When a customer asked for 'something Tangled-themed,' Koko went to her kitchen and came back with something that looked like a dream made edible.
The request came via Instagram message: 'Can you do Tangled oreos for my daughter's party?' Koko had never made them before. She said yes anyway.
The colour palette came first. Rapunzel's world is purple and gold — a combination that is, by any measure, perfect for chocolate. Purple candy melts were ordered, yellow star-shaped cutouts sourced. The Oreos were dipped, the excess tapped away, and then the stars pressed gently into the surface while the chocolate was still soft.
'I make desserts, but sometimes what I am really making is a moment.' — Koko.
What Koko discovered in making them was that themed desserts require a storytelling instinct. You are not just making a cookie. You are making an object that should, when a child sees it, transport them immediately to a specific feeling. The purple should be the right purple. The star should sit at the right angle. The gold shimmer should catch the light.
The daughter's reaction was captured on video: both hands pressed to her face, saying 'Mama, they look like the movie!' Koko has watched it more than once.
'I make desserts,' Koko says, 'but sometimes what I am really making is a moment.'