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!

This is a traditional recipe for banana foster…the hint of bourbon in the warm banana together with vanilla ice cream is just heaven!

I know you might be asking…another recipe with banana? Now you really believe me when I say that we always have banana “floating” on my kitchen counter…thanks to the great price of banana at Costco that it is so hard to beat.

During this warm days…nothing like ice cream, either homemade or store bought…adding banana foster to a simple and plain vanilla ice cream takes the already delicious vanilla ice cream to another level of dessert. The combination of the hot, creamy, caramelized bourbon banana on top of the ice cold vanilla ice cream is just a dream come through for the taste buds. The signals from your taste buds and brains are just synchronized in unison…THIS IS GOOD! By the way, do not worry about the bourbon when serving to kids, when flambéing the bourbon all the alcohol will be gone in no time.

In this recipe I used the 8 inch iron skillet to cook the bananas, which keep the heat pretty high and really gave me a nice caramelized bananas.

After all this talk I better get to this simple and easy recipe that will make you want more and more.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 large banana cut in half and then length wise
• 1 to 2 tablespoon bourbon

• Vanilla ice cream of your choice

Method:

Melt the butter in an 8 in iron skillet in a low heat. Add the brown sugar until dissolved. Add the banana and let them caramelized both side, flip carefully as they can bread easily.

Once both side ad golden brown, add the bourbon and carefully use a stick flame to flambé. Cook for another minute until all the flame dies out.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or wherever your imagination takes you…crepes, waffles, cake…

If you do not have bourbon, you can replace with dark rum, and add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice. I did not add any of the spices because I did not want to cover the flavor and aroma of bourbon.

If you enjoy this recipe, you might want to check on these homemade frozen dessert…Cherry Ice Cream or Berry Frozen Yogurt.

Did you know that the banana foster was originated in New Orleans? Because New Orleans was a major port of entry for bananas shipped from South America, Brennan’s Restaurant owner challenged his chef to use banana in his dessert. This is how banana foster was born!

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

This banana bread is delicious…moist and loaded with semi dark chocolate and a hint of bourbon. Great warm and each bite come with chocolate and toasted walnut.

This is a very simple recipe for banana bread packed with chocolate chips and spiked with bourbon.  The recipe is based from here. I halved the recipe and baked in 2 mini loaf pans.

Ingredient:

• 1 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour 2 mini loaf pans. Make sure to remove excess of flour.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg and beat for approximately one minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the bananas, lemon juice, and bourbon, beat until well incorporated. The mixture may look curdled. Turn the mixer to low, add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until almost completely incorporated.

Add the walnuts and chocolate, and stir by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon just until incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let the loaf cool slightly in the pan, invert it on a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing.

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy recipe for banana bread. You might want to take a look at Banana Foster with Vanilla Ice Cream recipe.

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

The recipe calls for cake flour and corn flour therefore these sponge cupcakes are super light and soft. They can be serve plain or with a dollop of cream, jam or even yogurt.

Lately I have been craving for sweets, not the really sweet sweets, something light and yet sweet. After searching on the internet for a while I saw a few recipes for sponge cupcakes and decided to adapt the recipe from here.

This recipe is very simple and easy, and the cupcakes are really light.  You can always add some whipped cream and fresh fruit on top of it, color it as your palate desire.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 40 g cake flour
• 20 g corn flour
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch tartar

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Separate the egg yolk from the egg white.

In a medium bowl, sift together cake flour, corn flour and salt.

Beat the egg white until foaming, add tartar, beat a little more and slowly add 2 tablespoons of sugar until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Beat the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of sugar, honey and vanilla extract until reach a pale yellow.

Mix approximately 1/3 portion of the egg white into egg yolk mixture, mix well gently with a spatula, add in approximately ½ portion of flour mix, always gently, add another 1/3 portion of the egg white into the batter and the flour mix. Finally add the last 1/3 portion of the egg white to the batter.

Add the milk and the melted butter to the batter, always gently to not deflate the egg white.

Pour the batter into paper cups (8 medium muffin’s size). Bake at 350F for approximately 15 to 20 minutes

Remove the cupcakes from the oven. Cool on the rack and serve.

If you enjoy this easy and simple recipe for sponge cupcakes, you might want to take a look at Black Forest Swiss Roll recipe.

Thanks for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is such a fun and cute recipe for the traditional sweet treat. The different colors of rice crispies are layered and then cut into small squares…very easy and simple.

I am sure that everyone had tried rice krispies treat at least once…if not…it is time to give this simple treat a try.

This is a very simple recipe that will please everyone in your family, not matter their age…it is simple and yummy. I simply added food coloring to give an Easter look, but feel free to make your own color/design.

This can be made ahead and store in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

• 12 cups rice cereal
• 9 tablespoons butter
• 12 cups mini marshmallow
• Green, red and yellow food coloring

Method:

Cover a 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan or pyrex with aluminum foil and butter it or with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add 4 cups of marshmallows, continue stirring until the marshmallow are all melted and add a few drops of the green food coloring.

Stir in 4 cups of rice cereal, making sure that the cereal is coated with the marshmallow mixture.

Pour the marshmallow/rice cereal in the prepared pan and press evenly throughout the pan.

Repeat the procedure by adding to the melted marshmallow red food coloring and then the yellow food coloring. Layer each colored marshmallow/rice cereal.

Once the marshmallow/rice cereal cools, remove carefully by lifting the aluminum foil or parchment paper from the pan, place in a flat surface and cut into squares.

I hope you enjoy this simple treat!

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

If you are a marzipan lover you will definitely try this recipe. The almond paste can be used in so many ways, such as bread, cake, cookies, the options are endless.

I love almond paste or marzipan…when living in Brazil I used to buy “potato balls” or fruit shaped marzipan with the money that my parents would give me for snack and would munch on it on my way home after school.

That might explain my love for marzipan, as each bite of anything with it brings me memories of my childhood.

Almond paste or marzipan, I honestly do not know the difference between the two of them…they are both made with blanched almond and confectioner sugar…because I remember the “potato balls” and fruit shaped candies were called marzipan, I assume that marzipan is used for making candies and almond paste as a filling.

Never mind it’s name…almond paste or marzipan…the recipe for it is very simple and you will be very happy have it handy.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups blanched almonds
• 3 cups confectioner sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 4 teaspoons almond extract

Method:

Blanch the almonds by placing the almonds in a bowl. Cover all the almonds with boiling water. Let the almonds sit for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Drain and slip the skin off.

Place the blanched almonds in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are ground. Add the egg white, confectioner sugar and the almond extract. Pulse until the mixture is smooth.

Remove the paste and place onto a silicone mat. Split into 4 equally portions. Roll into logs and wrap the logs with a plastic film. Place the wrapped almond paste in an airtight container or freezer bag. Store the almond paste in a freezer until needed.

When you need the almond paste, take the paste out of the freezer and bring it to room temperature.

Next week I will share with you what I did with this almond paste log…

If you like this simple recipe for almond paste, you might enjoy making bread like this Almond Paste Bread or  a cake like Almond Flour Chocolate Cake.

Did you know that adding almond to your diet can help lower LDL-cholesterol and reduce cardiovascular disease? This may be due to high content of the antioxidant Vitamin E found in almonds. Although almond is considered healthy, it contains oxalate which should be avoided in individuals with existing kidney and gallbladder problems.

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

The ice cream is rich, creamy and loaded with cherries. The recipe calls for cherry cooked in brandy sauce, very easy and delicious.

Can you believe that this is my first homemade ice cream? I have made a variety of frozen yogurt but this time I decided to go for the “real” ice cream, with heavy cream and all…for the Valentine’s Day.

When I saw cherries at the local grocery store, I just thought that cherry ice cream would be nice…especially with its intense and vivid red color accompanied with brandy flavor.

The most laborious part of this recipe is to remove the cherry pit…which with the help of a cherry pitter it was not that bad.

The texture of this ice cream without a doubt was creamier than the brandied cherry frozen yogurt which was made with fat free yogurt, after all the “fat” in heavy cream had to play a role…

Ingredients:

Brandied Cherry

• 2 lbs of cherries (pit removed)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup brandy

Ice Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon brandy (optional)
• 2 cups of brandied cherry

Method:

Make sure that your ice cream maker bucket is in the freezer overnight before you start the process.

Place in a medium pan the cherries, sugar and brandy. Cook over high heat until boiling point, then lower the heat to medium low and continue to cook for approximately 12 minutes until the cherries are slightly soft, and still somehow whole (not mushy) and syrupy.

Remove the brandied cherries from the heat, let it cool and place in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

In a medium bowl, mix the heavy cream, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, brandied cherry and brandy (if you decide to use). Once the cherry and the heavy cream mixture are all well blended turn on the ice cream maker and pour the heavy cream mix into the frozen bucket.

Churn until the mixture is creamy for about 10 to 15 minutes depending on your ice cream maker.

Serve immediately or place in the freezer in an airtight container.

If placed in the freezer, remove the ice cream 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

I hope you enjoy this simple ice cream recipe. If you care for healthy versions of frozen desserts, you might want to check on Avocado Ice Cream, Mango Frozen Yogurt or Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt recipes.

Have a wonderful week and thank you so much for visiting Color Your Recipes!

This is a fun recipe using molecular gastronomy. The creamy coconut panna cotta is served with a mango sphere which will spill the mango nectar on the panna cotta when it breaks.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had a great Holiday and a wonderful time with your family and loved ones…we sure had a memorable time, and I am fortunate to say that my year started very good because my son is recovering very well after being in a snowboarding accident, sent to emergency and diagnosed with a bad concussion and a broken arm. After hours of agony and uncertainty I am so thankful that he is getting his senses back, and now is mainly dealing with the broken arm which it will mend by time. I have never felt that scared in my life…but this is all behind and I look forward to this new year.

To celebrate my joy I am sharing with you a fun dessert…which I made for our family Christmas party. I knew that I wanted to make something different for the taste bud and the eyes, and end up creating this recipe for the party, and it was so much fun from the time I envisioned to the time I served it.

This recipe consists in two parts: coconut panna cotta and mango sphere, which uses molecular gastronomy, specifically reverse spherification. If you are interested in the science behind you can read more at Molecular Recipes or at Molecule R.

I made these desserts into little disposable cups for the party and some into shot glasses. The coconut panna cotta was adapted from here and the mango spheres.

Ingredients:

Coconut Panna Cotta

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups coconut milk (not coconut water)
• 2 packets powdered gelatin
• 7 tablespoons water
• 5 tablespoons sugar

Mango Sphere

• 750 g mango nectar
• 15 g calcium lactate
• 1000 ml distilled or filtered water
• 5 g sodium alginate

• Fresh strawberries (or any other colorful berry) for garnish
• Mint leaves for garnish

Method:

Coconut Panna Cotta

Mix the heavy cream, coconut and sugar together in a saucepan and place in a medium heat until begins to simmer, making sure that the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Do not boil.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the gelatin to the coconut mixture and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved, lift the spoon and make sure that there are no undissolved granules.

Let it cool and divide into cups, and chill until firm, for approximately 2 hours or overnight.

Mango Sphere

Combine the mango nectar with the calcium lactate. Mix well using a hand blender. Pour the mango nectar into hemispherical molds and freeze.

Combine the sodium alginate with water and blend until all the alginate is dissolved.

Fill one small bowl with water and another one with the alginate solution.

Take the frozen mango nectar spheres out of the ice tray and gently place into the alginate bath. For the small spheres leave them for about 2 ½ to 3 minutes. For the medium spheres leave them for about 5 minutes.

Remove the mango spheres from the alginate bath using a slotted spoon and place them in the clean water bath. Rinse them gently and place the mango sphere in a container with mango nectar. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Assembly:

Gently remove the mango spheres from the mango nectar. And place on the firm coconut panna cotta. Garnish with strawberry and mint leaves. Serve cold.

If you enjoy Molecular Gastronomy recipes, you might want to check on this section of my Recipe Box.

Thank you so much for visiting Color Your Recipes and wish you all a happy 2014!