Banana

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 25 min

(Batido) This milk shake is a Puerto Rican and Cuban favorite; Palacio de Los Jugos on Flagler Street in Miami specializes in jugos and makes great tropical-fruit batidos. The fruit combinations are endless — try a mixture of strawberry and kiwi or guava and pineapple — and you can even use coconut milk instead of whole and spike with a shot of rum.

From Goldie's by the Bridge, North Tarrytown, New York.

A real winner: Delicate "purses" of phyllo pastry hold a banana and hazelnut filling. They're served with white chocolate sauce and a crunchy hazelnut crumble.

The upside-down cake—so popular in the fifties and sixties—has been making a come-back lately. This version has a banana, walnut and maple topping, and tender cake.

"Banoffi," the Royal Hotel's name for this luscious pie, was coined by combining the words banana and toffee.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The recipe for the coconut pudding is adapted from Mexican Light Cooking by Santa Fe-based chef Kathi Long.