I've had four recipes go sour. Four. I didn't share my lemon mousse with the texture verging on cottage cheese. I chose not to show you my coffee poached pears with the nightmare coffee caramel sauce. I even tried steaming some vegetables with a little vinegar and only ended up with a home that reeked of Little House on the Prairie. It's been a bad week for my kitchen. It's been a blow to my culinary confidence. I'm almost nervous to try something new for fear it will end up in the trash (again).

But these coconut cream cupcakes? These broke that awful streak (thank goodness). I honestly can't think of a change I'd do to make these better. These are just perfect.

These coconut cream cupcakes are reminiscent of a coconut cream pie. The cupcake is a traditional vanilla cupcake absolutely infused with coconut, including coconut milk and flaked coconut mixed throughout. If that isn't good enough, these cupcakes are then filled with a toasted coconut cream. Toasted coconut. They are finally topped with a vanilla whipped cream and a sprinkling of toasted coconut. These are addictive and so delicious. If you love coconut, you need to make these.

I should have called them Coconut Dream Cupcakes.

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Brown Sugar Coconut Bubble Tea

Bubble tea is a relatively new phenomenon, originating in Taiwan in the 1980s. In fact, it only caught on because they were featured on a popular Japanese television show. From Taiwan, bubble tea traveled to east Asia and then to Canada before taking hold in the United States. Bubble tea comes in two different varieties: fruit flavored teas and milk based teas. But if you are lucky, you'll find a place that combines them to give you a fruity milk tea (my favorite). The base is traditionally a black or green tea, depending on which fruits are present.

But what I find most interesting is that the tapioca pearls (also known as boba) in the tea are not why this drink is referred to as a bubble tea. The "bubble" actually comes from the fact that, when you blend the tea together, tiny frothy bubbles are created which sit on the top of the tea. So the next time you find yourself sipping a bubble tea, you can spread your knowledge and look like a hot shot tea drinker.

This brown sugar coconut bubble tea is light and delicious, satisfying any and all tea cravings. Brown sugar and coconut work very well together, creating an interesting flavor profile. The tapioca pearls give this drink texture, providing a chewy bite or two between sips. I think bubble teas are an unusual (but delicious) experience and it's one that I would like to share with you.

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