Patti Sloley's pear and plantain Christmas cake

Chef Patti Sloley shows us her Ghanaian take on Christmas cake - a pear and plantain cake using no sugar, eggs or butter.

Pear, raspberry & plantain puddingMakes 2lb loafPrep: 10 minutesCook: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients2 plantains, overripe with black skin and soft to touch1 tbsp ground cinnamon2 tsp grated nutmeg100g sultanas100g raspberries, fresh or frozen1 tsp almond extract400g tin pear halves, drained and chopped2tbsp rapeseed oil150g plain flour2 tsp baking powder

Method 1. Preheat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 42. Peel and blend the plantain. Place into a mixing bowl.3. Gently mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg, sultanas, raspberries, almond extract, chopped pears and oil.4. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and gently mix again to combine.5. Spoon into a greased 2lb loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Serve warm or cold with coffee mascarpone (see recipe below).

Tips:- Tinned fruits like mango and fruit cocktail and dried ones like figs and dates are also suitable alternatives in place of tinned pears. Try swapping blackberries for raspberries instead.

- Plantains are available in Afro-Caribbean and international stores, or online. A good swap is to use very ripe large bananas. 

Coffee mascarpone

Ingredients 250g mascarpone cream3 tbsp icing sugar1 tsp vanilla extract1-2 tsp coffee granules, crushed

Method1. Drain the mascarpone of any excess liquid and scoop the mascarpone into a bowl.2. Add the icing sugar to the bowl and beat with a whisk until smooth.3. Drizzle in the vanilla extract and coffee granules. Mix together to completely combine. Alternatively, add hot water to 2 tsp of coffee granules – just enough to melt the coffee. Stir into the vanilla mascarpone for a rippled effect before serving. Refrigerate until ready to serve.