The birthday was such a big part of our week and honestly all of my baking revolved around it. I also only had my neighbours oven for one afternoon so I had to get pretty creative (hence the oven free popcorn and truffles). In between lemon cake batches and mini muffins I managed to make a batch of these mini apple tarts. Apples have just started arriving and they are in perfect season. I made these with local Jonagold apples because they tasted so crisp and sweet that I couldn’t help but buy a couple of kilos at the market.

I love that these tarts are really only made from fruit and oats. The ‘pastry’ comes together in seconds by simply processing oats and a banana together. Then all you need to do is bake them briefly, allow to cool and then fill them with whatever you fancy. I think they would work perfectly as bite size pumpkin pies or pecan pies.

Apples are in my top five favourite fruits (raspberries feature highly as does melon). They are also a powerhouse of nutrients. They are packed with fibre and red apples also contain quercetin which is a natural immune system booster. Stewing apples is a great way of getting them into kids diets as you can stir it into yoghurt, mix it with over night oats or simple serve as it is. I also love making apple crisps by slicing apples finely and then drying them out in a warm oven. As autumn arrives and the days get darker and colder fruit and vegetables naturally get sweeter (think of all those root veg, sweet potatoes, parsnips and pumpkins) and more nutrient dense. The fact that we aren’t getting as many vitamins from the sun means that the food that we, and our kids eat, needs to be even more nutritious to help keep us healthy through winter. An apple a day keeps the doctor away cant be a saying for nothing right!

Ingredients (makes 20 mini tarts)
1 banana
200g oats
1 tsp cinnamon
4 peeled apples
2 tbsp water

Method
Cut the peeled apples into a large pan
Add the water and cinnamon and stew until soft (approx 20 mins)
Whilst the apple stew, place the oats into a food processor
Process until you have a fine flour like consistency, then add in the banana and pulse until you have a dough
Press the dough into the mini muffin tins
Bake at 160C for 10-15mins
Allow to cool then fill with the apple
As pictured you can then top with whipped cream of your choice and decorate with berries or dried apple