Is there such a thing as a ‘banana bread connoisseur’? If there is, I think I’m one of them, as I’ve certainly consumed my share of banana bread, especially during pregnancy!!

This is a seriously good banana bread, adapted by Tana Ramsay’s banana and apple loaf recipe, the only difference being that I prefer pear over apple and enjoy the crunch of walnuts too.

If you’re planning a brunch or afternoon tea for your Christmas celebrations, this would make a lovely addition. Bake the day before and toast before serving with a knob of butter and dusting of icing sugar. Alternatively, you can always save this recipe for another day when you need to use up bananas and pears on the turn.

Be sure to have a gorgeous Christmas and New Year!!

Love, Suzanna

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Recipe

Serves 10-12

Ingredients
1 cup (115 grams) walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
4 medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed
1 pear, peeled and coarsly grated
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated brown sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups (250 grams) self raising flour, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
pinch of salt

Icing sugar to serve (optional)

Method
1) Preheat oven to 150°C and toast walnuts on a tray for 5-10 minutes or until fragrant. Once cooled, coarsly chop and set aside.

2) Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and line a rectangular loaf tin (approx. 12 x 40cm).

3) In a bowl mash bananas with a fork or potato masher, add grated pear and mix to combine.

4) Using an electric hand-held mixer (medium setting), beat the eggs, sugar and butter until pale and creamy (approx. 5-7 minutes).

5) Stir in the mashed bananas and pear and sieve in the flour and other dry ingredients.

6) Once well mixed, tip into the loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes.

7) Remove to a wire wrack and cool in the tin for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the tin onto the rack and finish cooling completely before slicing.

8) Serve toasted with a sprinkling of icing and knob of butter.

Tips:
- Replace walnuts with pecans and pear with apple or carrot.
- Freezes well for up to three months.

It has always been a family tradition to regularly enjoy a warming bowl of fruit compote on chilly winter nights. Not only is it quick and easy, it’s also sugar and fat free!

There are no hard rules with compote, you can add whatever fruit takes your fancy, I like a combination of dried prunes, sultanas, fresh pear, apple and quince. Feel free to experiment, you may like to add dried figs or apricots.

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Recipe

Serves 2-4

Ingredients
3 cups (750ml) water
1/2 quince, peeled, cored and diced (optional)
2/3 cup dried prunes
1/2 cup sultanas
1 cinnamon stick (if unavailable add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 Pink Lady apple, peeled, cored and diced

Method
1) Combine water, quince, prunes, sultanas and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan, bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Add diced pear and apples, bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for further 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick, spoon into serving bowls and enjoy while hot.
Note: Drizzle with honey if you prefer your compote a little sweeter.

Tips:
- Fruit can be left unpeeled with skin on.
- For an easy dessert serve fruit without liquid along with double cream or custard.

Light, moist and delightful is the best way to describe these apple and walnut cupcakes. Traditionally a rectangular cake recipe, I couldn’t resist making little cupcakes instead.

The original recipe omits cinnamon, lemon rind and sprinkling with icing sugar, but there was no way I could leave out cinnamon in an apple cake recipe. The addition of lemon zest is a personal preference so feel free to leave it out, I like the zing and freshness it adds, however I’ll add lemon to almost anything.
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Recipe

Makes 16 medium or 32 mini cup cakes (or 1 rectangular cake)

Ingredients
4 apples, peeled and coarsely grated
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (zest is optional)
4 organic or free-range eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) caster sugar
3/4 cup (190ml) vegetable oil (e.g. canola or sunflower)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 1/2 cups (190g) self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup (90g) walnuts, chopped
Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Method
1) Preheat oven to 175°C. Line 2-3 cupcake trays with paper cases or grease and line a rectangular baking tray.

2) Combine grated apples and lemon juice (the lemon will help stop the apples from browning) and transfer to a colander over a bowl to allow the excess liquid to drain.

3) Using an electric hand-held mixer (low-medium setting), beat the eggs and caster sugar until thick and fluffy (5-7 minutes). Use a metal spoon to mix through vegetable oi, vanilla essence and lemon zest. Gradually fold in sifted flour and cinnamon, scraping the edges as you go until just combined. Add the apples and walnuts and mix well.

4) Spoon the mixture into your prepared paper cases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top and cooked through. (If making a rectangular cake bake for 45-50 minutes.)

5) Serve while warm or at room temperature and dust with icing sugar.

Tip: To check if the cake/s are ready insert a skewer, leave it for 5 seconds and if it comes out clean the cake/s are cooked, if it’s slightly sticky cook for a further 5 minutes and check again.

With no sugar or fat, this recipe for baked apples is super easy, healthy and tasty too!

It’s a perfect winter treat and a great way to use up apples that are a little older and have become floury. Coring the apples is not traditional however definitely an option, you can even chop in half and remove the seeds if you prefer. I felt like being old fashioned and sticking to my families village recipe of leaving the apples whole. You’ll just need to remember to avoid the seeds when eating.

Once baked, the soft and mushy flesh is perfectly complimented with ice cream or warm custard.
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Recipe

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
6-8 apples, washed and dried
Ground cinnamon (optional)
Water

Method
1) Preheat oven to 180 °C.

2) In a medium ovenproof dish pour in enough water to completely cover the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with ground cinnamon (optional). Sunggly place the apples upright in the dish and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the apples are tender. Remove from oven and drizzle over the syrupy cooking juices.

3) Serve while warm with a scoop of ice cream or warm custard.

Tips:
- The length of baking will depend on the size and type of apples, test by inserting a fork into the flesh.
- During baking, be sure to check regularly and add more water if necessary to avoid the apples from drying out. If the apples begin to burn cover with a sheet of foil and/or reduce the oven temperature.

Sometimes in life it’s the simplest recipes that are often the tastiest. I’m really not sure about the origin of smoothies. Perhaps they’re inspired by tropical mocktails. All I know is that this banana smoothie makes the ultimate summer breakfast.

Although I love a good health shake, with yoghurt and honey, occasionally I enjoy a more indulgent smoothie with lots of ice cream, the consistency of a yummy thick shake. You only need 3 ingredients and the secret here is a pinch of ground cinnamon.

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Recipe

Serves 1

Ingredients
1 large banana, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups (375ml) cold milk
1-2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Method
1) Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately with an extra dusting of cinnamon.

Tip:
If you’re feeling really indulgent hold the cinnamon and replace with a dusting of cocoa/drinking chocolate.

You know it’s Christmas when desserts start taking the shape of merry snow balls.

These yummy European apple and walnut treats are not strictly a Christmas tradition, but are a lovely alternative to the regular rum ball. The apple stays quite moist and combined with the walnuts, it’s a match made in heaven and very hard to stop at just one!

There are only 5 ingredients and no baking, making this recipe so easy that even the kids can help.

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Recipe

Makes 50 balls

Ingredients
500g (3-4 medium) apples, peeled, cored and grated
225g (1 cup) caster sugar
250g plain biscuits, finely chopped (I use Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot biscuits)
250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
100g natural walnuts, chopped

Method
1) In a medium pan combine grated apple and sugar (low-medium heat). Gently cook, stirring regularly until softened and most of the liquid has evaporated (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and cool completely (to speed up the cooling process pop in the freezer for 15-20 minutes).
2) Meanwhile, in a large bowl add the butter and ground biscuits. Use your fingers to evenly combine until you have the consistency of a shortbread dough. Add the cooled apple mix and use your hands to combine well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (this step is optional however I find it helps when forming the balls).
3) Run your hands under cold water (do this every so often) and roll a heaped teaspoon of the mix into a small ball. Coat with chopped walnuts and refrigerate in an airtight container.
4) To serve, remove from fridge and allow to rest at room temperature (15 minutes).

Tips:
- If you don’t have a food processor to chop the biscuits and walnuts, wrap in a tea towel and crush with a rolling pin.
- Make ahead of time and freeze.

I’ve always wanted to make a traditional Christmas pudding from scratch, but for obvious reasons, puddings are not one of my families specialties.

You can imagine my excitement when I received an ‘authentic’ pudding recipe from a friend – a recipe which has been in the family for several generations. Word is that Grandma Bess (born in 1915) was given the recipe from her grandmother, who picked it up at the Royal Easter show all those years ago.

Like so many old favourites, grandma would never measure anything and just throw it all in and every year it would come out perfect. It must have been the “brandy for pudding, brandy for grandma” method that ensured it was so.

What I love most about Christmas and this recipe is the focus on family. Once all the ingredients are mixed in the bowl, everyone in the family takes it in turns to stir and make a wish. On Christmas day, silver coins from yesteryear are boiled to sterilise, then small incisions are made all over the pudding and the coins are inserted for the kids to find, care of the Sugar Plum Fairy. (As silver coins are no longer in production, the kids have to swap them at the end for today’s currency and the silver coins are squirreled away until next year.)

This recipe makes one pudding, which depending on your preference can be served hot of cold (you’ll find instructions for both). I love the hot pudding because it’s a real showstopper – the pudding is placed on the table while hot brandy which has been lit is poured over the warm pudding.

Note: Pudding is best made 1 month prior to serving, store in fridge.

All ingredients should be room temperature

Tie paper or foil tightly with string

Stand for 10 minutes before turning out on a plate

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Recipe…………………………….

Makes 1 large pudding

Ingredients
Pudding
250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
250g (2½ cups) brown sugar
4 organic or free-range eggs, room temperature
130g (2½ cups) fresh breadcrumbs (grate day-old white bread)
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
250g raisins
250g sultanas
250g currants
400ml brandy or rum, plus extra 100ml for hot pudding

Hard sauce (make on Christmas morning)
125g unsalted butter, softened
215g (1½ cups) sifted icing sugar
2 tablespoons brandy or rum

Method
1) In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (I use an electric hand mixer). Then gradually beat in eggs.
2) In a separate bowl, mix flour, breadcrumbs and spice together.
3) In a separate bowl, mix fruit and stir in a full wine glass (200ml) of brandy or rum.
4) Add dry ingredients and fruit mix alternately to butter mixture. Stir until combined.
5) Grease a 2 litre pudding basin and line base with a circle of greased baking paper or foil (to ensure pudding does not stick when turning out). Pour pudding mixture into basin and top with another circle of baking paper or foil. Place lid of basin over this or cover with 2 layers of baking paper and/or foil and tie with string. Allow to stand for 24 hours.
6) To cook, place pudding basin in a large saucepan with a wire rack or tea towel lining the base. Fill with water, ensure a good 3cm of the basin rim is not under water. Cover and simmer, topping up water when necessary.
Cold pudding: Boil for 9 hours. Before storing, pour another wine glass (200ml) of brandy or rum over the pudding. Cool in the bowl, cover and refrigerate.
Hot pudding: Boil for 6 hours. Before storing, pour another wine glass (200ml) of brandy or rum over the pudding. Cool in the bowl, cover and refrigerate. On Christmas day, reheat in a large saucepan of simmering water for 3 hours. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out on a plate. When serving the hot pudding, place pudding on the table. In a small saucepan, heat half a glass of brandy until it is very hot. Carry saucepan over to pudding and light, then pour the flaming liquid over the pudding.
7) For hard sauce, cream softened butter with icing sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in brandy or rum and refrigerate until it becomes hard.
8) Serve pudding with hard sauce, cream, custard or ice cream.

Tip: I make fresh breadcrumbs in a food processor. Remove the crusts from white day-old bread slices, cut into cubes and process until finely chopped. Any leftovers can be frozen and used when required.