Michelle Darmody: Stove-top desserts work great when it's too hot to even turn on the oven

Even the 'worst' gardener can grow a pot of mint which makes a lovely addition to lots of fruit desserts

French toast with caramelised banana and nuts

You do not always need an oven to whip up an after-dinner treat. The recipes here can either be made on the hob, or do not need heating at all.

Zabaglione has a soft, silky, creamy texture — a cross between a crème anglaise that is used in French baking and a custard, but a zabaglione is 100% Italian. I have made a substitution here; the alcohol is more typically marsala sweet wine rather than Amaretto. You can serve the dessert with some Amaretti biscuits on the side, or roughly crush them up and stir them in just after you remove it from the heat. If you prefer, you can always stir through some fresh berries as well. I particularly like the addition of raspberries.

The refreshing chilled fruit salad is nice accompanied with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a fruit sorbet. Mint works very well with certain fruits, particularly watermelon. As mint is a very tender herb it is best to add it towards the end of preparation, particularly in hot dishes. It will help maintain the cool, fresh taste and preserve its nutrients. Mint is a very easy plant to grow, it will thrive in a pot as much as the ground  — and best of all it comes back into bloom each summer.

French toast with caramelised banana and nuts

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

The perfect oven top dish for breakfast or even for an after dinner treat

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Dessert

Cuisine

 French

Ingredients

• 300mls milk

• 4 eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 8 chunky slices of bread

• 4 bananas, sliced

• 60g golden caster sugar

• 80g soft butter

• 1 tbs hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

• 1 tbs almonds, toasted and roughly chopped

• 1 tbs pecan nuts, toasted and roughly chopped

• 4 tbs natural yogurt

Method

1. Mix the milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon together in a flat dish. Place the slices of bread into it and set them aside to soak up the liquid. You may need to alternate the position of the bread with a fish slice halfway through soaking.

2. Place the bananas, caster sugar and butter into a pan and allow to heat up. It will get sticky and start to caramelise. Gently turn the bananas and add the roasted nuts to the pan. Set aside.

3. Heat a knob of butter and fry the soaked bread until golden, then turn over and fry the other side. Repeat with all the slices. Serve with the bananas and nuts scooped on top and some natural yogurt on the side.

Baked apples with salted caramel crunch

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

Salted caramel is delicious paired with apples and nuts.

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• For the baked apples:

• 1 tbs of dates, pitted and chopped

• 1 tbs of pecan nuts, chopped

• 1 tbs of crunchy granola

• 1 tbs of muscovado sugar

• 4 apples, skin scored around the top and the apples cored

• 2 tbs of soft butter

• For the salted caramel sauce:

• 2 tbs of golden caster sugar

• 2 tbs of water

• 3 tbs of cream

• 1 tbs of soft butter

• 2 pinches of sea salt

Method

1. Mix the dates, nuts and granola with the sugar. Scoop this into the hollow in the centre of each apple. Place a quarter of the butter onto each apple and put them into an ovenproof dish.

2. Bake for about 25 minutes until bubbling and soft throughout.

3. While the apples are baking place the sugar and water for the sauce into a heavy based saucepan and simmer over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Allow to bubble gently until it is turning golden brown. Remove from the heat and whisk in cream, butter and salt until the liquid is smooth and shiny.

4. Serve the sauce with the warm apples.

Amaretto Zabaglione

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

An italian treat with an Amaretto bite

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks

• 115g golden caster sugar

• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

• 3 tbs Amaretto liqueur

• Amaretti biscuits to serve

Method

1. Place the egg yolks, vanilla seeds and sugar into a heatproof bowl that will fit snugly on top of a saucepan which you will use to boil water. Whisk the ingredients until light and fluffy. Add the amaretto.

2. Heat a saucepan of water and place the bowl on top. Whisk again for about 10 minutes until it has thickened, and the whisk leaves a trail.

3. Scoop into glasses and either serve warm or chilled with Amaretti on the side.