Banana Cake with Praline Frosting

Ingredients

Banana Cake Batter

4 eggs - room temperature

2 sticks of butter (1 cup) room temperature

2 cups of light brown sugar

2 cups of all-purpose flower

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

4 ripe bananas

3/4 cup  of sour cream - room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups of walnuts sprinkled with flour

1 cup of dates sprinkled with flour

Pre-heat your oven at 350 Fahrenheit.

Mix butter and sugar, and add eggs one by one on medium speed with an electric mixer.  Add vanilla.

Add flour 1/2 cup of flour at a time and the sour cream and continue to mix until blended.

Add bananas and continue to mix.  Finally add walnuts and dates and mix on slow speed for 15 seconds.

Grease a bundt cake pan with butter.  Pour mix into pan.  Bake for 50 minutes.

Praline Frosting

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

12 half pecans for decoration

Bring brown sugar, butter, and milk to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake.  Decorate with half pecans.

Dark Chocolate Banana Bread with Chocolate Ganache

Dark Chocolate Banana Bread with Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

1 cup of butter (or 2 sticks of butter) room temperature
4 eggs - room temperature
1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
2 bananas
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup of dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of buttermilk - room temperature

Mixed all ingredients with a blender.

Heat oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit

Bake for 40 minutes

Chocolate Ganache

1 cup of dark chocolate chips

1 cup of heavy cream

mix with a whisk and cook in medium heat...  continue whisking mixture until texture gets thicker.... 

Strawberries Mint Champagne Mojito

Ingredients

Mint leaves
Ice cubes
Diced strawberries
Champagne

Enjoy!!!!!

Arroz con Leche con Dulce de Leche

Arroz con Leche con Dulce de Leche

Ingredientes

• 8 tazas de leche
• 2 palitos de canela o 1 cucharadita de canela molida
• 3 clavos de olor
• 1 taza de arroz de grano largo
• 1 lata (13.4 onzas) de Dulce de Leche de NESTLÉ
• 1/2 taza de pasas

Calentar la leche y los palitos de canela en una olla grande a fuego medio-alto hasta que hierva. 

Retirar los palitos de canela. 

Reducir el fuego a medio-bajo y añadir el arroz. 

Cocina mezclando frecuentemente de 15 a 20 minutos. Agrega el dulce de leche y cocina mezclando frecuentemente de 15 a 20 minutos.

Hechar canela al gusto

Lychee Mojitos

Lychee Mojitos

( I use vodka instead of rum... but it is an optional choice... normally it is made with rum...)

serving --- one glass

Lychee Juice - 4 ounces

Vodka - 1 1/2 once, and no vodka if you would like a non-alchoholic drink

Mint leaves

Canned Lychees to taste.

Ice ( half a glass)

Coconut Caramel Flan

Coconut Caramel Flan

Similar to Creme Caramel, except this flan is the result of combining Coconut Milk and Half-and Half.

Yield:  12 Servings

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar 
pinch of salt
3 large whole eggs
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups of coconut milk
1 cup of half-and half
1 cup of shredded coconut

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and place an oven rack in the middle.

Prepare a bain-marie on a shallow baking pan.  Place a 9-inch pie dish in the center of the pan.  Fill the baking pan with enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the pie dish;  carefully place the baking pan into the oven.

Place 3/4 cups of the sugar in a heavy, medium skillet, place over a medium-high heat, and cook until the sugar melts and changes colour to a medium-dark brown, approximately four minutes.  Remove from heat and pour into the pie dish.

In a large bowl, use a whisk to mix the remaining sugar, salt, eggs, yolks, and shredded coconut; then add the coconut milk and half-and half and mix until thoroughly combined.

Pour the custard into the pie dish and transfer to the oven.  Bake in the bain-marie until the flan is almost set, approximately 45 minutes.  Transfer the baking pan to a wire rack until the water cools, then transfer the pie dish to a wire rack to cool completely.

To serve, run a knife between the flan and pie dish.  Place a plate on top of the flan and invert.   Slice flan and serve.

Home-made Ravioli

Home-made Ravioli

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting


1 teaspoon salt


3 large eggs, plus 1 for egg wash


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Cornmeal, for dusting

Directions

To make the pasta dough: In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook*, combine the flour and salt. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to mix. Drizzle in 1 tablespoons of the olive oil and continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, knead and fold the dough until elastic and smooth, this should take about 10 minutes. Brush the surface with the remaining olive oil and wrap the dough in plastic wrap; let rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

*Alternatively if you don't have an electric mixer: Combine the flour and salt on a flat work surface; shape into a mound and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the well and lightly beat with a fork. Gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well in a circular motion. Use 1 hand for mixing and the other to protect the outer wall. Continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Continue as directed above.

Cut the ball of dough in 1/2, cover and reserve the piece you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with a little flour. Press the dough into a rectangle and roll it through a pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at widest setting. Pull and stretch the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue tightening until the machine is at the narrowest setting; the dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick (you should be able to see your hand through it.). Dust the sheets of dough with flour as needed.

Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Dust the counter and sheet of dough with flour, lay out the long sheet of pasta, and brush the top surface with the egg wash, which acts as a glue. Drop tablespoons of your favorite filling on 1/2 of the pasta sheet, about 2-inches apart. Fold the other 1/2 over the filling like a blanket. With an espresso cup or fingers, gently press out air pockets around each mound of filling. Use a sharp knife to cut each pillow into squares and crimp the 4 edges with the tins of a fork to make a tight seal. Dust the ravioli and a sheet pan with cornmeal to prevent the pasta from sticking and lay them out to dry slightly while assembling the rest.

Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling salted water for 4 minutes; they'll float to the top when ready, so be careful not to overcrowd the pot. Lift the ravioli from water with a large strainer or slotted spoon. Bath the ravioli in your favorite sauce to lightly coat and serve.

Alfajores

ALFAJORES

Ingredientes

100 g de mantequilla

75 g de azúcar 

2 yemas de huevo

1 cucharada de licor (pisco, ron, o brandy)

90 g de harina cernida

160 g de maicena cernida

1 cucharadita de polvo de hornear

1 cucharadita de esencia de vainilla

Manjarblanco (para rellenar)

Azúcar en polvo 

Precalentar el horno a 160-170°C.

Batir la mantequilla con el azúcar. Agregar las yemas una por una, el licor y la vainilla. Dejar de batir e incorporar los ingredientes secos con una cuchara de madera, terminar de juntar la masa con las manos hasta que esté homogénea. Refrigerar 1 hora envuelta en plástico.

Sobre una mesa enharinada estirar la masa y con un rodillo estirarla hasta que quede de 2 a 3 mm de grosor. Cortar círculos con un cortador de galletas redondo, colocarlos separados sobre la lata enmantequillada. Hornear hasta que se comiencen a dorar. Retirar, dejar enfriar, rellenar con manjar una base de las galletas y taparla con otra. Espolvorear con azúcar en polvo.