From banana bread and possets to chocolate mousse – lockdown cooking has never been sweeter!

Even though we never needed an excuse to eat dessert, COVID-19 lockdowns have turned Aussies into a nation of bakers. In fact, we upped our baking more than almost any other activity – and why wouldn’t we? Baking is therapeutic, fun and most importantly delicious!

Luckily, giving into sweet temptation doesn’t require fancy ingredients. With restrictions continuing and Australian shoppers scrambling to grab essentials before lockdown, here are five simple dessert recipes you can tame your sugar cravings with whatever you’ve got in the pantry.

Hot tip: You probably already own the ingredients to make these five delicious recipes.

Simple Banana Bread Recipe

Banana bread is a tried and tested lockdown staple – and for a good reason. Turning your overripe and browning bananas into bread isn’t just a great way of reducing waste, it’s also a great way of using up other household staples like berries, nuts and seeds (and sneakily getting them into your kids).

Better yet, bananas are full of healthy vitamins and nutrients like Vitamin C and manganese so you don’t have to feel guilty about your afternoon snack with a cuppa.

Tip: For an extra crunchy golden-brown crust, melt a little butter towards the end of the cooking time and brush it on the outside of the dough. You won’t be disappointed.

INGREDIENTS

250g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
Ground cinnamon, to taste
180g brown sugar
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Sift flour into a bowl and mix in the rest of the dry ingredients.

3. Cream the butter and brown sugar together until pale and creamy. Whisk in eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana.

4. Fold in the dry ingredients.

4. Pour into a prepared loaf tin and bake for around 40 minutes or until brown and golden.

Healthy Nut Butter Bars Recipe

If you can’t stand the anticipation of slowly watching a cake rise, these bars are a great way of using up peanut or almond butter that you may have sitting around in the pantry. More than that though, they are rich and incredibly creamy.

INGREDIENTS

200g peanut or almond butter
Honey or maple syrup, to taste
500g rolled oats
200g dark or semi-sweet chocolate

METHOD

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave and set aside.

2. Melt the nut butter and honey together. Gradually fold in the rolled oats until combined.

3. When slightly cooled, pour over the melted chocolate cover and allow to set in the fridge for around 2 hours. Makes approximately 14 bars.

Easy Lemon Posset Recipe

Possets may look fancy, but these tangy mousses are incredibly easy and a great way of using leftover cream and fruit.

All you need for a basic posset is cream, sugar and lemon, though you can make all kinds of variations – you can even create your own flavour combination by adding lime juice!

They’re best served with shortbread fingers sticking out the side, or perhaps even some blueberries and powdered sugar for decoration.

INGREDIENTS

300mL double cream
70g sugar
Juice of one lemon
Shortbread, for garnishing
Blueberries, for garnishing

METHOD

1. Place the cream and sugar in a saucepan and slowly bring to the boil on low heat. Stir gently and constantly.

2. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, add the lemon juice then reduce heat to a very low simmer for two minutes.

3. Place into heatproof glass ramekins. If you don’t have these, wine glasses also work. Serves three.

No-Fuss Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Once upon a time, making a delicious chocolate mousse was a complicated process that involved separating the whites and yolks and lots of prep work. With this cheat’s chocolate mousse, you’ll be up and running with a silky and decadent dessert in no time.

If you fancy an incredibly indulgent variation on the usual formula, substitute the chocolate for about 150g of Biscoff Spread (or any spreadable cookie butter), melt it and substitute it for the chocolate to make a delightful cookie butter mousse.

INGREDIENTS

250g dark or semi-sweet cooking chocolate
600mL thickened cream

METHOD

1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave and set aside

2. Beat the cream with a mixer until soft peaks form

3. Gently fold the melted chocolate into the cream and pour into serving ramekins or wine glasses

4. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours. Serves approximately four.

Simple Oat Cookies Recipe

I hate cookies! Said no one, ever.

Basic oat cookies are simple to make, and you can make all kinds of variations to use up whatever you have available. Great pairings include chocolate, raisins, coconut, nuts or dried berries.

INGREDIENTS

150g unsalted butter
180g rolled oats
120g brown sugar
Honey or maple syrup, to taste
1 egg
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups rolled oats
150g plain flour

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Once pale and creamy, add the egg, vanilla extract and honey.

3. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and slowly combine with the wet ingredients.

4. Spread dough evenly on a baking tray and bake for around 15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes approximately 14 cookies.