Exclusive Banana Pudding

Total Time: 15 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Ingredient:

one (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1-1/2 cups icy water
one (4-serving-size) package instant Spanish vanilla pudding and pie filling mix
two cups (one pint) heavy whipping cream
40 vanilla wafers cookies (about)
three to four medium bananas, sliced and dipped in lemon juice from concentrate
four vanilla wafers, crushed to crumbs for garnish

Preparation:

Merge sweetened condensed milk and water in a giant mixing bowl. Add pudding mix and beat on medium speed for three minutes. Refrigerate pudding mixture for 15 minutes. 


Meanwhile, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold whipped cream in to chilled pudding mixture until combined. Refrigerate leftovers


Select a giant (3-quart) decorative glass bowl. Spread 1/2 cup of pudding around the bottom of the bowl and top with one-third of the vanilla wafers, followed by one-third of the bananas and one-third of the remaining pudding. Continue layers, finishing with pudding on top. Sprinkle with crushed vanilla wafer crumbs. Chill at least four hours before serving.


Yield: 8 to ten servings.

Red Velvet Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

two (one ounce) bottles red food coloring
three Tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
two eggs
one cup buttermilk
2-1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
one teaspoon vanilla
one Tablespoon vinegar
one teaspoon baking soda
.
Frosting:
four Tablespoons flour
one cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
one cup sugar
Dash of salt
two teaspoons vanilla

Preparation:


Cake:
Mix together food coloring & cocoa in to paste & let stand.


Frosting:
Cook flour & milk until thick. Chilled . Cream remaining ingredients, then add to milk mixture & beat vigorously until fluffy.

Cream shortening & sugar. Add eggs & coloring paste & mix well. Add buttermilk by hand. Add flour, salt, & vanilla. Beat well by hand. Add vinegar & baking soda. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes if using a 9 x 13 inch pan, or 25 minutes in three (8-inch) cake pans.

Yield: one cake

Egg Pudding

Ingredients:

3 egss
rainbow milk one can gigantic or any evaporared milk
sugar 1/2 cup
safron a pinch

Method:

First beat eggs, evaporated milk,sugar and safron
Take an alluminium tray and put sugar and make caramel
Then pour over the mixture on the caramel and steam or bake for 30 minutes
and set in the fridge.

Banana Flambe

Note:

Rum is flamed to finish this straightforward banana dessert dish. This makes an impressive presentation with the lights off, but be sure to read the flambe tips before beginning.
Prep Time: ten minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

two bananas
two Tablespoons sunflower oil
four Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup white rum
one lime, squeezed

Preparation:

Peel & halve the banana lengthwise. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Brown the bananas five minutes on each side. Add the sugar & pour in the rum. Cook for two minutes. Flambé. Sprinkle with lime juice & serve without delay. 

Yield: four servings

Watermelon Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line standard or miniature muffin tins with baking paper cups.

1-1/2 cups flour
two teaspoons baking soda
one teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
two eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
one cup (about 1/8 medium seedless watermelon) watermelon juice with pulp (see Note)
Red food coloring, optional
3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
Confectioners' sugar, optional
Preparation:

In a large bowl, cream butter & sugar. Beat in eggs. Add sour cream & watermelon, beating until combined. (A few drops of red food coloring may be added to the batter to enhance the color to simulate watermelon.) Fold in chocolate chips.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, & sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake twenty to 25 minutes for standard muffins or 15 to 18 minutes for mini-muffins. Place muffins on racks to chilled.

 before serving, sift with powdered confectioners' sugar, in the event you wish.

Note: Cut seedless watermelon in to cubes & method in a food processor or heavy-duty blender until thick with small bits of pulp still remaining. You will need one cup of processed watermelon.

Yield: 12 standard muffins or about 48 mini-muffins

Mango Chocolate Mousse

Prep Time: five minutes

Cook Time: one hour

Yield: SERVES 6

Total Time: one hour, five minutes

Ingredients:

1+ 1/3 cups (200 grams) dark chocolate, broken in to small pieces, OR semi-sweet chocolate chips
one can coconut milk, regular OR lite (in case you don't have coconut milk, regular milk can be substituted)
flesh of two ripe mangoes
one egg
two Tbsp. to 1/3 cup brown or white sugar, to taste
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
pinch salt

Preparation:

Place chocolate pieces or chips in your blender or food processor. Crack in the egg, then add the mango, cardamom, salt, & two Tbsp. brown sugar (more sugar can be added later if needed). Set aside.
Pour one cup coconut milk in to a pot & place over medium-high heat (reserve remaining coconut milk for later). Stirring occasionally, bring the coconut milk to a near-boil (you ought to see steam rising from all over the surface).
Pour hot coconut milk in to the blender over other ingredients & immediately blitz at high speed for 45 seconds to one minute, or until well blended.
Add remaining coconut milk to the blender & blitz another few seconds. Test-test for sweetness. Depending on how ripe your mangoes are & how sweet your chocolate is, you may require to add up to 1/4 cup sugar, to taste.
If more sugar was added, blitz again another ten seconds. When desired sweetness is achieved, pour mousse in to bowls or dessert cups & place in the refrigerator until firm (at least four hours). Your mousse will store well in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Serve plain or for an additional special treat, add some whipped cream & fresh mango pieces (layers may even be made of mousse, whipping cream, & mango as I have completed here for the picture). ENJOY!

Blueberry Crisps

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Prep Time: ten minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

four cups fresh blueberries, washed, drained well
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
one tbsp corn starch
two tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup flour
3/4 cup fast cooking rolled oats
pinch of salt
1/2 stick softened butter (four tbsp)

Preparation:


In a bowl merge the blueberries, granulated sugar, corn starch, & lemon juice, & mix to merge evenly. Pour in to a lightly buttered baking dish.



In the same bowl merge the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, salt, & butter. Stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly & evenly blended. Spread the mixture over the berries & bake at 375 degrees F. for 40 minutes. Let icy to warm before serving.

Irish Potato Candy

Ingredients:

one tablespoon mashed potatoes
two 1/4 cups powdered sugar
one jar (12 ounces) smooth peanut butter

Preparation:

Grease a 10x15x1-inch jelly roll pan; line with waxed paper & lightly butter the waxed paper. Placed mashed potatoes in a mixing bowl. powdered sugar, about one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add more or less, until thick but spreadable. Spread mixture in to prepared pan. Chill for twenty minutes; spread peanut butter over potato layer. Roll as for a jelly roll.
Cut in to 1/2-inch slices. Store in tightly covered

Hazelnut Shortbread

Total Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:


one 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
one cup hazelnuts or filberts, finely chopped
one cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch


Preparation:

Bake cookies in a preheated 350° oven for ten to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove cookies to a rack to chilled. Store in tightly covered container for up to one week. Makes about four dozen cookies.

Measure all ingredients in to a massive mixing bowl. With hand held mixer at low speed, beat mixture until blended. Scrape bowl with spatula a few times. Increase the mixer speed to medium; beat until well blended. Divide dough in to two portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap; refrigerate for two hours.
On a lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll half of dough in to a 9- x 6-inch rectangle (keep remaining portion in refrigerator). With a sharp knife, cut dough lengthwise in to four long strips, then cut each strip in to 6 one 1/2-inch squares. With dull side of knife, lightly mark a criss-cross design in the shortbread squares, or make other designs. Place cookies, about one inch apart, on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.

Jam Filled Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
one large egg
one tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup strawberry jam
one cup white chocolate chips
one tsp. shortening

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter & sugar together until fluffy. Beat in egg & vanilla. Gradually beat in flour & baking powder until it forms a soft dough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide dough in to portions. Roll dough in to a 13-inch long strip. Place on a cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining portions of dough.

With the handle of a wooden spoon, make a 1/4-inch deep indentation lengthwise down the middle of each strip of dough. Fill indentations with jam.

Bake 20-22 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven.

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat white chocolate chips & shortening on high for 30 seconds. Stir & repeat until melted. Drizzle over jam filled cookies. Cut jam-filled cookies in to strips, cross-wise.
Makes 36 jam-filled cookies.

Strawberry Biscotti

Cook Time: twenty minutes

Prep Time: one hour

Total Time: one hour, twenty minutes

Ingredients:

You'll require frozen puff pastry dough, amaretti di Saronno, & strawberry jam. Thaw the dough per the directions on the package, roll it out, & cut it in to 2-inch (five cm) squares. Grind amaretti, or whirl them in a blender, to a fine powder. Combine the powder with strawberry jam to get a sweet paste, varying the proportions of the ingredients to fit your taste.

Frozen puff pastry dough, thawed
A box of Amaretti di Saronno (dry almond macaroons, a well stocked deli will have these)
Strawberry jam

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 420 F (210 C), & while it is heating put a teaspoon of the filling on each of the squares. Fold the corners of the squares up & pinch the tips together to form small baskets, & put them on a lightly greased & floured cookie sheet. Bake the biscotti for about twenty minutes, or until they have puffed up & are nicely browned.


Let them cold & they are prepared.

Strawberry Filled Puff Pastries

Cook Time: twenty minutes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:


1/2 lb. strawberries
one - two Tbsp. granulated sugar
four Tbsp. Amaretto; divided
four oz. mascarpone; at room temperature*
one Tbsp. heavy cream
two frozen puff pastry shells

Preparation:


one. Remove strawberry caps & cut strawberries up in to roughly thumbnail-sized pieces.


three. Cover berries & permit to sit for four - 8 hours to draw our juices (macerate).

two. Taste a couple of pieces & toss berries in a medium bowl with one to two tablespoons of sugar depending on desired sweetness. Add two tablespoons of Amaretto.

five. One time strawberries have macerated, process about 1/4 cup of berries in a mini food processor or blender (I love my immersion blender for this task) with one tablespoon of Amaretto.

four. In a small bowl thoroughly merge mascarpone, heavy cream, & one tablespoon of Amaretto.

7. Cook puff pastry according to package directions.

6. Strain strawberry puree through a sieve to remove seeds.

8. Remove pastry cap & add a teaspoon of puree to the cup. Put a teaspoon of mascarpone in the cup, add a few berries, add a bit more mascarpone, replace cap, add a bit more mascarpone & a few more berries, then drizzle with puree.


*Note: In the event you cannot find mascarpone, cream cheese is an option & so is yogurt cheese.