"You put the chocolate chip in the coconut"

As I've grown older, I've found my palate changing. I hated tofu as a kid, but I love it now. I thought beer had a horrible bitter aftertaste a few short years ago, but now I seek out IPAs. I didn't like coconut in sweet things...

Like Charlie Brown, I hated having to pick a chocolate out of an assortment box because it would inevitably end up being the coconut-filled one. But as I read the recipe for these Coconut-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes, I found myself thinking, "This actually sounds pretty good. I can't wait to try them."

These wereApril's dessert-of-the-month, for a friend fond of coconut, chocolate and sweet. And they had me saying yes to coconut in sweet things! The coconut flavour was subtle, marrying beautifully with the dark chocolate chips. The cupcake wasn't quite as moist as I thought it would be (I may have overbaked them a tad), but the crumb was wonderful, not too dense or too light, giving the cupcake a nice mouth-feel to go with the sweet frosting. I toasted coconut flakes to decorate the cakes with. I did dip one in shredded coconut, but I wasn't sure I liked the look of it as well. You be the judge.

Perhaps it was the use of coconut flavouring instead of extract. I didn't realize there was a difference till I read the recipe. Flavouring was all they had at the store. I like to believe it was worth the premium, that the flavouring resulted in an un-artificial coconut taste (unlike what the coconut in chocolate assortment boxes taste like). I'll be looking out for more coconut-flavoured desserts.

Mebbe nattō is next.