go celebrate spring with Copain Bakery's new menu drop!

2025 spring has sprung in Charlotte 🌱

Early February may feel a little early for a spring menu when everyone’s recovering from faux winter storm forecasts and prepping for Gal/Valentine’s Day, but the weather started it first with those 60 - 70°F temps… 👀 so can you really blame anyone?

I’ve never been someone who was extremely enamored with seasonals (I’m a classics gal), but trying so much of Copain Bakery & Provision’s spring menu this weekend was an absolute delight, a fun, celebratory way to deeply appreciate seasonal joys (especially of the less commercialized seasons of spring and summer).

When it comes to seasonals, it feels like fall and winter menus always get the most stardom and stage time (pumpkin spice! peppermint mocha! sweet potato!), while the flavors of spring and summer quietly exist (fresh berries? lavender honey? herby tomato?), sometimes with lines blurred, and aren’t as widely celebrated. It was out of my norm to be seeking out this strawberry and raspberry-centric menu, but seeing the pinks and reds sit so adorably next to the browns and tans of pastries and chocolate felt sort of festive. Excited to walk you through this menu!

menu items

honest reviews

JALAPEÑO CHEDDAR SCONE: this personified a Cheez-It IMMENSELY, and as a Cheez-It lover, I was so satisfied. Also, it is possibly one of the best bakery scones both me and my husband have ever had because of its texture—it was unbelievably moist and didn’t leave your mouth like a dry desert afterwards, like most other scones tend to. (rating: 9/10)

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT TART: this looked so much like a Ferrero Rocher, I just couldn’t help myself to try it out (I’m also a huge Ferrero Rocher fan). All of the chocolate features met the mark: the chocolate shell had the perfect snappy bite, the chocolate crust had the texture of a Girl Scout’s thin mint (without the mint), and the chocolate truffle in the middle was deeply deeply dark. The hazelnut whipped cream underneath the chocolate shell was super subtle (almost didn’t taste like hazelnut)…really, I could’ve had all of the hazelnut vibes amped up tenfold in the entire entremet. (rating: 7/10)

RASPBERRY MERINGUE TART: a surprise showstopper! I’ve only had lemon meringue before, so wasn’t sure what to expect from this number where raspberry was the main event…but Copain’s execution of this pastry won me over to the concept! The tartness in the raspberry filling balanced out the sweetness in the meringue, and the textures of everything melted together in such a way where the mouthfeel was unbelievably smooth. (rating: 10/10)

RASPBERRY CROISSANT: this one has to be my favorite out of all of them! I was bracing myself for a too-sweet filling, but the raspberry jam was mellowed out by the fresh whipped cream, and there was enough croissant around everything to counter any risk of oversweetness. The filled croissants I’ve had in the past have always used one uniform filling, so encountering the pairing of the jam and cream in this one was a delightful surprise and very enjoyable for my taste buds. (rating: 10.5/10)

STRAWBERRY CREAM PUFF: the cream was decently strawberry, almost reminded me of strawberry ice cream from Breyer’s or some other commercial brand. The choux was a decent texture, no complaints! Lower rating because there was a LOT of cream and I would’ve preferred a higher choux-to-cream ratio. Plus, at the price point I’d rather just have another Raspberry Croissant :) (rating: 5.5/10)

BOSTON CREAM FLAT CROISSANT: the flavor profile is less cream and more dark chocolate, yielding a Stracciatella vibe over its original Boston Cream intention. The lower rating is not because of that, though (because I loveeee a Stracciatella moment), but because it was too sweet for me, and I just prefer my croissants not flat (these flattened croissants always feel like I’m eating a cookie, or a flatbread). But my husband really enjoyed it! (rating: 6/10)

STRAWBERRY LATTE: specific order: 8 oz. with coconut milk; the espresso balanced out the strawberry syrup well, neither was overwhelming each other! The microfoam was lacking though, and almost immediately dissipated after the first two sips. (rating: 7/10)

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Being present in the seasons the Lord has me in, both personally (welcoming provisions and challenges alike) and physically with the weather, is a renewed intention I want to practice. God has designed the changing seasons purposefully¹, for everything has a season and there is a time for everything².

So, even though it’s still February and we’re not close to the Spring Equinox yet, embracing the unexpected warmer weather and the early seasonal cuisine bloomers is a great way to hold my routine in open hands for the Lord to shift. I only tried the above 7 out of a total of 17 new items on Copain’s 2025 Spring Menu, but if it all works out, hopefully I can go back to try some more. The following will be on my list for next time 😊

STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE TART
VANILLA ALMOND PETITE ENTREMET
FRESH FRUIT TART
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PETITE ENTREMET

What’s your take on seasonal menu items, and which one would you order from the spread I listed above?

& in case you missed it…

1. Psalm 74

[17] You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;

you have made summer and winter. (ESV)

2. Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Everything

[1] For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (ESV)