Mariet's Banana & Caramel Pudding

Great if you don't have an oven & are catering for a crowd - this Banana & Caramel Pudding is always a hit !

Many years before I’d even met my husband, I lived & worked in the charming Magaliesburg area of South Africa. I lived in a quaint thatched, white washed cottage on a Strawberry farm owned by a delightful old man by the name of Con.

I have very many happy memories of that time, not least of all because this is where I met my husband, but also because this is where I became friends with a wonderful lady by the name of Mariet, who also happened to be a work colleague of mine at the time.

Mariet made this ‘Banana & Caramel Pudding’ for us when we went to her house for a ‘braai’ (barbecue) one evening & I enjoyed it so much that she gave me her recipe for it (it is similar to the well known 'Banoffee Pie'). It was the perfect recipe for me to make at the time, as the cottage which I lived in didn’t have an oven – but it did have a fridge, and this recipe requires no baking. It’s also as easy as 1,2,3 to throw together, is always a crowd pleaser & brings back fond memories of my time spent in the Magaliesburg when I eat it. Try it – I know you’ll enjoy it !


Mariet’s Banana & Caramel Pudding

1 x 360 gm (13 oz) tin of Caramel (or you can boil your own condensed milk)
2 x 200 gm (7 oz) pkts of Tennis Biscuits* (these are like coconut tea biscuits/cookies)
4 large Bananas, sliced into rings
2 x 90 gm (3 oz) pkts of Instant Banana flavour (or Vanilla, or Caramel) Pudding – made up according to package instructions to make around 1 litre of pudding
1 cup of Fresh Cream, whipped
Flake Bar, crumbled (or grated chocolate)

Place a layer of the tennis biscuits at the bottom of a large (30 cm x 20 cm) rectangular glass dish. Spread half of the made up pudding mixture over them, then place 2 of the sliced bananas on top of the pudding (spread the banana pieces out evenly in a single layer). Now spread half the caramel over the bananas (you might like to beat the caramel first, so that it has a smoother consistency which is easier to spread). Now repeat the process – top the caramel with another layer of biscuits, then the rest of the pudding, then 2 more sliced bananas, then the rest of the caramel. Now spread the whipped cream over the top and sprinkle with the crumbled (or grated) chocolate. Place in the fridge to set for a couple of hours before serving.

*The recipe calls for 2 packets of biscuits, but I find that 1 ½ packets are usually enough

Christmas Shopping, Meeting An Online Friend & More .....

Some photo's of the scenery along the beach near my parent's home .....

A few things to blog about today …. just bringing you all up-to-speed …. ‘cause when I blog it’s like sitting around my kitchen table chatting with friends …. so thought I’d let you all know what’s been happening recently …. now if you were really at my kitchen table, I’d offer you a drink first. A nice cuppa tea, perhaps ? Sit, & make yourself comfy ….

My husband is back on the farm ! After being away for almost 6 weeks, he has a lot to catch up on, but he hopes to fly to South Africa to join us next week sometime (I say ‘hopes to’, as nothing is a sure thing in Africa until it actually happens !) He’ll then spend a week here with us – having a bit of a holiday/break - before we all fly home to Tanzania together.

So, in the meantime I have this week to madly try and finish off things like my Christmas shopping and other bits and pieces, so that when he’s here we can just have a full week of uninterrupted fun & family time together before we head home and before he heads back to working 24/7 again (being the workaholic that he is – I know, I complain about this often on the blog ! You’d think he’s be winding down for Christmas at least, ‘eh ?!)

Everything is apparently fine on the farm, despite the fact that we are in desperate need of some rain and also aside from the fact that Emily has not been seen for a couple of weeks – but I’m hoping that she’s reverted to her timid (cautious) ways and is only coming inside for food in the dead of night when everyone is asleep.

Those of you who read me regularly will know that earlier this year when I was also in South Africa & still pregnant with my son, I met a fellow African blogger and longtime online friend, Jo. (You can read about that wonderful day over here). I was so happy to be able to meet up with Jo again during this trip – along with her husband (as I’d never met him before). Jo and her hubby spent the night in the town of Gonubie at a delightful bed & breakfast overlooking the ocean, and invited us around to join them for morning tea on Saturday. Can you believe it, I forgot to take photo’s ? (We were too busy talking !) But Jo has a few and am sure she will be posting about her trip on her blog soon. You can read Jo’s lovely blog ‘Memorable Meanders’ over here.

A few week’s ago ‘Woman’s Day’ contacted me about using one of my photo’s and a short description from one of my previous blog posts as they were publishing a feature on ‘Breakfast’s Around The World’. (Funnily enough, this was a post I wrote when I was visiting South Africa last year !) You can see the Woman’s Day article over here, and you can read my original blog post over here if you like. Welcome to the new readers who’ve found me through ‘Woman’s Day !’

Oh yes, and after writing this post recently about the ‘Yekelela’ venue which was wonderful but sadly let down by it’s rather poor quality of food, I was, infact, contacted by the Yekelela chef (thanks for that, Juan) who explained the situation – which just goes to show, you never know who’s reading you !

Right, now - what with all the Christmas shopping I was telling you about, comes all the wrapping of gifts and writing out of gift cards, so I won’t keep you any longer as I need to get cracking with that !

Easy Beef Curry

This tasty beef curry is quick and easy to prepare - which is always a bonus, especially on a busy day !

Nothing beats a good curry – especially on a cold, drizzly day (which we’ve been having plenty of here lately !) Sometimes though, curries can take ages to prepare (& I believe that they always taste better if left to ‘rest’ for a day rather than eating them on the day they are made) but if you’re looking for a quick & tasty curry that can be knocked up in an hour or so, then this is the perfect recipe for you to try -:


Easy Beef Curry (adapted from the book “The Personality of Meat” compiled by Gay Oliva, 1968)

Oil for frying
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 Red Chillies, without seeds & finely chopped
2 Onions, chopped
1 tbsp Curry Powder (or, to taste)
500 gm (1 lb) Beef flank, cut into cubes
4 Tomatoes, peeled & sliced
1 cup Water (250 ml’s)
Salt to taste
Juice of one Lemon

Fry the garlic, chillies & onions in the oil for around 5 minutes. Add the curry powder & stir well, frying for another 5 minutes or so. Add the beef and stir well, cooking for a further 10 minutes & until the beef starts to brown. Next, add the tomatoes and the water. Cover the pan & bring the mixture to the boil, then simmer until the meat is tender. By this time the liquid should have thickened. Add the salt and lemon juice and simmer for a few more minutes before removing from the heat and serving hot on a bed of basmati (or other) rice. This curry is great served with sliced banana, chutney and sambals (finely chopped tomato, onion, green pepper & cucumber).