Australia’s most loved home cook and bestselling author, Donna Hay, returns with THE FAST FIVE, taking the weeknight classics your family loves and re-imagining them into five super-fast, super-delicious recipes that will change your world!
Photography: Chris Court
Recipe and styling: Donna Hay
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (120g) almond meal (ground almonds)
- 1 cup (100g) flaked almonds
- 2 eggwhites
- ¼ cup (55g) raw caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 bananas, peeled and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup (35g) coconut sugar
- coconut caramel sauce (see recipe, next page), to serve
For whipped vanilla cream:
- ½ cup (125g) mascarpone
- ½ cup (125g) plain thick yoghurt
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
- Place the almond meal, flaked almonds, eggwhites and the caster sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Divide the mixture into 4. Place on the prepared tray and press out into rough 12cm (4¾ inch) rounds. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden around the edges.
- To make the whipped vanilla cream, whisk the mascarpone, yoghurt and vanilla until soft peaks form.
- Place the banana slices on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and sprinkle with the coconut sugar. Using a kitchen blowtorch, cook until the banana starts to caramelise.
- To assemble, divide the whipped vanilla cream between tart bases. Top with the coconut caramel sauce and the caramelised banana. Serves 4
TIP: If you don’t own a kitchen blowtorch, use the grill in your oven (broiler) to caramelise the banana.
Recipe extracted from The Fast Five by Donna Hay. Published by HarperCollins, RRP $55.
Australia’s most loved home cook and bestselling author, Donna Hay, returns with THE FAST FIVE, taking the weeknight classics your family loves and re-imagining them into five super-fast, super-delicious recipes that will change your world!
THE FAST FIVE transforms your weekly repertoire of recipes into flavour-forward crowd-pleasers. Bursting with over 145 recipes, golden schnitzels have more personality than ever, pantry pasta sings with delicious new twists, and weeknight staples like tacos and curry get simple switch-ups that change the game. You’ll also find my ready-in-a-flash desserts, sides that overdeliver on deliciousness, and super-tasty sauces, dips and toppers that take your creations from great to sensational.

“This is my ultimate collection of time-saving, upflavoured riffs on the absolute clasiscs; I’m sure they will become your new family favourites. Enjoy!”
Donna Hay
