3 easy bakes from The Tropical Cookbook

For the cupcakes:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a cupcake tray with 12 cupcake cases.
• Put the butter, sugar, eggs (or mashed banana) and flour in a large mixing bowl, and beat together until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and 2 drops of green gel food colouring then mix through until well combined.
• Fill each cupcake case with a heaped tablespoon of batter, then bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes until springy to touch. Remove the tray from the oven and place the cupcakes on a wire rack to cool.

For the buttercream:

• Blend the butter and icing sugar together until smooth, add a few drops of the pink gel food colouring (enough to make the buttercream a vibrant pink hue) and combine.
• Fit a piping bag with a closed-star nozzle, transfer the mixture into the piping bag and pipe swirls of buttercream on top of the cupcakes.
• To decorate, scatter some chocolate chips on to the buttercream, spacing them apart to resemble watermelon seeds.

• Line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper then place the coconut, toasted almonds, freeze-dried strawberries and sprinkles separately in the other four baking trays ready for decorating.
• Peel all your bananas and put them it into the freezer for 15 minutes. Once cool using a knife, take one banana and coat it in hazelnut spread. Warning: this is messy work so have a cloth ready to wipe your hands.
• As soon as the banana is coated, roll it in the desiccated coconut and place on the lined baking tray.
• Repeat the above but roll the second banana in the freeze-dried strawberries and the third in the sprinkles.
• For the final banana, coat it in the biscuit spread and cover it with the toasted almonds.
• Put the bananas in the fridge to set for 30 minutes then remove and slice into sushi-sized bites.
• Serve on a tray with chopsticks for an authentic tropical sushi feel.

For the shortbread base

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 30cm x 20cm (12in. x 8in.) baking tin.
• Mix the flour and caster sugar in a large bowl, then add the butter and rub the mixture together with your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.

  Bring the mixture together so it forms a dough then press it evenly into the base of the prepared tin.
• Prick the dough a few times with a fork then bake for 20 minutes, until lightly browned, then leave to cool in the tin while you make the caramel.

For the caramel

• Put the butter, light brown sugar and two cans of 397g condensed milk into a medium pan and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved.
• Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring at all times, for about 5–10 minutes until the mixture has thickened.

  Immediately pour over the shortbread base and leave to cool for an hour.

For the chocolate topping

• Put the milk and dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water. Let them melt, stirring the two chocolates together, then pour them over the cooled caramel.
• Repeat the above in a clean bowl and melt the white chocolate but, once melted, add a few drops of pink food colouring and mix it through.

  Drizzle the now pink chocolate over the top of the milk/dark chocolate then, 
• using a toothpick or the tip of a knife, swirl the two chocolates together until you have a marble effect.
• Leave aside to cool, then cut into 12 squares and serve.