Vanilla Almond Coconut Cake

I've had quite the hankering lately for coconut cake. As soon as I decided I was going to make one, they started popping up everywhere--on the covers of magazines, and on a few of my favorite food blogs (I particularly liked this one from Completely Delicious and this one from Willow Bird Baking). Feeling a bit discouraged, I decided to make one anyway. It was perfectly lovely, but nothing special and, therefore, not good enough. I waited.

I waited for inspiration for something that would stand out and, lucky for me, I woke up one morning with a fantastic idea: vanilla almond coconut cake (sometimes I dream in recipes). And let me tell you, it was well worth the wait.

With a nutty flavor and texture, flecks of real vanilla bean, a thick coconut pudding filling, and the best cream cheese frosting you will ever taste, this cake is a real winner. Maybe even better than the ones on the covers of those magazines ;)

Nutella Chocolate Chip Pie

Last month, my home community had a "childhood favorites" potluck. The house was filled with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese with cut-up hot dogs, and Nutella.

Now, I never liked Nutella as a child. We were strictly a peanut butter family, but this "weird" brown spread showed up at friends' houses after school. I thought it was gross.

Thankfully, as I grew up, I came around to this delicious hazelnut chocolate spread. And, even though I didn't like it as a kid, I still deemed a Nutella dessert appropriate for the theme "childhood favorites." I am certain I was the anomaly.

So, here we have Nutella Chocolate Chip Pie. This cream cheese-based pie has a buttery chocolate chip cookie and hazelnut crust and is topped with fresh whipped cream. It's good. It's really good. And I'd like to think that even my 8-year-old self wouldn't have been able to resist it.