BY JULIETTE CAPOMOLLA, STEPHANIE CHADWICK, EMILY GRAY, ERIN CONSTABLE & FRANCESCA LAM

Since the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12, sharing and experimenting with recipes has dominated social media as people seek ways to entertain themselves while in isolation.

MOJO reporters have tested out the top five iso food trends and created the ultimate guide to the best comfort food whilst stuck at home. 

Top Tip: Allow the basil to simmer in the sauce and also garnish with basil at the end. 

American model Gigi Hadid shared her vodka pasta sauce recipe on her Instagram story in late April. 

The creamy, tomato sauce has since gone viral as people are in lockdown across the world. 

The recipe has become a soul-food, winter staple in my repertoire because it is the perfect balance of richness, comfort and flavour. 

The sauce resembles a carbonara with the multitude of cream, butter and cheese that is included. 

Therefore, it seemed appropriate to add a heap of bacon to it, and I would highly recommend you do the same. 

Whilst Gigi did not include vodka in the sauce on her Instagram story, I suggest adding a cap-full of vodka per two persons for the perfect balance. The vodka helps to build richness of flavour by combining the sugars in the sauce. 

I also recommend pairing the sauce with your favourite filled pasta, such as spinach and ricotta ravioli, to add another texture and flavour to the dish. 

Pair it with a glass of rosé, and you can almost pretend you are in Portofino. 

Although not a new phenomenon in the baking world, cinnamon scrolls have recently made a comeback as people seek mouth-watering comfort foods whilst at home in lockdown.

Delightfully simple to make, this recipe used ingredients which were already in my pantry.

The downfall of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise, although the wait was undoubtedly worth it.

The cherry on top was the glaze which I drizzled over each scroll. The sweet and syrupy glaze was quite literally the icing on the cake, producing a cinnamon scroll just like those in the windows of a hipster Fitzroy café.

Not only can I say that these are the perfect winter treat, but they also made my entire house smell like an artisanal bakery.

Little nuggets of golden perfection, pancake cereal is the perfect sweet treat for breakfast.

A TikTok favourite for a reason, this recipe is easy and fun to make and the batter consists of a few staple ingredients.  

While using a squeeze bottle to pipe the pancakes one by one can be a little tedious, the process is surprisingly satisfying. If you don’t have a squeeze bottle, a ziplock bag with the tip cut off will work just fine.

These pancakes are fluffy yet crispy, perfect when tied together with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

As to the debate about whether milk belongs on the cereal or not, I found that it was surprisingly tasty with milk and definitely worth a try.  

If you are looking for a traditional hot fluffy pancake, this recipe may not be for you, but if you love pancakes, this is a fun way to enjoy the breakfast treat with a twist and spice up your lockdown.

Every YouTuber and Tik Tok star seem to be baking banana bread whilst stuck at home during lockdown.

This super simple recipe was the best way to use up overripe bananas in my pantry, especially since I already had the other ingredients. 

There’s always the difficulty of deciding when to take out the loaf. I took it out 10 minutes before recommended, but this is really dependent on individual ovens. 

The optional walnuts and cinnamon are a must because they add to the texture of the banana bread. However, in future, I would add an extra banana to give the banana bread more depth and flavour. 

This is perfect for a cold winter’s morning with a delectable almond hot chocolate. 

Top tip: Opt for cheap instant coffee instead of fancy fresh ground coffee beans.

It seemed like we could not escape the whipped coffee craze during the first lockdown with endless video montages of cloud-like coffee cream and iced milk.

The caffeine trend is already a popular drink known as Dalgona in South Korea, Beaten Coffee in India and Café Batido in South America but has been globally popularised on TikTok during lockdown. 

The recipe requires only a few pantry staples; instant coffee, white sugar and hot water.

Now you will need to combine these three ingredients and whisk, whisk, whisk! Or you can cheat and use an electric hand mixer like I did. The mixture will go through several stages as it lightens in colour and thickens, but trust the process. 

Prep a glass with ice and the milk beverage of choice; whether that be that dairy, soy, almond or oat. Top up with the fluffy coffee mixture and stir to enjoy.

If you were looking for a way to switch up your iso morning routine by enjoying a café-worthy beverage at home, this is it.