Mini Banana & Pecan Tartlets

I’d be lying if I said that I had a sweet tooth. I’m definitely more of a savoury flavour kinda gal. Having said that, when I fancy something sweet I devour it and satisfy those delicious cravings. With this particular recipe, as they are mini they are like little treats if you just need a quick sugar fix and they take hardly any time to bake; I know right, winning recipe right here! To make my tartlets I used the rim of one of my mugs, I know, we have to work with what we’ve got but trust me it worked just as well as using a cookie cutter. Depending on the size of your cutter of choice you may need to bake your tartlets either slightly less or more than I have suggested, keep a cheeky eye on the oven so that they don’t under or over bake.

Makes 6 tartlets

Ingredients:

• 1/2 sheet ready rolled puff pastry
• 1 banana
• 1 handful pecans
• 1/2 tsp golden syrup
• Granulated sugar
• Milk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Using your cutter, cut out your tartlets, remove any off cuts and place on a baking tray. (Use the baking paper the pastry comes packed in.)
3. In a bowl, mush the banana using the back of a fork, crush the pecans into small pieces. Combine in the same bowl along with the golden syrup.
4. Scoop out (approximately) a teaspoon worth of the mixture and place into the centre of the pastry leaving a small border. Repeat on all pieces of pastry.
5. Take a little milk and brush the borders of the pastry gently. Finally, sprinkle a little granulated sugar on top of the milk.
6. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the borders have risen and are golden.

Best served warm with a cup of tea.

Advertisement

Banana and Coconut Crumble

During the lockdown period everyone has gone to town on making banana bread. Now, don’t get me wrong, banana bread is good but I wanted to mix things up a bit and made my own little twist to a classic dessert. So here we are, another way to make use of those extra bananas; I hope you all enjoy.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 100ml coconut milk
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 dessert spoon of coconut flakes
• 70g self-raising flour
• 42g butter
• 30g light brown sugar
• 2tsp maple syrup

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5.
2. Roughly slice the bananas, layer and spread across a baking dish.
3. Put the coconut milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup in a bowl and give it a good mix.
4. In a separate bowl put the flour and butter together and rub to make a crumble.
5. Then add the sugar and the coconut flakes and mix together with your hands.
6. Pour over the coconut milk mixture over the bananas.
7. Evenly scatter the crumble over the bananas and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown.

Best served hot. Delicious on its own or with a serving of single cream or ice cream.