This banana cake is all done in one bowl, just mash, mix and cook.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium ripe bananas (1½ cups mashed)
• ½ cup (125ml) light flavoured olive oil or vegetable oil (you can blend the two oils if you don’t quite have enough of one)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1½ cups self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (you can be generous with this if you enjoy a more ‘spiced’ cake)

METHOD Preheat oven to 180°c. Place the bananas in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add the oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla and mix to combine. Add the flour and cinnamon and mix to combine. Pour into a 22cm round cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Cook for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to stand in the tin for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: You can also make this mixture into muffins, a ring or loaf cake. You can also add choc chips or berries if you have them on hand.

TRY 3: Lolly Shops

With Halloween coming up, lollies are on our mind – and while the local grocer does the job, nothing beats stepping into a proper lolly shop. Walls lined with colourful sweets, chocolates you forgot existed, and that rush of nostalgia. It’s a treat for kids and adults alike. Plus, many have extras like ice cream, coffee, and toys. Here are three classic Tasmanian lolly shops worth checking out.

1. Sweets and Treats 50 Bridge Street, Richmond

2. Salem’s Sweets Shop 3, 42 Rooke Street, Devonport

3. A Little Piece of Heaven 83 High Street, Campbell Town

SAVAGNIN

HOME

2024 Stoney Rise Savagnin ($42)

Savagnin is a white grape mostly grown in the Jura region of France that thrives in Tasmania, particularly in the Tamar Valley – which is where this bottle hails. The 2024 growing season provided ideal conditions for savagnin, leading to a refreshing white wine with subtle lemon and pear flavours, complex textures, and clean finish. It’s an ideal vessel to experience this lesser-known variety, especially since Stoney Rise focuses on low-intervention winemaking practices.

Set the vibe:

Music: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Food: Oysters

When: Casual gathering on a warm day

AWAY

2019 Cri de Coeur

Savagnin Sous Voile ($95)

Crittenden Estate is one of Mornington Peninsula’s oldest vineyards, with its first plantings in the 80s, and likewise was one of Australia’s first growers of savagnin (fun fact: savagnin came to Australia by accident, being mistaken for albariño for several years until the mistake was discovered in 2009). This bottle is part of their high-end Cri de Coeur label.

Set the vibe:

Music: Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield

Food: Comté cheese

When: On a holiday

WORLD TOP DROP Tolpuddle Vineyard’s 2023 Chardonnay has been named Champion White Wine at the 2025 International Wine Challenge in London. The Richmond vineyard defeated thousands of entries from across the globe, reclaiming the same crown it last won in 2020. Earlier this year, the same wine claimed the International Chardonnay Trophy, Best Australian White and Best Tasmanian Chardonnay, with the vineyard’s 2023 Pinot Noir also winning the Australian Pinot Noir Trophy.