JUST WHAT YOU NEED: A CUPCAKE

Which, of course, nobody truly needs but that is so beside the point. I stopped by Provender (3883 Main Road, Tiverton  401-624-8084) with the intention of buying a single ginger cookie to split with my passenger. That statement is as truthful as saying I plan to eat one chocolate chip cookie and put the remainder in the freezer to use next week. Provender makes it hard for the sweet lover - the array of good cookies is more than tempting. Not to mention the brownies, the lemon bars, the scones, the cakes and the cupcakes.

I chose the smaller of the two pictured, mostly because it was exquisite. The lime cream-cheese icing, not too limey, not too cheesy, was piped to perfection (i.e. there was lots of it and firm enough to eat without a mess). Lime is not a flavor that pops to mind when contemplating a cupcake. Based on this one, it should.

The icing is sensational and the cupcake itself is moist but dense enough to say assembled after the first bite.

So, not too many days later my car headed again to Provender. I needed to sample the coconut. This cupcake is actually big enough to split (in fact some of my friends would cut it into quarters but I wouldn't go that far). I savored it, the flavor not quite as absorbing as the lime but it's a nostalgic flavor (when was the last time I made a coconut cake?). Now I am motivated to produce the cake because the problem with a really big cupcake is that it's missing a layer of icing ...

Provender is open Tuesday through Sunday until summer when it's open seven days.  It's a local favorite for its famous sandwiches. Most people come by car to shop at Tiverton Four Corners but it's a popular bike stop too.

Hours are 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. off season and 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. in the summer