Dessert Recipes With Australian Papaya That You’ll Love

An Aussie papaya is bursting with nutrients. With just one serving (150g), you can have 100% of vitamin C, 33% of vitamin A, and 25% folate of your daily requirement.

Here are some delish sweet recipes using this delightful fruit.

Baked Papaya French Toast

Prep time: 10 mins + 30 mins resting

Cook time: 40 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 300g brioche (approx. ¾ of a loaf)
• ½ medium papaya (350 – 400g)
• ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries (80g)
• 4 large eggs
• ¾ cups milk (125ml)
• ¼ cup sour cream or Greek yoghurt (75g)
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• ¼ cup packed brown sugar (60g)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ¼ cup chopped pecans (35g)

Method:

1. Spread the butter evenly across the base and sides of a 3-litre baking dish. Cut bread into 1.5cm slices. Peel, de-seed and thinly slice the papaya. Toss pecans with 1 tbsp of the brown sugar.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and remaining sugar.
3. Stand a row of bread slices along one end of the buttered baking dish. Arrange papaya and remaining bread in overlapping layers, then top with blueberries. Pour egg mixture evenly over the bread and fruit and press gently with the back of a large spoon to submerge.
4. Let the baking dish stand at room temperature for 30 minutes while the bread absorbs the egg mixture.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C. Top the bread and fruit with the sugared pecans and bake for 35 – 40 minutes, until golden and puffed in the centre. If the top is browning too quickly, tent with foil for the last half of baking. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Tip: The dish can be prepared to Step 3 up to two days in advance, then covered and refrigerated. Allow the unbaked mixture to come to room temperature on the bench for 45 minutes before continuing from Step 5.

Papaya Lime Bars

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

For the crust

• 100g butter, melted
• 1 cup flour (130g)
• ½ cup icing sugar mixture (60g)
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• Zest from 1 lime – approx. 1 tsp
• Pinch sea salt

For the filling

• ½ cup mashed papaya (125g)
• ¹⁄₃ cup lime juice (80ml)
• 2 eggs
• ¼  cups caster sugar (60g)
• 2 tbsp cornflour (20g)
• Zest from 1 lime – approx. 1 tsp
• ¼ tsp sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly coat a 20cm x 20cm pan with cooking spray, then line the base and two sides with a single strip of baking paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crust (flour through salt) and mix well. Add melted butter and stir to create a soft dough. Turn dough into the prepared pan and press evenly across the base.
3. Par-bake the crust for 12 mins until just golden. While it’s baking, make the filling.
4. Add papaya and lime juice to a blender jug and puree until smooth. Add remaining filling ingredients (eggs through salt) and pulse to combine.
5. Remove pan from the oven, pour filling over the hot crust and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 18-20 mins, until bars are puffed and firm to the touch in the centre.
6. Allow papaya bars to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the slice and using the paper to lift it out onto a rack. Cool completely, then cut into bars to serve.

Bon Appétit!

Aussie-grown papaya is available all-year round, with peaks in spring and autumn.