WITH only one week to go until the most romantic day of the year, it’s time to pull out all the stops for date night.
If you’re looking for inspo that’s actually achievable, Alexina Anatole’s new cookbook Sweet: The Secret To The Best Desserts, out February 13, has it in spades.
If you’re a TikTok fan, you’ll notice that her sweet treats are giving #MarryMeDessert vibes – how could you say no?
And they’re not just for Valentine’s Day – everything from pear tatin to rum baba with a twist, these will stay with you all year.
Alexina reached the MasterChef final in 2021 and has thrown herself into cookery ever since, lucky for us.
Say “I do” to these sweethearts…
Banoffee Coffee Sundae
Makes 4-5
Prep time 5 mins
Ingredients:
*12 digestive biscuits
*Caramel sauce
*4 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into 1cm-thick slices on the bias
*Cocoa nibs, to decorate
*Coffee ice cream
For the cinnamon cream:
*150ml double cream, fridge-cold
*1/4-1/2tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
Method:
1 First, to make the cinnamon cream, whip the double cream and ground cinnamon until you get soft peaks.
2 To serve, present all the different elements in bowls in the middle of the table to make up your own sundae. For example, crush a couple of digestive biscuits into the bottom of a sundae glass, spoon over some caramel sauce, then top with slices of banana. Add a scoop of coffee ice cream, followed by a spoonful of the cinnamon cream, then drizzle over more caramel sauce and shower with cocoa nibs.
You’ll go bananas for this banging pud[/caption]
Blackened Bananas With Coconut, Passionfruit & Ginger
Makes: 4
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
*4 medium ripe bananas
*2tbsp maple syrup
*Flaky sea salt
For the coconut cream:
*1/2 x 400ml tin coconut milk, fridge-cold
*100ml double cream
*1tbsp icing sugar
*1tsp vanilla bean paste
To decorate:
*3 ripe passionfruit, pulp removed
*3tbsp crystallised ginger, roughly chopped
*Sweetened coconut flakes (optional)
Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/gas mark 9. Line a baking tray with foil.
2 Place the bananas on the prepared tray and use a small knife to slice a slit along two-thirds of the length of each banana. Press the ends of the bananas towards each other to slightly open up the split, then pour 1/2tbsp maple syrup into each, followed by a generous pinch of flaky sea salt. Roast the bananas until the skins have turned totally black and they are soft in the middle, for around 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
3 While the bananas are baking, remove the tin of coconut milk from the fridge and scoop out the top, thicker half into a bowl. Whip up until just shy of soft peaks. Separately, whip together the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. Fold the double cream into the coconut cream and whip further, if needed, to thicken it up.
4 To serve, transfer the bananas (still in their skins) to a serving platter, top each with a spoonful of the coconut cream, followed by 1-2tsp passionfruit pulp. Garnish with crystallised ginger and coconut flakes (if using), and serve immediately.
Simple Citrus, Olive Oil & Vanilla Loaf
Makes: 8-10 slices
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 50 mins
Ingredients:
*2 blood oranges, plus juice 1/2 blood orange
*2 eggs
*110ml olive oil
*80g Greek yoghurt, plus extra to serve
*Juice 1/2 lemon
*1tsp vanilla bean paste
*140g caster or granulated sugar
*100g plain flour
*3/4tsp baking powder
*¼tsp bicarbonate of soda
*¼tsp fine sea salt
For the syrup:
*Juice 2 blood oranges
*80g caster or granulated sugar
*1/2tsp vanilla bean paste
Method:
1 Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/gas 4 and line a 900g loaf tin.
2 Zest the 2 oranges and set the zest aside, then top and tail them, removing the skin and pith by running a knife down the sides. Slice the oranges crossways into 5mm rounds, picking out and discarding the pips. Arrange in the bottom of the loaf tin in a single layer (you may not need all the slices, depending on the size of your oranges).
3 In a jug, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, yoghurt, orange zest and juice, lemon juice and vanilla.
4 Separately, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5 Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake until a skewer comes out clean, around 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.
6 To make the syrup, combine the orange juice, sugar and vanilla in a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
7 To serve, turn the loaf upside down (so that the oranges are visible) and brush the syrup over the top. Serve slices with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.
MasterChef facts
MASTERCHEF has been a staple BBC series for years – but what are the key details?
- MasterChef launched on BBC One back in 1990
- It ran until 2001, then was revived in 2005 as MasterChef Goes Large
- John Torode joined the revamped series in 2005, where he teamed up with Gregg Wallace as hosts
- Controversial moments? In March 2018, Gregg refused to judge Zaleha Kadir Olpin’s stewed chicken rendang dish as he claimed it was ‘not crispy enough and could not be eaten.’
