74 pastel recipes

Pig cake, a Southern church-supper classic with mandarin orange cake layers and a fluffy pineapple cream cheese frosting. Three-layer pastel pretty, ready for potlucks and reunions.

Coconut cookie nests in pastel colors with a chocolate egg in each. A macaroon-style Easter cookie with crisp edges, chewy centers, and room for candy eggs on top.

Fluted sandwich cookies filled with tinted vanilla buttercream in three pastel colours. A pretty bakery-style cookie with a cut-out window on top showing the green, pink or yellow filling underneath.

Make some halloween cupcakes with your kids, so much fun!

Make this delicious cake for your Easter party, the fluffy, buttery and fruity flavor, and the cute decoration will impress your guests!

Chile garlic wet marinade paste, a blended rub of jalapeno, chipotle in adobo, garlic, scallion, and olive oil. Smoky, spicy, and garlicky, it tenderizes and flavors beef like flank steak before grilling.

Spinach and basil blended with toasted walnuts, olive oil, and umami-rich miso paste. A dairy-free, vegan pesto that's ready in 25 minutes and keeps for a week in the fridge.

A classic and tasty Thai food. Fresh green beans, sweet potatoes and versatile tofu are cooked in creamy coconut milk and delicious yet spicy Thai curry paste. A little cilantro and fresh lime juice added in the end brightens up the whole dish and adds tons of refreshing taste.

Bold brisket marinade paste with Szechuan peppercorns, garlic, paprika, lemongrass oil, dry mustard, and red wine. Score the meat, rub it in, and marinate for several days for deep flavor penetration.

Russian beef borscht is a deep-ruby vegetable soup built on shredded beets, cabbage, carrots, and cubed beef simmered with dill, bay, and tomato paste. A classic Eastern European comfort bowl that improves overnight.

Rainbow trout Provencale with red bell pepper, fennel seeds, garlic, vermouth, and tomato paste. A light French-inspired fish dish cooked in minutes.

Seems too good to be true, but this succulent dish can be enjoyed with some help from the crockpot that is stashed away in your cupboard.

Italian lentils with sausage simmers fresh sausage in broth while earthy lentils cook with sage, soffritto, and tomato paste. A rustic Umbrian-style main or New Year lucky dish.

Ebi kimizushi: elegant Japanese stuffed-prawn sushi, with butterflied vinegar-marinated prawns filled with a silky, seasoned golden egg-yolk paste. A refined, bite-sized appetizer.

Spicy plum sauce simmered from fresh plums with ginger, garlic, Chinese five-spice, lime juice, and Thai chili paste. A bright, fiery condiment for spring rolls, duck, or grilled pork.

Greek-style turkey stuffing with three meats, chestnuts, pine nuts, and white raisins simmered in red wine and tomato paste. A meat-forward holiday stuffing with rice instead of bread cubes.