Join us for a tour of the sweet bread of Mexico, Latin and South America as we take a new pastry each week to discuss and share history, our favorites, and other fun facts! (Note* – currently we are only making this bread for custom orders).
This pan dulce called Cocada shares its name with a traditional candy made in Mexico, Spain and many parts of Latin America. (The candy is the original owner of the name – it is a soft chewy sweet, and in Mexico made of shredded coconut and sweetened condensed milk. Sound familiar? Think coconut macaroon).
The word Cocada itself comes from the word coconut and the suffix -ada, meaning -full. Indeed in Mexico, coconut is abundant and used in many ways – desserts, savory dishes, drinks, cooking oil, fishnets and rope (fibers), palapas (thatched structures commonly seen ..on Mexico’s beaches that are made from the plant’s fronds).
Because of its general name, you will likely find many variations of a ‘cocadas’ when visiting different panaderías (bakeries) – some with more coconut, some with less, perhaps even with different types of dough. We like to add a little bit of chocolate to ours to sweeten the deal!
