Sweet comforts (+recipes)

When times are tough, comfort food can help brighten up dismal days. Roast chicken and beef goulash are popular in our house, and puddings hit just the right sweet note.
Luckily there's plenty of seasonal fruit to poach, grill or bake. Fresh peaches, peeled, halved or sliced, topped with a little marmalade and baked until soft are an easy and popular treat. We bought a huge bag of new season's apples last week from a roadside stall for just $3. We are enjoying them stewed for breakfast. But married with fresh or frozen cranberries they make my favourite crumble, plus tasty pies and cobblers.
Make the most of the last of the seasonal blueberries. The small bluish fruit contains higher levels of antioxidant than just about every other fruit or vegetable. American research hints that blueberries have what it takes to outsmart some of the negative effects of brain-ageing. Hot blueberry sauce - prepared by cooking the berries in a little red wine, water and sugar, then thickened with cornflour - is excellent over pancakes, or icecream. Or enjoy them fresh with blue cheese as a deliciously simple ending to dinner.
Bananas - available year round - are a great family standby. They are an excellent source of good nutrition, containing about 375mg of potassium per 100g of edible banana. This mineral is lost during heavy exercise, especially during hot weather, and bananas provide an easily digested source of potassium.
We enjoy bananas baked, either peeled or in their skins, and served sprinkled with a little liqueur and topped with whipped cream.
RECIPES

BLUEBERRY BREAD & BUTTER PUDDINGS
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup each: milk, cream
1/2 cup sugar
250g fruit bread or day-old white bread, crusts removed and diced
Finely grated rind 1 orange
1 cup blueberries
Icing sugar to garnish
Put  eggs, cream, milk and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
Strain into a large bowl containing the diced bread and orange rind. Soak overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 150C.
Half fill six small ramekins or souffle dishes, top with half the blueberries, then repeat.
Bake until golden, set and risen, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately, dusted with icing sugar.
Great served with yoghurt or whipped cream.
Serves 6.
BARBECUED HAWAIIAN SUNDAE
432g can  pineapple slices
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp each: cornflour, honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 small bananas, cut into 3cm pieces
6 scoops vanilla icecream
Drain pineapple,  1/2 reserving  cup of juice.
Cut each slice into three or four pieces.
Combine pineapple juice, orange juice, cornflour, honey and cinnamon. Simmer, stirring, until thickened. Thread pineapple and banana on to 12 small skewers. Brush with the sauce. Barbecue or grill until the fruit is golden, brushing  with sauce.
Place  two skewers in  six wine glasses or sundae dishes. Top with icecream and drizzle with sauce. Serves 6.
PEACH UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
Topping:
75g butter
3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
1 cup sliced cooked firm peaches (or a 410g can), drained
Cake:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
2  tsp each: baking powder, ground cinnamon 
1/4 tsp salt
100ml mild-flavoured oil, eg sunflower, canola
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla essence
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup milk 
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly oil a 20-23cm cake pan with oil. Line base with baking paper. If using a springform pan, put it on a baking paper-lined tray.
For  topping, put  butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Cook for a few minutes until it starts to caramelise. Pour into  cake pan. Pat peaches dry and put  in circles on the caramel.
For the  cake, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. Using a  mixer or  processor, beat the oil and sugar until light. Add vanilla.
Add the yolks, one at a time, beating well.  Add flour mixture alternately with milk.
In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar until firm peaks form. Fold lightly into the cake batter in two additions.
Pour into cake pan.
Bake 35-40 minutes until a skewer  comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
Run a knife around the edge of the pan.
Invert on to a plate. Great with whipped cream or yoghurt. Serves 8 to 10.
CRANBERRY & APPLE COBBLER
It's almost time for the cranberry season but frozen cranberries are readily available from supermarkets and make a wonderful combo with new season's apples.
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
4 cups peeled, thinly-sliced tart apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
Finely grated rind 1 small lemon
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp butter
Topping:
cup plain flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder 
1/8 tsp salt
50g chilled butter, grated
1/2 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 190C
Combine cranberries, apples, sugar, cornflour, lemon rind and water in a saucepan. Stand for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Simmer, stirring, over medium heat for 3 minutes. Pour into a greased 22 x 22cm baking dish. Dot with butter. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in enough milk to form a soft dough.
Drop tablespoons of the dough over the hot apple mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and a skewer  comes out clean.
Great served with custard or cream. Serves 6-8.

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