Michelle Darmody: Using up fruit in baking
This week’s recipes are designed to help you use up fruit, particularly if you have bananas or other fruit piling up in the house. Similar to last week, the recipes are simple and can be made, with some supervision, by younger members of the family.
A basic crumble topping is a handy recipe to have. You can use it with apples, pears or any stoned fruit, from nectarines or peaches to plumbs or apricots.
If I get a punnet of peaches that are disappointingly hard, I bake with them, the process brings out the juices.
You can also add variety to a crumble by adding a handful of frozen berries, chocolate chips or dried fruit. It is very versatile so you can adapt the recipe to use what you have at hand in the kitchen.
Overripe bananas can be used up to make banana bread.
I often freeze a banana when it has become too soft and then, once I have accumulated a few, I defrost them and make the bread.
The cranberries are a nice tart contrast with the pecan nuts but golden raisins or chopped figs will also be as nice.
You can use any dried fruit that you have in your cupboard.
Another useful thing to have in our current situation is frozen puff pastry.
I tend to choose the pastry sheets, rather than block, so it makes things like sausage rolls or the apple bundle quicker to assemble.
Puff pastry apple bundle
200g sheet of puff pastry
5 apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 tbsp of golden caster sugar
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
40g of butter, cubed
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and line a large flat baking tray with parchment.
Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Place the sliced apples into the centre and bunch the pastry up around the sides making sure to pinch it so that it does not fall back open.
Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the sliced apple.
Dot the cubes of butter on top and bake for about 30 minutes until the apples are soft and the pastry is golden and crisp.
Allow to cool on the tray.
Banana and cranberry loaf
125g of plain flour
100g of self raising flour,
1 level tsp of baking powder, sieved
100g of cold butter, cubed
160g of golden castor sugar
20g of dried cranberries — or another dried fruit
30g of hazelnuts, chopped
450g (weighed with the skin on) of ripe bananas
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Heat your oven to 180 degrees and line a 2 lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
Sieve the baking powder into the flours and mix. Rub the butter in until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs.
Mix in the sugar, nuts and dried fruit. Mix together and make a hollow in the centre.
Peel and mash the bananas. Add the eggs and mashed banana to the flour mixture. Beat all ingredients thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
Scoop the mixture into your tin and spread it evenly. Bake for 1-½ hours. Allow to cool in the tin.
Peach and raspberry crumble
300g of plain flour
A pinch of salt
160g of brown sugar
200g of butter, cubed
100g of porridge oats
100g of chopped nuts — I use pecans
420g of peaches, de stoned and sliced
½ tbsp of honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp of orange juice
50g of frozen raspberries
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees
Mix the flour, salt and sugar together. Rub in the butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the oats and nuts.
Toss the sliced peaches in the honey and orange juice, stir in the raspberries. Place the mixture into an oven proof dish that fits everything snugly.
Pat the crumble on top and bake for about half an hour until the topping is golden and the fruit is soft.
