5 Things to Try in New Zealand

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I am known to be geographically challenged, terrible at public transport and generally a bit hopeless when it comes to sorting myself out. After graduating i decided to test myself and book a month off work and travel around the South Island of New Zealand and The Cook Islands, entirely on my own. What initially seemed a challenge, turned into one of the most exciting experiences of my life so far. I made a promise to myself that i would try anything and everything, so as you can imagine i have eaten and drank all sorts of new and interesting things. If any of you are also lucky enough to travel to this part of the world there are a few things i would definitely recommend you try....

1. Native Green-Lipped Mussels
On my first night in New Zealand we travelled to a Abel Tasman National Park which is at the very top of the South Island. We stayed on a boat hostel floating on the edge of golden sand and beautiful scenery. I was treated to the best of New Zealand produce when we had steak on the BBQ and Green-Lipped Mussels in the pan. It is common to find these mussels all over main land New Zealand and they are worth looking out for. Compared to British mussels, they are very large in size and the shells have a beautiful green tip, as the name suggests. You would not want to drown these musses in a heavy sauce just steamed with a little white wine and finished with a squeeze of lemon. Throughout my trip i ate these several times, including cold with a nice glass of white wine. They taste so fresh and you can savour the taste of the New Zealand waters. 

2. The Wine

For anyone who has had a glass of Marlborough white wine you will know that New Zealand knows how to make good wine. Not much of a wine connoisseur myself, i decided to go for a wine tour in the Central Otago region near Queenstown. This region only became known for its wine in the 1990s starting with only 11 private wineries, now it boasts more than 75. The Pinot Grape is responsible for 75% of the regions plantings. The high mountains and large deposits of of metamorphic soil allows for the perfect conditions for the grapes to grow. 

I recommend taking a visit to one of the many vineyards as many offer wine tasting sessions and are set within beautiful scenery and give you a little education in the wine growing regions of New Zealand. My favourite white wine was the Riesling, really light and fruity in taste without being too sweet. Compared to very sweet German Rieslings, New Zealand Riesling is a lot dryer without being too acidic. My favourite of the vineyards we visited was Waitiri Creek, set in what looks like a little church set in the rolling hills of the region it is a really beautiful place, and the wine's not bad too! Have a look at their website: http://www.waitiricreek.co.nz/default.aspx

3. Fergburger 

Slightly less glamourous than mussels and good wine, but no less delicious! A 20 minute wait to get in before you've even ordered your burger, gives you a good indication as to its reputation within Queenstown. I went for the 'Mr. Big Stuff' and as you can see it was not on the small side! The best of New Zealand beef with streaky bacon, cheddar cheese and homemade BBQ sauce. It may sound simple but a lot of love goes into these

burgers with homemade buns and sauces. You can try anything from Wild Fiordland deer, New Zealand Lamb, Pork Belly or Cod. I was sorely tempted by the vegetarian option of a 'Bun Laden'; Falafel Patties with lemon yoghurt, chipotle chilli sauce, tomatoe, red onion, cucumber, avacado and aoili. Have a peek at the menu: http://www.fergburger.com/menu.html Some great ideas for homemade burgers!

4. Hokey Pokey (ice cream)

 New Zealand is great for those with a sweet tooth! The child in me was dazzled by the amount of sweets and chocolate but before i left the UK my kiwi friend Sam had made me promise to try Hokey Pokey ice cream. Whilst visiting the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki, i had my opportunity. I may have been extra charming throughout my trip  but the Kiwi's are very generous with their scoops and one kiwi scoop definitely equates to 2 British scoops. Another conversion rate that worked in my favour! Hokey Pokey ice cream is basically creamy, vanilla ice cream with lumps of toffee honeycomb. Nothing better than having ice cream in the sunshine. I pretty much tried this flavour in every place we went to, some of the friends i met thought i may of had a bit of an ice cream addiction. 

5. Flat White                              

There is no question that the Kiwis are the big dogs when it comes to coffee. Before i left i was not a big coffee drinker, but when i went to
Auckland and Wellington i had to try one. There is a big cafe culture which i was very unaware of, but it is pretty hard to come across a bad cup of coffee. The big coffee drinkers amongst the friends i met were very constantly seeking out a decent flat white and they were not disappointed. If you are a solo traveller like me, then i can not recommend a better way to kill a bit of time than sitting in a good cafe with a book. If you are ever in Wellington head over to the Memphis Belle Coffee House. It has been voted best cafe in Wellington multiple times and also serves homemade lemon and ginger tea with fresh ginger, lemon and honey!

So there are a few recommendations if you ever find yourself in this beautiful country. There is so much to see and do i have barely scratched the surface. If any of you have any culinary recommendations yourself would love to hear from you! 

Chocolate Mud Cake

This chocolate cake recipe has been something that has been tried and tested on many family and friends. I love a good chocolate cake but think after a day or two they always go dry and they need to be moist and gooey. When i think of chocolate cake I always think of the Miss Trunchbull's chocolate cake in Roald Dahl's 'Matilda'. So I promise this is a chocolate cake that is moist, worthy of any Roald Dahl novel and only gets better the longer you leave it!

At the weekend my little sister turned 21 and, being a talented baker herself, i knew a Victoria Sponge just wouldn't cut it. This cake is very dense like a brownie so only needs a bit of icing on the outside. I covered the cake in a glossy chocolate fudge icing and decorated with; cherries, strawberries, truffles, macadamia nuts, lavender and homemade pineapple flowers. 

For the sponge you will need:

9" round tin,

220g unsalted butter,

220g Dark chocolate,

25g instant coffee granules,

125g Self Raising flour,

125g Plain flour,

50g Cocoa powder,

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate powder,

480g Golden caster sugar,

4 Eggs Beaten,

7 tspns Full of Vegetable oil,

100ml Butter milk. 

For the icing:

115g butter

85g cocoa 

340g icing sugar

150ml skimmed milk

1. Place your butter and dark chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Add 160ml of hot water to your coffee granules and then add the coffee to your chocolate and butter mixture until everything is melted and mixed in.

2. Combine all of your dry ingredients and make a well in the middle and pour in your coffee chocolate mixture. Gentle mix until everything is mixed in and resembles a batter consistency. Seperately beat your eggs, vegetable oil and buttermilk mixture together and then add to your cake batter.  Once the mixture is smooth and all ingredients are combined pour into your pre-lined tin.

3. I would recommended lining your cake tin with two layers of baking parchment and on the outside tie a layer of newspaper round your tin with string. The reason for this is your cake has a large amount of sugar and this means the cake is prone to burning but by lining your cake in this way it should prevent the cake from catching.

4. Bake your cake at 165° for 45 minutes and turn your cake to prevent burning. Bake for a further 35 minutes or until cooked all the way through. Test this by using a metal skewer, you will know your cake is cooked when your skewer comes out clean when piercing into the center of the cake. Now leave until the cake is completely cooked.

5. In the meantime to make your icing, add your melted butter to your cocoa powder and icing sugar and gradually add your milk until the mixture is smooth and thick but not too thin. You want a heavy thick consistency that you can spread and push over your cake until it is completely covered. Whilst the icing is still wet add whatever toppings you would like to cover your cake, because the icing is still wet it will allow your toppings of your cake to stick on firmly. 

As part of making this cake I made my own pineapple flowers which are very pretty and easy to make. The recipe for these will be appearing on my blog shortly! As ever this recipe is very simple to make and is sure to make an impression on anyone who eats it. After discovering this recipe i have never been tempted to use any other recipe to make chocolate cake. Any questions please feel free to get in touch and would love to hear from anyone who has had a go, Happy Baking!