Hot Banana Sponge Pudding

An ideal cold weather pudding, this hot banana sponge is guaranteed to warm you up !

What with all the World Cup fever in the air, I thought that it was about time to sidetrack a little and post a recipe – and also because looking back, I see that the last recipe I posted on the blog was a few weeks ago.

I know that many readers are entering their warm Summer season at the moment – but here in Africa, Winter is rapidly approaching – hence the need for nice, hot puddings like this ‘Hot Banana Sponge’ … but I promise, you’ll enjoy it just as much in Summer, too !

I had an upset reader a while ago, who tried one of my recipes and burnt her efforts as she claimed that the cooking time I stated in the recipe was far too long. I do test ALL my recipes before posting them on the blog (and most recipes are ones I’ve been cooking/baking for years, or very regularly) and always post photo’s of them for you to see, too … but I do have to say that as all ovens vary, (I have even found things to cook at different times at different altitudes) please just use my cooking times as a guideline only, and adjust to suit your oven – remembering to check what you’re cooking at least once during the cooking process, just incase !

So, now on to the recipe. This is one I’ve adapted from a ‘base’ recipe over time and it’s great for using up ripe bananas. The sugar which you sprinkle over the layer of bananas before baking, caramelizes them slightly and makes them a little chewy – which adds a nice twist to the recipe. If you use skim/fat free milk to make this pudding, it is actually virtually fat free - great if you are watching your weight or cholesterol (I’m doing both – ha !)

This goes deliciously well with custard, although in the photo above I served it with (tinned) cream, as I was feeling too lazy to make custard at the time ;) -:


Hot Banana Sponge Pudding

1 cup Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
3 tbsp Sugar
pinch of Salt
¾ cup Milk
1 Egg, beaten
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 medium sized Bananas, sliced in to rounds

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Add the milk, beaten egg and vanilla extract and mix to blend well. Pour into an approx. 27 cm x 16 cm (approx. 11 inches x 6 inches) rectangular baking dish and place the sliced bananas on the top of the batter. Sprinkle the lemon juice and brown sugar over and bake at Gas mark 5/190’C/375’F for 25 minutes until done.

Serve hot with custard or cream.

World Cup Fever At The OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg

A first for Africa - we were lucky enough to witness the newly operational 'Gautrain' (just visible if you enlarge the photo above) during our brief stay in Johannesburg. It is a high speed train service like nothing Africa has ever seen !

Situated just outside the city of Johannesburg in South Africa, the OR Tambo International Airport officially overtook the Cairo International Airport in 1996 to become Africa’s busiest airport and is also classed as one of the busiest 100 airports in the world.

Approaching the airport .... many hotels are situated close to the airport & several offer free shuttle bus services to and fro

Founded in 1952 as the ‘Jan Smuts International Airport’ (after the South African statesman of that name) and later renamed the ‘Johannesburg International Airport’ in 1994, the airport was renamed again in 2006 as the ‘OR Tambo International Airport’ after Oliver Tambo, the former president of the African National Congress.

The airport has undergone an incredible transformation over the years - here you can see some of the airport gardens as you approach the main International Departures terminal

I think I can safely say that the airport has probably never seen as much excitement as it has during the recent 2010 Soccer/Football World Cup. I have flown in and out of this airport, on average, twice a year for the past 10 - 12 or so years and have never known such a buzz as the one I felt when I was there last week. The entire airport is decorated in a football theme, airport officials are all wearing the South African colours, the shops and restaurants are all decorated in World Cup themed colours etc and so are all the waiters (many sporting the most fantastic array of football themed head gear !)

The airport is named after Oliver Tambo, the former president of the African National Congress

The sound of several Vuvuzela’s been blown all around the airport (and most especially in the food court/restaurant area in domestic arrivals !) adds to the atmosphere, too. A Vuvuzela is a stadium blowing horn made from plastic (and being sold with covers in the team colours of your choice !) which is traditionally blown by spectators at the matches. The word ‘Vuvuzela’ is said to come from the Zulu language … making a ‘vuvu’ noise.

International Arrivals, where a huge football suspended above the main entrance area proudly reads 'City Of Champions - Host City'

When we were there last week, the build up to the World Cup was just starting, as hundreds of fans from all over the world were arriving – all dressed in their team colours and many waving their country flags, too ! On that day, many Mexican’s had arrived and were sporting the Mexican colours, flags and hats, too – everyone was cheering and smiling and welcoming them as they wheeled their luggage trolleys through the airport buildings.

One of several football themed displays dotted throughout the airport. This one shows a football boot, a football, a whistle and a vuvuzela

I bought some small world cup themed items as gifts for our house staff, all of whom are football supporters as it is a huge game here in Africa. During my recent travels through Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa I had the chance to speak to several taxi drivers, porters, waiters etc about the World Cup and to ask who they are all supporting (as neither Tanzania nor Kenya are playing) …. every single person, without exception, said that they are supporting all the African teams … and that if one African team is knocked out, they will go on to support the next because, they say, no matter what happens – as hosts of the World Cup, we have to keep it on African soil !

I had to include a photo of the actual aircraft which we flew back to East Africa (Kenya) on. I have said it before on the blog, but will say it again - Kenya Airways is TOPS in my book, and certainly lives up to their slogan - 'The Pride of Africa'

I must say, that as an African I agree with them and so am rooting for an African team to win. So … let’s see what the future holds !

GO BAFANA BAFANA !

World Cup FEVER !

During my recent whirlwind visit to South Africa, the excitement in anticipation of the Soccer (Football) World Cup was tangible - especially in the city of Johannesburg where almost all the shops, streets, houses and businesses are decorated aswell as vehicles - private cars, taxi's, mini busses, motorbikes and even kid's bicycles ! Everyone - no matter what their race, age, gender, background or beliefs have joined together as one in anticipation of this exciting event, and the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg was full of happy, smiling faces welcoming foreign visitors to our shores.

The very first photo - above - shows that even the most humble abode's are sporting the South African flag in support of the Bafana Bafana team (who drew 1 - 1 in the opening match yesterday against Mexico. Did you watch it ?!)

The photo below shows that the football spirit has even carried through to the younger members of the country !

Clubs, bars and restaurants screening the games live are all flying the flag high - as you can see in the photo below ....

The official World Cup mascot below, is called 'Zakumi' which is taken from 'Za' (abbreviation for 'South Africa/Zuid Afrika') and 'Kumi' which means 'ten' (for 2010) in several African languages ... including the Tanzanian language of Kiswahili !

This photo below was taken in the foyer of the hotel we stayed at in Johannesburg earlier this week - it was a larger than life stuffed 'Zakumi' character. Zakumi is apparently a leopard (but I think looks more like a cheetah ?) - am I the only one who think's his/her face is not very welcoming/friendly ? (Why not a huge, happy African smile, Zakumi ?!)

The hotel we stayed at also had a huge black and white football themed archway made completely of balloons in the entrance hall, as seen below .....



My next post will be all about the 'fever' at the Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport, along with photo's taken there earlier this week. Until then, happy World Cup watching ;)

GO BAFANA BAFANA !