SA Goodies

If you are living in Germany, or anywhere else in the EU for that matter, and fancy to make your new homies a lekker Creme Soda or Fanta Grape float, (ja, when last did you have a ice cream and soda float? You know, a Coke or fants with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream floating on top that makes it bubble and foam like a frothy volcano...ja swaer...last time I had one could easily have been back in the days, like in the early 70's when there still existed such a thing called a 'Roadhouse')...Anyway, so..you fancy a float, but can't for the life of you find a can of acid green Sparletta Cream Soda or poison purple Fanta Grape, (with all the artificial colouring and harmful additives..just kidding).
The kids hit on the idead in a flash from the past to make Cream Soda floats, and so I set out to find a can or two in the EU. ..and I found Elmarie and Fulvia's on-line South African shop SA Goodies, located in Hamburg, (nice and convenient for all you expat Hamburgers..!)

When I found the site the whole family started putting in their orders, and we stocked up on bottles of Mrs Balls and mango Atcha, OUMA Rusks, Romany Creams, Pro Nutro, SIMBA chips, dried fruit lekkergoed and not to forget ...the cans of Caramel Treat, Tennis Biscuits and Peppermint Crisp chocies to make one of South Africas most naughty but lekker fridge tarts, (..for non Saffas who have never had the divine experience of sampling this sweet minty treat, I will post the recipe at the end of this post..!)

Everything arrived well packed, no broken bottles or squashed Chocolate Logs, it got here speedily after payment for the order was in, and I can highly recommend the girls from SA Goodies for not only being friendly and giving good service, but also for having a great range of our favourite South African treats. I thought the prices were okay as far as prices of imported goods go, we used to pay our arses off for groceries from Germany when we were in South Africa, so I wasn't expecting to be snapping up bargains. It's just really nice to have the convenience of being able to order some of my favourite South African products, as I have to say there are some things that you just can't find similar local products as substitutes, like the Ina Paarman chocolate cake mix...there just is NO substitute!

So if you are hanging for something from South Africa, give the girls at SA Goodies a shout and they will get it for you. In the mean time here is the promised recipe for the Peppermint Crisp Tart..be warned! If you get addicted to this tart and make it too often, you run a serious risk of your arse getting so big it might just explode, so I recommend you only make it twice a year !

The Great South African Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart

Recipe courtesy of COOKSISTER

"I don't know what it is about this desert that makes grown men go all misty-eyed and women look wistful, but it is one of those desserts that everyone seems to like. It is absolutely not fancy, pretty, clever or remotely sophisticated. But I can guarantee you that every South African reading this has tasted it because it is one of those things that every South African mom has at some stage made when catering for masses of people... say, at a braai. Some people whom I invited but could not make it were upset not about missing the braai, but about missing the pudding! In fact, it has become so ingrained in the South African culinary psyche that I was amused to see on my visit home in June that it has become a chocolate flavour! Cadbury's Dairy Milk has brought out a range of "Local is lekker" chocolates in flavours like milk tart and... mint crisp fridge tart. Jawellnofine.

So what is this ambrosial pudding? OK, don't wince when I tell you. Many moons ago, a South African company called Orley Foods developed a range of non-dairy cream substitute products. The flagship product was (and still is, apparently) Orley Whip which looks like single cream, whips up to three times its original volume and can be stored in the fridge for up to three months. My recipe for this pudding was copied down from a package insert in a pack of Orley Whip a long time ago, probably much like every other South African I know. The recipe combines Orley Whip with Caramel Treat (caramelised condensed milk) and Peppermint Crisp (a chocolate bar from Nestle that features a filling of tightly packed, long and very brittle tubes of BRIGHT green mint-flavoured candy - looks like Kryptonite and tastes madly minty), layered with Tennis biscuits (shortbread-ish coconut-flavoured cookies). It struck me that it is in some ways a South African take on tiramisu, minus the culinary history and the fashionability ;-). The final product is not overly sweet, thanks to the peppermint and the fairly neutral biscuit layers, but is rich enough to go a long way. And I distinctly remember seeing plates licked clean.

So clearly, local is lekker, even if you have never set foot in South Africa!"

Ingredients:

250ml Orley Whip, whipped
2 packets of Tennis biscuits (although you will probably use less)
375g caramelised condensed milk
20ml caster sugar
3 Peppermint Crisp bars, crushed
3-4 drops of peppermint essence (more, if you like))

Method:
Whip the Orley Whip and then add the caramelised condensed milk castor sugar and peppermint essence. Beat until well mixed and then stir in 2/3 of the crushed Peppermint Crisp.

Place a layer of whole tennis biscuits in a buttered 29x19x5cm dish. Spoon 1/3 of the caramel mix over the biscuits and spread evenly. Continue in layers, finishing with a layer of filling on top.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Decorate by sprinkling the remainder of crushed peppermint crisp on top. Cut into squares and serve.

SUBSTITUTIONS:
-You can substitute whipping cream for Orley Whip, but the outcome may be even richer than this pudding already is! I used Elmlea, a half-dairy cream available in the UK. Apparently the American Cool Whip is a near-identical product.

-For caramelised condensed milk, you can use dulce du leche or you can make your own by boiling a tin of normal sweetened condensed milk (warning: hazardous!!).

-The Tennis biscuits may prove problematic, although I have seen forums in Australia advising the use of a typr of Arnott's coconut biscuits or Nice biscuits. Any other suggestions welcome. And as for the peppermint crisp... sadly, for that you will have to bite the bullet and buy it from a South African shop. Not sure if anything else like it exists. Maybe start campaiging for Nestle to produce it worldwide? ;-)