Apple pie ice-cream sandwiches

Photography by Rob Palmer

Make your freezer earn its keep with these wonderful apple pie ice-cream dessert sandwiches.

Makes

12

Ingredients

• 1.25 litres vanilla ice-cream, softened
• 400g can pie apple slices, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 24 thin oat biscuits

Method

1. Grease a 3cm-deep, 20cm x 30cm (base) lamington pan. Line with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at long ends.

2. Place ice-cream, apple, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir to combine. Spoon into prepared pan. Smooth top. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Freeze for 8 hours or until firm.

3. Place 12 biscuits, flat side up, on a board. Brush with a little cold water. Using a 6.5cm round cutter, cut 12 rounds from ice-cream mixture. Place on biscuits. Brush flat side of remaining biscuits with a little cold water. Sandwich ice-cream between biscuits. Place on a large baking tray. Freeze for 3 hours or until firm.

4. Remove from freezer. Set aside for 15 minutes. Serve.

Banana bread with passionfruit butter

Photography by Mark Roper

Escape the hustle and bustle with this exotic breakfast that will satisfy your tastebuds.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 2/3 cups (250g) plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
• 1/3 firmly packed cup (65g) brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 bananas, mashed

• Passionfruit butter

• 250g cream cheese
• 1/3 cup (4 tbs) good-quality lemon curd (see note)
• 1/4 cup (40g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup fresh passionfruit pulp (from about 4 passionfruit)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C and grease and line a 10cm x 20cm loaf pan. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl, then stir in sugars and cinnamon. Add eggs, vanilla and banana and stir until well combined. Spread into prepared pan.

2. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Meanwhile for the butter, place cheese, lemon curd and sugar in a food processor. Pulse briefly until just combined (don't overwork or it'll be too runny). Add the passionfruit and pulse 2-3 times to combine. Chill until ready to serve. (Passionfruit butter will keep in a sealed container for up to 1 week in the fridge.)

4. Slice the banana bread and serve with the passionfruit butter.

Notes

• Good-quality lemon curd is available from delis and gourmet shops.

Pork and strawberry salad

Photography by Jeremy Simons

Strawberries are in season and they're an all round winner in this fresh pork salad.

Cooking Time

30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 400g pork fillet
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 250g strawberries, hulled, halved
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 80g salad leaves
• 50g goats cheese, crumbled
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds

Method

1. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle pork with half the oil. Sprinkle with pepper and rub to coat. Cook pork, turning, for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Stand covered for 5 minutes to rest. Reduce heat to low. Add balsamic vinegar to pan. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced by half.

2. Place strawberries, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice in a bowl. Toss to combine.

3. Slice pork. Place salad leaves on a platter. Top with pork, strawberry mixture, cheese and seeds. Serve.

Mustard & rosemary pork with roast pears

Photography by Rob Palmer

Start the week with a mustard and rosemary pork meal that combines sweet and savoury flavours.

Cooking Time

30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 Beurre Bosc pears, unpeeled, cored, cut into 2cm-thick wedges
• 2 red onions, cut into thick wedges
• Olive oil spray
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbs wholegrain mustard
• 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 4 (about 125g each) pork loin steaks
• 100g baby spinach leaves
• Steamed green round beans, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place pear and onion on one of the trays. Spray with oil. Drizzle with half the vinegar. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pears are golden and tender.

2. Meanwhile, combine the mustard, rosemary and lemon rind in a bowl. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the pork for 2 minutes each side or until golden. Remove from heat. Spread one side of each pork steak with mustard mixture. Transfer to the second baking tray. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until cooked through.

3. Place the pear, onion, spinach and remaining vinegar in a bowl, and toss to combine. Divide pear mixture and pork steaks among serving plates. Serve with beans

Orange jelly

Real Orange Jelly

200mls fresh orange juice (from about three naval oranges)

3 leaves of gelatine (6 grams)

100mls of cold water

1 tablespoon sugar

1. Pour orange juice into a small saucepan and gently bring to the boil. When boiling dissolve the sugar.

2. Soak gelatine leaves in water until soft. Remove from water, squeezing out any excess and add to the boiled juice.

3. Whisk gelatine into juice until completely dissolved and mixed through.

4. Pour jelly mixture into a shallow tray. Place in fridge to chill until set, about 2 hours.

This makes a nice firm jelly that is still soft to eat. I used a large rectangular container for my jelly so I could chuck a lid on it and keep it in the fridge easily after it set. It was only about 2cm deep so I was able to make it just before dinner and have it set by the time Wolf finished his bath. The jelly tastes exactly like a fresh orange, only ridiculously easy to eat. This gives 3-4 baby serves or one adult serve. For larger recipes, just follow that you need 6 grams of gelatine for every 200mls of liquid. Don’t use pineapple or kiwi fruit as they contain enzymes that cause gelatine to not set.

Raspberry jelly

Photography by John Paul Urizar

Pushing the raspberry mixture through the sieve is squishy, messy and great fun!

Preparation Time

20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1 x 300g pkt frozen raspberries, thawed
• 500ml (2 cups) apple juice
• 2 tbs icing sugar mixture
• 4 1/2 tsp gelatine powder

Method

1. Place the raspberries and 375ml (1 1/2 cups) of apple juice in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a large bowl, gently pushing the mixture through with the back of a spoon. Discard the seeds. Add the icing sugar to the raspberry mixture and stir to combine.

2. Heat the remaining apple juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Transfer to a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle with gelatine and stir with a fork until the gelatine dissolves.

3. Stir 125ml (1/2-cup) of the raspberry mixture into the gelatine mixture so they come to the same temperature (this will prevent the gelatine from becoming lumpy). Stir the gelatine mixture into the remaining raspberry mixture. Pour evenly among six 125ml (1/2-cup) capacity dariole or jelly moulds. Place in the fridge for 4 hours or until set.

4. Dip the moulds, 1 at a time, into warm water to loosen, then carefully pull the jelly away from the edge of the mould. Turn onto a serving plate. (If the jelly doesn't slide out easily, hold the mould to the plate and shake to remove). Serve immediately.

Notes

• Jelly moulds: Plastic jelly moulds have a removable top and bottom, and are available from Woolworths supermarkets. If you don't have moulds, you can set the jelly in small cups or glasses and eat it straight from the glass.

• Allow 4 hours setting time.

Maple-syrup roast peaches with coconut crumble

Photography by Alan Benson

Juicy, ripe peaches steal the show in this miraculously low-fat dessert.

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 125ml (1/2 cup) maple syrup
• 15g butter, melted
• 6 freestone peaches, halved, stones removed
• 10 (about 70g) coconut biscuits, finely chopped
• 2 tbs flaked almonds
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• Light cream, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine the maple syrup and butter in a large roasting pan. Arrange the peach, cut-side down, in the syrup mixture in the pan and roast in oven for 10 minutes or until almost tender.

2. Meanwhile, combine the biscuit, almonds and sugar in a small bowl.

3. Use tongs to turn the peach. Spoon the biscuit mixture over the peach. Bake, basting once with the pan juices, for 10 minutes or until the peach is tender and the crumble is golden. Divide among serving bowls and serve with cream, if desired.

Watermelon sorbet

Photography by Ben Dearnley

Beat the heat and the bulge this summer with this refreshing sorbet. With less than a gram of fat per serve, it's guaranteed to please those of us sticking to New Year's resolutions!

Preparation Time

10 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 500ml (2 cups) water
• 215g (1 cup) caster sugar
• 1.2kg seedless watermelon, rind removed, coarsely chopped
• 2 egg whites

Method

1. Combine the water and sugar in a medium saucepan and stir over low heat for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool.

2. Meanwhile, place watermelon in the jug of a blender and blend until pureed. Strain puree through a fine sieve into a jug, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible (you should have about 600ml of watermelon juice).

3. Add sugar syrup to watermelon juice and stir until well combined. Pour into an airtight container, cover and place in the freezer for 4-5 hours or until almost set.

4. Roughly break up the sorbet with a metal spoon and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process briefly until sorbet is smooth and has a soft, icy texture.

5. Return sorbet to container and place in the freezer for a further 4 hours or until firm. Remove from the freezer and repeat step 4. Return sorbet to the container and place in the freezer for a further 5 hours or until firm.

6. Place the sorbet and egg whites in the bowl of a food processor and process until sorbet is pale and smooth. Return to the container and place in the freezer for a further 4 hours or until almost firm. Scoop into serving glasses or bowls and serve immediately.

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Banana and rasberry bread

Banana and raspberry bread

Photography by Mark O'Meara

This recipe comes highly recommended from Taste.com.au members, who reckon it's great for the lunch box, but also perfect with an afternoon cuppa.

Makes

10 slices

Ingredients

• 150g butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 ripe bananas, peeled, mashed (see notes)
• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (see notes)
• butter, to serve

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease base and sides of a 7cm deep, 11cm x 21cm (base) loaf pan. Line with baking paper, allowing a 2cm overhang at both long ends.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale. Add egg, in 2 batches, beating well after each addition.

3. Stir in banana. Sift flour and baking powder over banana mixture. Add milk. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Carefully fold in raspberries.

4. Spoon mixture into loaf pan. Smooth surface. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Lift onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 10 even slices.

Notes

You will need 1 cup mashed banana for this recipe. If using frozen raspberries, place on paper towel to thaw before using.

To freeze

Fruit salad with honey yoghurt

Photography by Mark O'Meara

Start the day with a nutritious, homemade and filling breakfast - made by the kids, for the kids!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 250g strawberries, hulled, quartered
• 2 medium bananas, peeled, sliced
• 2 oranges, peeled, chopped
• 1 fuji apple, chopped
• 200g light plain Greek-style yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/3 cup almond kernels, chopped

Method

1. Combine strawberries, banana, orange and apple in a bowl.

2. Combine yoghurt and honey in a separate bowl.

3. Spoon fruit salad into bowls. Top with yoghurt mixture. Sprinkle with almonds. Serve.

Notes

Cooking class: Mixing: Using a wooden spoon, combine banana, strawberries, oranges and apple in a large bowl.

Tip: If not serving immediately, toss banana and apple in 1 tablespoon lemon juice before adding other fruit. This will prevent apple and banana turning brown.