Pavlova with Passion Fruit Curd and Berries

An exquisite recipe for pavlova filled with passion fruit curd, lightly sweet homemade whipped cream, and fresh seasonal berries.

– Why do you need to make this dessert?

Because it is super easy, so beautiful and, extremely delicious…seriously…I have made this pavlova many times and trust me, people that tried it will remember you forever.

– What can you make in advance?

For this recipe you can make in advance the meringue shell and keep in an air-tight container and the passion fruit curd.

On the day you are serving the pavlova you will need to whip the cream, wash the berries and assemble…which is a lot of fun, since all the “hard” part has been prepared.

– Can I use other fruits?

Absolutely, I have made the same recipe using kiwi, mango, grapes, pineapple, dragon fruit…you name it. Use whatever fruit is in season.

– What to do if not serving the pavlova at home?

I did it many times…I pack all the components of the pavlova separately and place in an insulated container and assemble when it is almost time to serve. Trust me, you will be surrounded by all the guests while you are assembling the dessert which make it even more remarkable. Moreover, you will hear lots of “oh”, “uh”, “wow”, and everyone will want to sink their fork in it.

– Did I convince you to make this dessert?

Ingredients:

5 egg whites
220 g sugar
2 ½ teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

1 pint heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Passion Fruit Curd from HERE.

Fresh blueberry and strawberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 275^oF or convection oven at 250^oF

In a bowl, whisk the eggs whites with vinegar.

Once the egg whites are foamy add vanilla extract and the sugar in thirds.

Whisk until stiff peaks.

Sprinkle the corn starch on the meringue and mix gently.

Mold the meringue according to your like.

Bake for 2 hours. Lower the temperature to 200^oF and bake for another 45 minutes or until the meringue is crispy.

Let it cool completely.

At this point you can assembly the meringue or store in an air-tight container for later use.

How to assembly

Place the meringue shell on the serving plate. Add a layer of passion fruit curd, then whipped cream and topped with fruits. If wish dust with powdered sugar on top.

– If you enjoy this recipe you might want to take a look at these…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Have You Ever Had Cotton Candy Grapes?

These exquisite green grapes have nothing ordinary, they are loaded with cotton candy fragrance, flavor and sweet as the name suggests.

First of all, I would like to apologize for the silence in the past few weeks, I have been fighting with nerve entrapments…both from median and ulnar nerve and diagnosed with carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome, both on my right hand…needless to mention that wrist and elbow braces accompanied by exercise and rest was prescribed…and yes, it has been improved greatly therefore I think surgery will be avoided…anyway, enough of me, let’s talk about these amazing grapes…

My first encounter was last year, in the beginning of September, and since then I have been chasing all the groceries to get more…for my deception it was the end of the season as people in the industry told me that they were only in the store for about 2-3 weeks…

I read a lot about this unique grapes and anxiously waiting until August as stated on the website…well, to my surprise we found out that these grapes were in the market in the end of June and they would just fly out of the stores as soon as they hit the produce area…no need to mention that my hunt for these grapes started and got almost insane according to my husband…since then we found these grapes in many local grocery stores that we shop routinely and already munch over almost 7 lbs.

I usually do not consider fruit as dessert…fruit is fruit and desserts are cake, pie, ice cream and so on…but these grapes are fruit and dessert…

– How Cotton Candy grapes look like?

They look like your ordinary green grapes…

– Why Cotton Candy grapes?

These grapes are an explosion of sweetness loaded with cotton candy flavor and aroma…yes, cotton candy…I cannot even remember when the last time was I had cotton candy…which is pure colored sugar asking for shots of insulin after its consumption…but these are grapes…therefore no need of insulin shot…okay, maybe if you eat too many…

– What are Cotton Candy grapes?

According to my reading these grapes are a hybrid, a combination of concord grapes (used to make wine, juice, and jelly) and vitis vinifera (common grape). You can find plenty of information by doing some search.

– Are Cotton Candy grapes healthy?

Well, they are grapes and all grapes contain lots of sugar, since these are super sweet you can already imagine that these ones will contain more calories than the regular green grapes…so eating in moderation is advised.

– Where can I find Cotton Candy grapes?

In my area, I found them at Costco, Trader Joe’s and Sprouts…price? Varies from $2.99 to $7.99 a lb.

And yes, Costco has the best price as they come in 3 lbs.

– Is there any other variety of grapes?

Apparently, there are many other varieties of grapes according to Grapery, as for now I only have tried the cotton candy grapes and yes, I look forward to trying all the other varieties.

I hope you get a chance to try the Cotton Candy grapes…and let me know what you think of it…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Apple Mint Salad

This is a very simple, refreshing salad made mainly with apple, fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh mint. This salad is a great side dish for any occasion, especially with grilled meat or poultry…the refreshing and crisp apples with a hint of mint is very invigorating with fatty meal, giving the meal a nice balance.

I learned this recipe with my little sister when she brought a large bowl of this apple salad and we all loved it…I could not believe that such a simple recipe with only a few ingredients could be so good. The combination of the crispy apples with orange and a hint of mint is so pleasant for the palate. I meant to share this recipe a while ago but somehow never got to it…and now with July 4^th approaching it is a perfect occasion to do so.

Mint…I love growing all kind of herbs, as a matter of fact I have a bunch of different herbs, more than I can ever use…it is so nice to be able to just pick what I need and use…anyway, let’s move to the recipe, which is not much of a recipe…just adjust to your taste…

Ingredients:

Apple as many as you need, preferably Fuji, Honeycrisp, Jazz or any crispy type.
Freshly squeezed orange to coat the apple
Fresh mint, to your taste
Salt, just a pinch
Olive oil, drizzled

Method:

Peel and core the apples, slice then thinly and cut into matchstick. Use a vegetable slicer or mandolin. Place them into a bowl.

Squeeze the orange juice over the apples and toss gently until the apples are coated with the juice.

Add a bit of salt and olive oil.

Toss in the thinly cut mint, mix gently. Serve cold.

I hope you enjoy this simple and healthy recipe using apple, you might want to take a look at Zucchini Ribbons Salad recipe.

Did you know that apples are high in fiber and loaded with antioxidants. Therefore apples may help your heart health and reduce risk of developing cancer.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Crepe Cake or Mille Crepe

Although this is dessert resemble a cake it is not a real cake. The “cake” is made of layers of crepe in between pastry creme.

Crepe cake or mille crepe…is originated in France and yes, this crepe cake requires a labor of love…in reality it is very simple and you will not have the issue of the cake not rising of collapsing…

The intense hands on are mainly when cooking the crepes one by one…and making sure that they do not tear up. I patted myself on the shoulder when cooking the crepes, somehow, from the very first to the very last crepe, they all came out intact…phew! I gave myself some room for error, since there was none, the crepe cake was made of exactly 23 layers…I was “wow”, that is cool!

This recipe was mainly from here, with some minor change. I cut the crepe batter recipe in half but kept the cream the same…the leftover cream can be served with fresh fruits, as a filling for cream puffs or pavlova…you will not have any problem using the cream. Since I love a touch of rose, I added a little rose water when whipping the heavy cream…

The day before assembling the crepe cake prepare the following:

Crepe Batter

3 tablespoons butter
1 ½ cups milk
3 eggs
90 g all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt

Melt the butter in a small pan until lightly browned remove immediately from heat and set aside.

In another small pan, warm the milk until steaming, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl using hand mixer at a low speed, mix together the eggs, flour, sugar, and salt. Slowly add in the warm milk and browned butter. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Pastry Crème

1 egg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, add egg, flour, sugar, and cornstarch, mix well until a smooth paste forms.

In a saucepan over low heat, bring milk almost to a boil and slowly whisk the milk into the egg mixture. Return all ingredients to the saucepan, over low-medium heat, cook until the cream has thicken, by stirring constantly stirring. Make sure that the cream boils.

Remove from the heat and add vanilla extract .Set aside and cover with a plastic film to cool.When the cream has cooled refrigerate overnight.

On the day of assembling the cake:

Remove the crepe batter from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature.

Set two large flat plates aside to layer the crepes.

In a 6 ½ inch lightly oiled nonstick pan over medium-low heat pour ⅛ cup of crepe better, swirl to cover the pan surface. Cook until the batter has settle and becomes lightly browned. Gently using a spatula turn the crepe over and continue cooking until the other side is lightly browned as well. Remove the crepe and set on the plate. Make sure to not stack the crepes on top of each other. I alternate the crepes on the two flat plates.

Repeat the process until all the batter is gone (I was able to make exactly 23 crepes).

Rose water infused whipped cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon rose water

In a large bowl whip the heavy cream with the sugar and rose water. Fold gently the prepared chilled pastry cream with the whipped cream.

Assembly of crepe cake

Place one prepared crepe on a large cake plate.

With a spatula cover the crepe with a thin layer of the pastry cream mixture.

Cover with another dry crepe and repeat covering with the pastry crème until you have used up all the crepes (23 layers). Do not cover with cream the last layer of crepe.

Refrigerate the prepared cake for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight. Before serving remove the cake from the refrigerator. Garnish with fresh fruits, compotes, jams or dust with powdered sugar.

Slice and serve.

Did you know that in many countries, crepes are also known as pancakes? Crepes varies from sweet to savory.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Pavlova with Rose Cream

This is a easy and simple recipe for a very elegant dessert made mainly with egg whites, whipped cream and fresh fruit. What makes this pavlova especial is the hint of rose in the whipped cream.

For the longest time I wanted to make pavlova…and I was able to try it for the first time this last July 4th, for the celebration of our Independence day…but could not take many photos…that is okay because I got to bake again for my niece Erica’s 16th birthday. Instead of topping the pavlova with only strawberry and blueberry (blue, read and white) I got to try again with all kind of fruits, which turned out to be prettier.

This is such a simple and easy recipe, in a way refreshing due to all the fruits on it…the combination of the delicate meringue (crispy) with the creamy fresh whipped cream with a touch of rose and the fresh fruit is just indescribable enjoyment for the palate.

The great about this simple and elegant recipe is that you can make the meringue a day ahead, just keep it in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons rose water

All kind of fresh fruits that your eyes and palate desire…

Method:

Preheat oven to 250F degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 9-inch circle on the parchment paper and flip the parchment paper, transfer the paper to a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites on low speed. Gradually add in the sugar, and increase the speed to medium high beating well until soft peaks form. Gently mix in rose water, vinegar, and cornstarch and continue beating until very stiff and glossy peaks.

Spoon the egg white mixture inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper. With a spoon gently work from the center to the side of the circle, building an edge.

Bake for 15 minutes at 250F and then 200F for another 1 ½ hour. The outside of the meringue should be crispy and lightly brown. The time to reach the crispy meringue is increased due to the less amount of sugar in the meringue.
Cool on a wire rack.
In a medium bowl, beat heavy cream with the sugar and rose water until stiff peaks.

Gently fill the center of the meringue with the whipped cream. Top it with the fresh fruit. Serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy this simple and elegant dessert using meringue…for more recipes using meringue you might want to check the recipe for Meringue Kisses Cookies.

Did you know that pavlova was named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova? Two countries claim to be the creator of this dessert, Australia and New Zeland.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Watermelon Granita

This is a dessert that I made for our 4th of July celebration. I did not feel like baking; therefore came up with watermelon granita, which was perfect since I had watermelon sitting on the counter asking to be eaten…not to mention that this a perfect light and refreshing dessert for a hot summer day.

Granita is just a frozen dessert very similar to sorbet, which is based mainly of water, sugar and flavors. The mix is placed in the freezer and scraped, so ice crystals are formed. There are many versions of watermelon granite throughout the internet, but basically the ingredients are watermelon, sugar, lemon/lime. It is very versatile since you can adjust to your liking in regards to sweetness, tartness and so on. Not to mention that granita is a good alternative for people that want a low fat kind of ice dessert.

This is a very simple recipe, a little laborious since you have to keep going back and forward to the freezer to scrape the ice. Although you could leave it longer, but then you will need a lot of muscle to scrape, because the block of watermelon ice will be rock hard. In spite of the work it is well worth it, the watermelon granita is very refreshing and you can prepare it in advance. As a matter of fact after the party, we had some leftover. I stored the granite in an air tight container and kept in the freezer for almost a week and it is still perfectly delicious and fresh until the last serving.

Ingredients:

8 cups of watermelon cut into big chunks (this was approximately ½ of my watermelon)
1/3 cup sugar
juice from 2 limes, approximately 5 tablespoons
fresh mint leaves for garnish

Method:

In a blender place approximately half of the watermelon, half of the sugar and half lime juice. Puree until well blended and place the puree watermelon blend in a 13 x 9 in pyrex. Repeat the process with the other half of watermelon, sugar and lime juice. Pour the blend again in the pyrex and mix gently.
Cover the pyrex with aluminum foil and place in the freezer for approximately 2 hours.

Remove the pyrex from the freezer and scrape the top layer of ice with a spoon or fork to lose the ice. I notice that the ice on the side of the dish was harder than the middle. Cover the dish and place the tray back in the freezer.
Repeat the process for 2 or 3 times until all the ice is scraped.

Before serving, I lose the ice crystal with a fork and spoon into a serving glass.
Garnish with the fresh mint leaves and serve.

Did you know that granita is believed to be originally from Sicily, Italy? Interestingly granite is served with a brioche as a breakfast during summer.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Mango Frozen Yogurt with Agave Syrup

Now that the warm weather is here, I keep the ice cream bucket in the freezer all the time, so I am ready for a quick and fast frozen dessert.
This is a very simple and refreshing yogurt dessert. I love the color and the flavor of this frozen yogurt, nothing like the combination of fragrant mango stirred together with the tartness of yogurt…

Ingredients:

2 large mangoes
2 tablespoon vanilla vodka
2 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup agave syrup
1 cup Greek yogurt

Fresh strawberry and mint leaves for garnish

Method:

Cut the mango in small pieces and blend together with vodka, lemon juice and agave syrup. Add the yogurt to the mango mix and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Place the mango/yogurt mix into the ice cream maker and follow the instructions of your ice cream maker.

Garnish with strawberry and mint leaves.

If you enjoy this simple recipe for mango frozen yogurt you might want to check on strawberry frozen yogurt as well.

Did you know that there are more than 1000 different varieties of mangos? Mangoes are rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. Mangoes contain enzymes that are good tenderizing agent, therefore often used for marinade.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Baked Eggs

This is the kind of breakfast that we have once in a while over the weekend. Well, not completely true since we have fresh fruit/veggie juice every day. The treat here is the baked eggs.
Actually the baked eggs are very simple to make, and great paired with a toast. You can always add spinach, tomatoes, ham, peppers…anything that you would add into an omelette, therefore very versatile.

For the juice, just combine any fruit/veggie and juice it! I have apple, beet, cucumber, carrot, tomato and celery in this particular juice.

Baked eggs

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon toasted bacon (in pieces)
Mozzarella cheese to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon dry parsley
Extra butter to coat the ramekins

Method:

Preheat oven at 375F.

Coat the ramekins with butter and break the egg into each ramekin. Dot each egg with ½ spoon of butter, add the bacon. Top the egg with shredded mozzarella and sprinkle with salt, pepper and dry parsley.

Set the dishes in a baking pan and add enough water to cover at least 1/3 of the ramekins. Bring to simmer and transfer to a preheated 375F oven.

Bake until the egg whites are just set and the yolks are still soft.

Serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this breakfast and have a wonderful week!

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes!

Fruit and Veggie Juice, Breakfast Anyone?

For the juice, just combine any fruit/veggie and juice it! I have apple, beet, cucumber, carrot, tomato and celery in this particular juice.

Baked eggs

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon toasted bacon (in pieces)
Mozzarella cheese to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon dry parsley
Extra butter to coat the ramekins

Method:

Preheat oven at 375F.

Set the dishes in a baking pan and add enough water to cover at least 1/3 of the ramekins. Bring to simmer and transfer to a preheated 375F oven.

Bake until the egg whites are just set and the yolks are still soft.

Serve hot.

I hope you enjoy this breakfast and have a wonderful week!