Fresh From New Zealand

What's a Lolly Cake?

You might know that New Zealanders are known as kiwis (the flightless bird, not the green fruit), because the kiwi bird is the nation’s national symbol. But, if you’re like me and have never visited NZ, you might be interested in knowing a couple other fun facts.

I just finished up an interview with Crime Thriller Fiction author Cat Connor, who hails from New Zealand. She asked me questions that I sent me online chasing down the 411 before I could answer.

Did you know that a lolly in NZ can be substituted for the word “candy” in America? The lolly cake is a NZ favorite. I’ll add a link to a lolly cake recipe at the end of this post. As long as we’re on the subject of sweets, chocolate fish, also called choccy fish, are a favorite treat in NZ, given as rewards for a job well done. They are marshmallow fish shaped candies coated in milk chocolate.

Kia Ora is a common greeting in the Maori language used in NZ. The greeting typically is used for hello, goodbye, and thank you, but translates to “have life” or “be healthy”. The Maori are Polynesian peoples who arrived to NZ around 1320 by canoe, long before the UK colonized the country.

I invite you to visit Cat Connor’s website to learn more about her books and read our fun conversation, by clicking on the link below:

Cat Connor Author Interrogations

.As promised, here’s the link for the Lolly Cake recipe (Suitable substitutes for Malt Biscuits are UK Digestives or a buttery shortbread cookie. You can use fruity marshmallows in place of the lollies in this recipe.)

. NZ Lolly Cake Roll

Until next time - Find your joy,

Joy