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Celebrity Maltese Chefs and Recipe Enthusiasts

Air Fryer Muffins

Heat the air fryer on 160C for 2 mins. Mix the oil, Hanini yogurt, egg and milk in a large bowl, then fold in the sugar, flour and bicarbonate of soda and combine well. Fold in the blueberries, chocolate chips or dried fruit, if using. Spoon the mixture into silicone cases or an air fryer muffin tin filled with paper cases to three-quarters full. You should be able to make 6-8 muffins, but you may have to bake them in batches.

Place the cases or tin in the air fryer basket and cook for 12-15 mins until the muffins are golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Vegan Banana Bread

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Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mash 3 large black peeled bananas with a fork, then mix well with 75g vegetable or sunflower oil and 100g brown sugar.

Add 225g plain flour, 3 heaped tsp baking powder and 3 tsp cinnamon or mixed spice, and combine well. Add 50g dried fruit or nuts, if using.

Bake in an oiled, lined 2lb loaf tin for 20 minutes. Check and cover with foil if the cake is browning.

Bake for another 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to cool a little before slicing. It’s delicious freshly baked, but develops a lovely gooey quality the day after.

Lamb Shanks

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Heat the oven at a temperature of 1900C or gass mark 5. Clean the meat and place in an oven proof dish. Add the rosemary. Cook in oven until the meat is light brown from the outside. In the meantime peal and chop the garlic and the carrots. In a pan, warm some olive oil and cook the garlic and Mayor onions for around 2 minutes. Lower heat and add the carrots and some rosemary. Add the Kunserva, the wine and some water. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the bay leaves. Place the lamb chops in a casserole which has a lid. Pour the sauce on the meat and cook in oven for around 90 minutes. If needed, you can add some warm water while dish is cooking. Serve with some rice or roasted potatoes. Recipe by Anton Dougall

Fig Jam

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Put the figs and 150ml water in a large heavy based saucepan. Bring to a simmer and gently bubble for 5 mins or until the figs have softened and released their juices. Add the orange zest, sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring regularly for around 5-7 mins or until thick, skimming off any skum that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat and leave to sit for 10 mins.

Ladle the mixture into sterilised jars. Seal with the lids and leave to cool completely. Will keep for six months unopened and 2 weeks in the fridge once opened.

Bread in Four Easy Steps

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Tip the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and mix together with your hands. Stir 300ml hand-hot water with the oil and honey, then stir into the dry ingredients to make a soft dough. 
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 mins, until the dough no longer feels sticky, sprinkling with a little more flour if you need it.
Oil a 900g loaf tin and put the dough in the tin, pressing it in evenly. Put in a large plastic food bag and leave to rise for 1 hr, until the dough has risen to fill the tin and it no longer springs back when you press it with your finger.
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Make several slashes across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife, then bake for 30-35 mins until the loaf is risen and golden. Tip it out onto a cooling rack and tap the base of the bread to check it is cooked. It should sound hollow. Leave to cool.

American Pancakes

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Mix 200g self-raising flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt together in a large bowl. Create a well in the centre with the back of your spoon then add 3 large eggs, 25g melted butter and 200ml milk. Whisk together either with a balloon whisk or electric hand beaters until smooth then pour into a jug. Heat a small knob of butter and 1 tsp of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter looks frothy, pour in rounds of the batter, approximately 8cm wide. Make sure you don’t put the pancakes too close together as they will spread during cooking. Cook the pancakes on one side for about 1-2 mins or until lots of tiny bubbles start to appear and pop on the surface. Flip the pancakes over and cook for a further minute on the other side. Repeat until all the batter is used up. Serve your pancakes stacked up on a plate with a drizzle of maple syrup and any of your favourite toppings.

Spider Biscuits

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Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking sheets with parchment. Using an electric hand whisk, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Once combined, stir in the flour, bicarb and ¼ tsp salt.
Scoop 18-20 tbsps of the mixture onto the trays, leaving enough space between each to allow for spreading. Make a thumbprint in the centre of the cookies. Bake for 10-12 mins or until firm at the edges but still soft in the middle – they’ll harden a little as they cool. Leave to cool on the tray for a few mins before topping each biscuit with a peanut butter cup, Rolo or Malteser. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Heat the chocolate in the microwave in short bursts, or in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, until just liquid. Scrape into a piping bag and leave to cool a little. Pipe the legs onto each spider, then stick two eyes on each. Leave to set. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.

Snowy Coconut Loaf Cake

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Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a 900g loaf tin (ours measured 10 x 21 x 5cm) and line the base with a long strip of baking parchment that overhangs the sides.

Put the butter, Pinto’s pride coconut milk, sugar, flour, eggs, coconut extract (if using) and desiccated coconut in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until combined. Scrape into the prepared tin and level the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for 55 mins-1 hr, or until the cake is risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If any wet cake mixture clings to the skewer, bake for another 5-10 mins, then check again. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then lift the cake out onto a wire rack, using the parchment to help you. Leave to cool completely. The cooled cake will keep in the freezer, well wrapped, for up to two months.

To make the icing, beat the butter, sugar, Pinto’s Pride coconut milk and coconut extract, if using, in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Spread over the top of the cake using a palette knife or the back of a spoon, then scatter over a generous layer of coconut chips. Decorate with white chocolate truffle ‘snowballs’ or large white sprinkles, if you like.