Tropical Fruit Sundae

Perfect for fruit lovers, this sundae incorporates the flavors of pineapple, coconut, kiwi, and passion fruit.

Ingredients

• Vanilla ice cream
• Pineapple chunks
• Sliced kiwi
• Passion fruit
• Coconut
• Whipped cream

In a sundae dish, add one scoop of vanilla ice cream. Add pineapple chunks, kiwi slices, pieces of passion fruit, and coconut. Top with whipped cream. Optional toppings include chopped nuts and sprinkles.

Tropical Coconut Sundae

Coconut ice cream might not be the easiest ingredient to find, but you can always invest in making a completely homemade dessert. You may also substitute the coconut ice cream for Perry’s Tropical Neapolitan, which offers mango, pineapple and coconut flavors of ice cream.

Ingredients

• Coconut ice cream
• Mango sauce
• Sliced banana
• Pistachio nuts

Put a scoop of coconut ice cream in a bowl. Add mango sauce and top with slices of banana. For the finishing touch, sprinkle pistachio nuts.

Warm Tropical Banana Ice Cream Topping

When you’re looking for a tropical alternative to hot fudge, consider this island twist on a warm topping.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 6 ripe bananas (sliced)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 3 ½ tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a skillet. Add the banana slices to the skillet. Stir in the vanilla extract, and cook the ingredients until the bananas turn a golden brown color. Add the coconut flakes and stir. Top with confectioners’ sugar and walnuts. Serve quickly over ice cream.

Grilled Pineapple Sundae

If you love pineapple, then this sundae is right up your alley.

Ingredients

• 1 fresh pineapple
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or maple syrup or honey)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Vanilla ice cream
• Maple syrup

Prepare a fresh pineapple for slicing. Cut the fruit and trim off the rind of each ring. Remove the tough core. Place the rings to the side, and preheat your grill to medium-high.

As the grill preheats, mix the butter, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat the ingredients until they are evenly mixed. The sugar should completely dissolve. This will serve as your glaze.

Brush one side of the pineapple rings with the glaze. Place the rings on the grill with the glazed side down. Brush the tops of the rings with the glaze.

Close the cover of the grill and cook for about 3 minutes (or until the pineapple rings show the characteristic grill marks).

Turn over the rings, and brush with the glaze again. Grill for another 3 minutes (or until grill marks appear on the other side). Remove the pineapple from the grill.

Place one or two pineapple rings on a plate. Add one or two scoops of ice cream to the center. Drizzle with maple syrup, and serve immediately.

Banana Pineapple Sundae

This sundae will satisfy the foodie that enjoys the taste of pineapples and bananas together.

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¼ cup orange juice
• 1 ½ teaspoons butter
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 small bananas (firm and sliced)
• 1 cup cubed fresh pineapple
• ½ teaspoon rum extract
• 2 cups vanilla ice cream

Add brown sugar, orange juice, butter and cinnamon to a large saucepan. Bring the ingredients to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 2 minutes. Make sure to stir the contents while cooking. Add the bananas and pineapple. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove the ingredients from the heat and stir in the rum extract. Top a scoop of vanilla ice cream with the cooked fruit mixture.

Easter Nest Cookies. Photo courtesy of Pillsbury.com

Easter is coming fast! Are you ready? Here is a quick dessert recipe that is both delicious and easy to make!

If you do make this recipe, please take a picture and share it with us! We’d love to see your creations! :) You can even add your pictures to our Facebook or Flickr pages. Have fun and Happy Easter!

INGREDIENTS

- 1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury® Ready To Bake!® sugar cookies
- 1 container (12 oz) fluffy white frosting
- 1 cup flaked coconut
- Food color
- Jelly beans

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Bake cookies as directed on package. Cool completely.

2.Frost cookies. Add coconut to a 1-quart resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add 2 to 3 drops favorite food color, shaking bag to blend color. It may be necessary to add 1 to 2 teaspoons water to help disperse the color evenly or additional food color until desired color is reached. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon coconut on each cookie.

3.Top with jelly beans or candy coated chocolate peanut candy.

Show of hands: Who here likes Brownies? That many, huh?
Okay. Who likes the Brownies with all the extra goodies in them, like coconut and nuts and with gooey frosting on top?

And who likes to pay those huge bakery prices for a pan of special ‘gourmet’ brownies? Mm-hm, I thought not.

A friend sent me a recipe for an ‘upside down German Chocolate Cake’. It was okay. But I like brownies better, and I didn’|t care for the pecans she used. I made some changes, adjustments and this is the result.

Let’s make us some Inside Out Brownies!

You’ll need a 9X13 cake pan. I like to use disposable aluminum pans, basically because I hate cleaning them afterwards. Spray well with Pam or other baking spray and set aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 ° F

Prepare a brownie mix according to the package direction. Pour into the prepared pan and set aside.
In a microwave safe dish, place

• 8 ounces of cream cheese
• one stick of butter or margarine

Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 30 seconds. Stir. When well blended, mix in

• One pound powdered sugar
• 8 ounces shredded sweetened coconut
• one cup [or more] of chopped, salted, roasted cashews

Drop by spoonfuls onto the top of the brownie mix. Don’t stir it in, just arrange dollops all over the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until done. I test for doneness when the sides start to pull away, and when the top is on the verge of cracking.

As much as you will be tempted, please let it cool fully, to room temperature, before turning it out or cutting a slice. The filling can be downright dangerous right out of the oven.

Turn out on a rack, cut into chunks, and be prepared to beat the diners away from it, because you’ll want to take it home with you. Or better yet, make two: one for home and one to take to the party.

What’s So Good About Coconut?

High in saturated fat, the natural oils in the coconut provide the body with plenty of benefits. From boosting the immune system to improving digestion, coconut offers a high-fiber skin, iron, potassium, and a decent amount of electrolytes found in the coconut juice.

How to Crack Coconut

It takes a little effort, but cracking your own coconut will provide your desserts with a fresher flavor that enhances the overall taste. As you stare at the hairy shell, make the task a little easier by baking the coconut for 20 minutes in an oven set to 350 degrees. After letting the coconut cool, pierce a hole in two of the “eyes” with a hammer and screwdriver. Turn the coconut upside down in order to drain the juice. Use the hammer to tap the screwdriver until the nut breaks into two pieces.

Place each half of the coconut with the flesh facing down on your countertop (or other stable surface) and tap each piece with a hammer to break it up. You can then break the coconut into pieces using your hands. A table knife will help you dislodge the “meat” from the shell. Some people even peel off the brown skin of the coconut and eat it – it’s edible.

Ways to Use Coconut in Your Desserts

Coconut in Salads: Enhance a tropical fruit salad by sprinkling finely grated coconut on top of fresh mango, papaya, orange, and banana. You may use fresh or toasted coconut to achieve varying flavors.

Coconut in Coffee: Some people have added coconut milk to their coffee for a unique, hot beverage.

Coconut in Pie: With an irresistible whipped cream topping, coconut cream pie is comprised of a rich custard or pudding consisting of milk, cream, flour, and eggs. Sometimes, chocolate shavings serve as garnish, while toasted coconut is more commonplace.

Coconut in Cookies and Bars: Whether used as a garnish for cookies or added to your favorite recipes – sky’s the limit with coconut. Popular cookies with coconut include Coconut Macaroons, Coconut Bars, Chocolate Chip Coconut, and variations of the Almond Joy bar.

Coconut in Ice Cream

Add shredded coconut to your ice cream sundaes or create a vegan sweet treat with your ice cream maker called Coconut Curry Ice Cream. First, simmer two and a half 13.5-ounce cans of canned unsweetened coconut milk, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoons of mild curry paste in a large heavy saucepan. Whisk often, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer to allow the flavors to blend for about 10 minutes.

Slightly cool and then refrigerate the mixture uncovered until cold. Cover and chill overnight. When you are ready, process your ‘ice cream’ according to the directions of your maker. Add in ½ cup of toasted, sweetened flaked coconut to the mixture. Use extra toasted coconut flakes as a garnish.

The Importance of Mango

In Thai cuisine, mango plays an important role – added to entrees, side dishes and especially desserts. If you’d like to explore Thai sweets that include the delectably sweet fruit, consider mango sorbet and pudding. Mango Sorbet usually requires the use of a blender or food processor to produce the light and airy frozen treat of sweetened water flavored with iced fruit juice or puree. For a quick Thai treat, Mango Pudding only takes about 15 minutes to create. Some recipes use coconut milk instead of whipping cream or evaporated milk, which livens up the flavor of the mango.

Thai Mango Sticky Sweet Rice

Sticky rice (also known as glutinous rice) possesses a glue-like consistency and is used in a variety of Thai desserts and dishes. You can locate sticky rice at an Asian grocery store or a supermarket aisle offering international food products. A colander is generally used to steam the sticky rice or it is made on a stovetop in a pot. This classic tropical blend starts with saturating the sticky rice in coconut milk and ends with slices of fresh or frozen mango as a topping.

Pandan Rice Cake

Another Thai dessert that uses sticky rice is the two-layered Pandan Rice Cake – a relatively healthy treat that’s low in sugar, rich in protein, and low in saturated fat. The first layer consists of sticky rice, coconut milk, and a green-colored paste known as “pandan” – made from the juice of Pandanus amaryllifolius leaves. The first layer is also sweetened with white or brown sugar (and sometimes maple syrup). The second layer is comprised of eggs, coconut milk, sugar, pandan paste, and rice flour. Often served warm or at room temperature, the cake is usually decorated with fresh fruit or drizzled with toasted coconut.

Thai-Style Crème Caramel

The Thai version of the traditional crème caramel dessert uses coconut milk in place of cream, which supplies the body with good fats that help lower your cholesterol. Most recipes create a whipped treat you pop in the oven in less than ten minutes.

Green Tea and Coconut Cake

A favorite at potluck gatherings, dinner parties and afternoon tea, Green Tea and Coconut Cake blends healthy green tea with shredded coconut, brown sugar, and coconut milk. Because of the ingredients, this Thai dessert offers a low-fat, low-carb, low-sodium treat. Typical recipes use about three teaspoons of green tea powder, such as Japanese ‘macha’ – found at health food stores or Asian import markets.

Image Credit: Sue Pizarro (suzula) – sticky rice & mango