Michelle Darmody: Paradise found with tropical fruit desserts
Pineapple upside-down cake is a classic for a reason.
Once the preserve of the rich, exotic fruits now line our shop shelves. The advent of shipping containers in the 1960s made the transport of such fruits cheaper than ever before and huge amounts of all different types of fruit now cross the globe each day. It allows us choices that would be inconceivable even a generation ago.
Tropical fruits are generally a loose bunch of fruits that grow in tropical regions, where the weather is very hot and humid for most of the year; mango, papaya, pineapple, kiwi, passion fruit and the more ubiquitous banana to name but a few. Coconuts are often listed as well, but technically they are a one-seeded drupe rather than a fruit. Coconut does work really well with most tropical fruits, particularly in baking. There is coconut milk in the mango cheesecakes for example and a scoop of coconut yoghurt would be a lovely accompaniment for the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.
