Feijoa

Delicious feijoa, lemon and coconut muffins that are great for a picnic basket, or as an anytime snack!

This cake almost disguises the taste of the fruit, but feijoa lovers will still delight in the delicate flavour. Recipe by Jane Rangiwahia.

The feijoa slices on top of these delicious little tangy lemon syrup cakes will caramelise as they cook.

I love feijoas and have great childhood memories of sitting with my brother under our old feijoa hedge, gorging ourselves on the tart, slightly gritty fruit. Usually we ended up in a throwing war with the rotten and eaten ones, all in good fun. My kids and I have been resourceful over the last few autumns and we’ve squirrelled away many a bag of feijoa pulp to use as a surprise ingredient later in the year when the taste of feijoas has faded from memory. These simple, little, muffin-shaped pies are great as a winter dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Photograph by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues – Gatherum Collectif.

The feijoa season is around for a good time, not a long time – so make sure you keep plenty of the fragrant fruit bagged up in the freezer to turn into delectable desserts like this one (which is also a little lighter on the waistline). Props and styling Sarah Bowman. Photograph by Stephen Goodenough.

A roly-poly is English dish traditionally made with jam. For this seasonal spin on an old favourite, pastry is spread with feijoa pulp and maple syrup, then baked until golden. Photograph by Todd Eyre.

If you’ve found yourself with a glut of feijoas, you’ll want to bake a few batches of these gently spiced feijoa muffins. They’re delicious with a cup of tea, and if you bake them for friends and family, they’ll welcome the change from shopping bags of windfall.

A good crumble is a classic that everyone enjoys, especially when evenings are getting crisper, and comforting, warm desserts take over from lighter options. When the season is in full-swing, the addition of feijoa enlivens any good apple crumble.