Banana Con Hielo

I don’t know what kind of global warming we are in today but it’s like the temperature is rising each and every single day. During this time in the Philippines there are a few things we like to eat on a hot summer season – ice cold desserts!

Forgive me but Ice cream is overrated on this weather as we got plenty ice cold desserts to choose from and one of these is the Banana Con Hielo. It’s a really simple recipe you can enjoy sharing with your family and friends  whether your outdoor or not.

Ingredients:

• 6 pieces plantain (saging saba, sliced in circles or diagonally)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup ice cubes

Method:

1. Make sweetened plantains. Put the water and sugar in a pot, stir well, add in the plantains. Boil in low heat until sugar is caramelised and plantain is cooked. Keep stirring to keep the sugar from getting burnt. Turn off the heat as soon as it gotten thicker caramel. Set aside.

2. Using a blender, combine the ice cubes and milk, blend until it turned into a little smoothie (not too smoothie).

3. Place the ice in a glass or bowl, place the sweetened plantain and its sweet caramel on top. You may add more milk as desired. Serve.

Enjoy!

Strawberry and Mango Shortcake

I can’t get enough of the strawberries so I went to make the another quick strawberry recipe on that same day that I made that Strawberry and Mango Banana Cake. I would like to believe what I did was a shortcake. Lol. It’s really an easy one to make as I got the cake from the bakeshop so I totally saved a lot of time! Lol.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Strawberries (sliced)
• 1/4 cup Ripe Mango (sliced)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Any kind of chocolate shavings (i used truffles)
• 1 Custard cake (cut in half crosswise)

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate (How to melt chocolate: http://www.wikihow.com/Melt-Chocolate). Set aside.

2. Beat the cream and carefully add the melted chocolate. Set aside.

3. Place the bottom cake on a clean plate. Scoop a spoonful of cream and spread. Place the strawberries and mango slices. Scoop another spoonful of cream and place it on top of the fruits.

4. Place the other half of the cake on top of the fruits. This time you may add all the fruits left. It’s up to you how you want to decorate it! Lol.

Enjoy!

By the way, the shortcake I made happened to be Mom’s post birthday cake. Lol. I placed a candle and sang happy birthday to her! lol.

Strawberry and Mango Banana Cake

We came across this vendor selling strawberries on the street. I had to buy some and make a summer dessert for this really scorching hot weather. Lol. Mangoes are in season too! Perfect!

I went to this bakeshop and bought a banana loaf and custard cake. While buying, a lot of things or ideas were going through my head already on how I’m going to make it work with my fruits! Lol.

It’s a perfect dessert or snack you can share with your friends. And you can do it in just 20 minutes or less. No bake and all! Lol.

Ingredients:

• 3 slices of banana loaf
• 1 cup strawberries (sliced)
• 1 ripe mango (thinly sliced)
• 250ml cream (chilled)
• 1/4 cup white sugar

Method:

1. In a large bowl combine sugar and chilled cream. Beat until smooth. Set aside.

2. Place the first loaf in a clean plate. Spread a spoonful of cream on top of the loaf. Place mango slices.

3. Place the second loaf on top of the mango. Spread a spoonful of cream on top of the loaf. Add in as many strawberries you like. You may add another scoop of cream on top of the strawberries if you like.

4. Place the last loaf on top of the strawberries. Top it with a few strawberries and mangoes. Serve.

Enjoy!