The perfect home for leftovers and the stale end of a loaf in these cash-strapped times, toasties are a cheap, easy and quick fix when hunger hits. Ham and cheese, egg, and the cheesy baked bean jaffle are the long-established and perennial Australian favourites, but in these days of restless palate syndrome, jaffle lovers are looking for something a little different. Aussies have always enjoyed getting creative with their jaffle fillings, and here are some of the weirdest combinations I’ve seen recently, ranked out of 10 for the pleasure they give – and for their creativity.

THE PIZZA JAFFLE
While the melty cheese cries out for the salami, slices of capsicum and olives found on a pizza, it all seems a little haphazard in a jaffle where the capsicum is invariably still crunchy and you can’t easily pick out the olives. Just order a pizza instead. 4/10

THE LEFTOVER TOASTIE
Yes, it might seem weird to set aside a bit of tonight’s dinner for tomorrow’s lunchtime toastie but you’ll thank me when you’re biting into a golden triangle filled with tasty cheese and beef Bourguignon, braised beef cheeks, bolognaise, or even butter chicken. Add herbs such as parsley or coriander to fool yourself into thinking you’re fancy. 9/10

PUMPKIN TOASTIE
Leftover veg can become toastie material, too. The Great Australian Bake Off judge and toastie aficionado Darren Purchese has a few toasties on delicious.com.au and his use of roast pumpkin is one of my favourites. Think of pairing the orange sweetness with the saltiness of a miso paste, some diced crispy bacon or a little blue cheese in your toastie. Adding a little drizzle of honey or maple syrup over the top just before eating is also welcome. 8/10

LASAGNE JAFFLE
While a slab of lasagne between soft and puffy white buttered bread seemed to make perfect sense when this sandwich trend first popped up overseas a little while back, there was also a phase at the delicious. office when lasagne was being crammed into toasties. I tried it and the result was messy and just too carb-heavy for me. I’d rather just have a jaffle filled with the cheese and bolognaise sauce. 5/10 

Related story: Oh my gourd! Here are Matt Preston’s favourite ways with pumpkin

FANCY FILLINGS
My Kitchen Rules host Colin Fassnidge might look like a bit of a rough-edged, knockabout rogue but his taste in toasties is distinctly diamond-encrusted. He suggests sandwiching slabs of chicken liver parfait and slices of prosciutto in a jaffle along with some homemade caramelised onions (or you could use a good shop-bought onion jam). You can find the recipe for Colin’s chicken parfait jaffle here. 7/10

THE SWEET TOASTIE
Like a dessert pizza, the sweet-filled jaffle is not to everyone’s taste. The problem is that the bread casing never seems to be buttery and sweet enough. One solution is to use expensive brioche, but the risk here is that you amp up the filling to compensate and things get cloying – hence why there are so many sweet jaffle recipes using ripe bananas, marshmallows and chocolate. More on-trend might be a marmalade and chocolate jaffle with mascarpone, or a Nutella toastie with a dollop of shop-bought custard. 7/10 if you like this sort of thing; 3/10 if you don’t.

CUSTARD TOAST
It seems that in a lot of homes the air fryer is the new jaffle maker, so it’s logical that people would want to make toasties, or toasty things, in them. And the most prevalent idea du jour appears to be custard toast. Using a spoon, compress the bread in the centre of the slice to make a well and then fill this with a “custard” that’s made using either a Greek yoghurt or a bought custard base. I’ve tried both. One is great, the other distinctly is not. Yoghurt custard toast is sweetened with honey or maple syrup and then set with the inclusion of beaten egg. My mix coagulated as it cooked and tasted nothing like custard, and more like an egg-y yoghurt. Ewwww! 2/10 I had more success using ¼ cup of shop-brought custard mixed with 1 tbs of icing sugar, a few drops of vanilla extract and 1 tbs of cornflour when cooked in the air fryer at 170°C for 10 minutes. It set in a tender golden slab within the golden bread. It benefited from a little grated nutmeg or cinnamon sugar, depending on your persuasion. 7/10 

FILO TOASTIES
The first time I used filo in a jaffle maker I knew I was onto a winner. Making a filo jaffle modelled on a Greek spanakopita triangle was an obvious choice and a filling of ricotta, a little feta, dill, lemon zest and spring onions works well. If you like the real thing, you’ll love these – especially when served with a dipping sauce made from mint, yoghurt and lemon juice. 8/10 

Filo toasties with spiced stewed apple are delightful. Dust with cinnamon sugar and serve with a Chantilly cream flavoured with icing sugar – and a little Fireball Cinnamon Whisky for the adults. 9/10 

None of these innovative toasties scored 10 out of 10, but if you have an idea for a good one, share it with me on my Instagram @mattscravat. 

Related story: Matt Preston delves into the delicious history of the jaffle