Tunnels and Pudding

Beginning of the tunnel walk
Looking up and out
Hard rock cut out
I feel like this is ‘what I did over the weekend’ time on most of my posts at the moment, but I have been doing a lot and I might as well share photos of my explorations.

You see, even if I’m not getting on a plane, passport in hand, I’m exploring often. A month doesn’t usually go by without me driving off somewhere an hour or two away and wandering through landscapes new or old.

This weekend was no exception.

Some friends have had their cousin from America over and we decided to go for a walk through some old tunnels on a walk called the ‘window walk' from the days when this place was a gold mine. It has one of the deepest parts of history in New Zealand and there are still pieces of the old gold mining that surrounds the many walks you can do here. 

We wandered through several dark tunnels and then next to the flowing river for a few hours, bypassing muddy patches, carefully jumping and stepping into shallow puddles and following the rustle of a river nearby.

Needless to say, after walking for two hours and having had no lunch we were all groaning of hunger by the end.

Once we stepped out of the large park, it was time for dessert.

It’s been a while since I’ve made a pudding, this ones perfect if you have some banana’s laying around and you want something a little different.


Banana Butterscotch Pudding
Adapted from Bill Granger's Simply Bill Book
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup superfine/caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
120 grams butter, melted
1 1/4 cups milk
2 banana’s, mashed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cups hot water

Directions:
Grease a glass pudding dish and preheat the oven to 180°C/350F.

Sift the flour, baking powder in a bowl. Add the salt and sugar and stir to combine, making a well in the centre.

Place the milk, butter, vanilla extract, egg and mashed banana’s into the centre of the flour mix. Stir until well combined and a smooth mixture.

Spoon into the baking dish and set aside as you make the sauce.

Place the water, sugar and syrup in a saucepan and heat on medium to high stirring as the sugar dissolves.

When it’s at a rolling boil stir to ensure the sugar has dissolved.

Carefully pour the sauce onto the back of a tablespoon (this ensures it runs smoothly onto the pudding).

Place in the oven and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream on the side.

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