rom sorbets, milkshakes, granitas and smoothies to pies, crumbles, tarts, puddings and cakes and jams, there really can be no excuse for chucking gluts or wrinkly fruit in the bin.

lmost any kind of fruit can be baked in a ceramic dish with a little sugar, some gentle spices such as cinnamon, vanilla or star anise, plus a gloop of alcohol if there aren’t kids involved. You’ll get the same intensity of flavour as with stewed fruits, but in these dishes the fruit is designed not to fall apart but to hold its shape.

pples, pears, peaches and even Christmas gluts of clementines, mandarins or satsumas all bake well, so here’s a general recipe for baking fruit, along with plenty of other taste combinations to inspire.

Here are just a couple of variations – check out page 239 of
The Thrifty Cookbook for plenty more

Dessert apples and Calvados
Halve and core each apple and place in a baking dish, cut-side up. Scatter with brown sugar and dot with butter. Add a dessertspoon of Calvados for each apple. Bake for 40 minutes, basting occasionally.

Pineapple
This is a great way of using up a pineapple that’s past its best, so long as the flesh is not browning. Peel, core and slice it and lay it in a buttered dish. Add a bruised stick of lemongrass, a kaffir lime leaf and a squeeze of lime juice, then scatter with sugar and bake for 20 minutes or so, until tender. Serve with a little finely chopped mint or basil and some vanilla ice cream.