Pink Saturday Love Cuisine!!

Happy Pink Saturday !!

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You are all my Valentine's

and I thought I would share

some mouthwatering recipes for this

day designated for LoVe!!

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Please visit Beverly from How Sweet the Sound

our Hostess for Pink Saturday

and renew your love of Pink,

especially during this Day of Love

Cookie cutters of all shapes & sizes

Gingerbread Hearts

Triple Mint Sundaes

Pink peppermint ice cream
Mint chocolate chip ice cream
Spearmint ice cream
Hot Fudge Sauce
Garnishes: fresh mint sprig, rolled wafer cookies

Scoop pink peppermint, mint chocolate chip, and spearmint ice creams into julep cups or dessert glasses. Drizzle with Hot Fudge Sauce. Garnish, if desired.

Cherry Pistachio Bark

1 1/4 cups dried cherries
2 tablespoons water
2 (12-ounce) packages white chocolate morsels
6 (2-ounce) vanilla candy coating squares
1 1/4 cups chopped red or green pistachios
Preparation
Microwave cherries and 2 tablespoons water in a small glass bowl at HIGH 2 minutes; drain.

Melt chocolate and candy coating in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in cherries and pistachios. Spread into a wax paper-lined 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan.

Chill 1 hour or until firm. Cut with a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Store in airtight container.

Raspberry Float

This recipe, excerpted from the cookbook Dessert Express, is an elegant take on the ice cream soda, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a handful of raspberries floating in a glass of champagne.

1 cup fresh raspberries, picked over
1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
1/4 cup framboise or other raspberry eau de vie
2 cups chilled dry champagne or sparkling wine

Put 2 Tbs. of the raspberries in the bottom of each of 4 tall glasses. Top with a 1/4-cup scoop of ice cream. Drizzle 1 Tbs. framboise into each glass, then top with another 2 Tbs. of raspberries an danother 1/4-cup scoop of ice cream. Pour 1/2 cup of champagne into each glass. Serve immediately with a straw and a long-handled spoon.

Sweet and Simple....my favorite flower - Ranunculus,

a chocolate donut and a tall glass of milk

Red Velvet Cake

2 sticks plus 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (1-lb.) box light brown sugar (about 2-1/4 cups)
3 Tbs. red food coloring
2-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1-3/4 cups buttermilk

For the frosting
1-1/4 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
2-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (2-lb.) bag confectioners’ sugar (about 7-1/4 cups)

To make the cake

Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with 1 Tbs. of butter each. Add 2 Tbs. of the flour to each pan and shake the pans to coat the bottom and sides. Tap out the excess flour and set the pans aside.

Sift the remaining 3 cups of flour with the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer) cream the remaining butter with the brown sugar, food coloring, and vanilla on low to combine. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until aerated and pale, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition and using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and add one-third of the dry ingredients followed by half of the buttermilk. Repeat, finishing with the final third of the dry mix. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans, spreading it out as evenly as possible.

Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the center of the cake resists slight pressure, about 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then run a paring knife around the edges of each pan to release the cake from the sides; invert the cakes onto the cooling rack. Cool for 1 hour, and then wrap each cake in plastic wrap for at least a few hours.

To make the frosting

Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer) on low speed to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until aerated and light, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add a few cups of the confectioners’ sugar, incorporating it into the cream cheese mixture on low speed until combined. Repeat with the remaining sugar, adding it to the mixer in two additions. Once all of the sugar is added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

To assemble the cake

Unwrap the cake layers. Slice off the rounded top 1/8 inch of each cake and place the trimmed-away portion in the bowl of a food processor. Slice each cake in half horizontally (you’ll end up with 4 layers), working over a baking sheet to catch any crumb. Add the crumbs to the food processor and pulse until fine.

Place one cake layer on a cake round or large plate (make sure that the diameter of the plate is at least 1 inch larger than the cake). Use an offset spatula to evenly spread a heaping 3/4 cup of frosting on the first cake layer. Repeat with the remaining three cake layers, ending with a bottom half of a cake on top, browned-side up (so you don’t get cake crumbs in the frosting). Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake (the sides don’t have to look perfect—you’re going to cover them with cake crumbs anyway). Gently press a handful of the reserved crumbs into the side of the cake until all of the sides are evenly coated. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Make Ahead Tips
You can make the cake layers up to 3 days in advance. The filled and frosted cake keeps for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Let it stand at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

and Red Velvet Cupcakes of course

Red velvet cupcakes: Follow the recipe above, making a half-batch of the batter (unless you have two 12-cup muffin tins, in which case you can make a full-size batch) and decreasing the baking powder to 1 tsp. Bake until the cupcakes are domes and resist slight pressure, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting with a half batch of the cream cheese frosting.

Sparkling Pomegranate Ginger Cocktail

* 1 teaspoon ginger simple syrup (see below for instructions)
* 2 tablespoons PAMA pomegranate liquor
* Champagne
* Candied ginger (click here for candied ginger recipe)
* Rimming Sugar

1. Wet rim of flute with a wet paper towel. Dip into pink rimming sugar.
2. Add ginger syrup and PAMA to champagne flute. Top with Champagne, and add 1 piece of candied ginger.

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I hope you found some of

these yummy recipes

inspiring to satisfy

your own Valentine Sweet Tooth

or whatever you call your LOVE!!

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Happy Pink Saturday Friends!!
xOxO Nerina