By Liane Arno
WHEN we were in the pub we used to be visited by a lovely elderly couple who lived in the Dandenongs. They would come every couple of months and stay in one of the rooms out the back as their little getaway. They enjoyed sitting in the garden out the back. Seeing our fruit trees, they asked us if we wanted a banana tree.
We thought they were joking but next time they visited they brought one. We planted it in the beer garden and didn’t expect anything to come of it. But a few years later we were rewarded with a bunch of bananas.
When we left the pub we took one of the banana tree shoots and planted it in our garden in Wonthaggi. The banana continued to grow shoots and this year we have had three bunches.
WHEN we were in the pub we used to be visited by a lovely elderly couple who lived in the Dandenongs. They would come every couple of months and stay in one of the rooms out the back as their little getaway. They enjoyed sitting in the garden out the back. Seeing our fruit trees, they asked us if we wanted a banana tree.
We thought they were joking but next time they visited they brought one. We planted it in the beer garden and didn’t expect anything to come of it. But a few years later we were rewarded with a bunch of bananas.
When we left the pub we took one of the banana tree shoots and planted it in our garden in Wonthaggi. The banana continued to grow shoots and this year we have had three bunches.
The fruit is small (smaller than lady fingers) and looks a bit manky but it’s so sweet and delicious. It ripens really quickly once off the tree and despite giving away hands to our neighbours we were still left with quite a few that I needed to do something with.
In the cupboard I had some cocoa that we picked up in Papua New Guinea. We didn’t realise until we were home that it was unsweetened and no good for making a drink of cocoa so I thought I would combine it with the bananas to balance their sweetness.
This is my take on a self-saucing pudding.
Whizz in a mixer until fluffy:
Then add:
On the top sprinkle with:
I turned mine out onto a flat dish which was little silly because I hadn’t realised how much sauce it was going to make and half ended up on the table – so be cleverer than me and turn it out into a dish. It was delicious and needs to be eaten warm. After all it is a pudding. I had run out of cream and had sour cream on the side which actually worked. Quite luscious!
If you fancy growing your own – let me know. There is always a shoot popping up.
In the cupboard I had some cocoa that we picked up in Papua New Guinea. We didn’t realise until we were home that it was unsweetened and no good for making a drink of cocoa so I thought I would combine it with the bananas to balance their sweetness.
This is my take on a self-saucing pudding.
Whizz in a mixer until fluffy:
- 3 eggs
Then add:
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g very ripe mashed bananas
- 1 cup plain flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 50 g melted butter
On the top sprinkle with:
- 1 cup brown sugar (I used raw sugar for a bit of crunch)
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 1¼ cups boiling water
I turned mine out onto a flat dish which was little silly because I hadn’t realised how much sauce it was going to make and half ended up on the table – so be cleverer than me and turn it out into a dish. It was delicious and needs to be eaten warm. After all it is a pudding. I had run out of cream and had sour cream on the side which actually worked. Quite luscious!
If you fancy growing your own – let me know. There is always a shoot popping up.
Banana and chocolate self-saucing pud