Ingredients
Sponge
- 200 gplain flour
- 200 gsugar
- 2eggs
- 2 tbspapricot jam
- 1 tspbicarbonate of soda
- 1 tbspwhite vinegar
- 1 tbspbutter, melted
- 200 mlmilk
- a pinch of salt
Sauce
- 200 mldouble cream
- 100 gbutter
- 100 gsugar
- 100 mlhot water
- 1 tspvanilla extract
To serve
- custard, cream or vanilla ice cream
Directions
- Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale, thick and roughly doubled in volume. Beat them properly, for a good four or five minutes. Beat in the apricot jam and the melted butter.
- Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the milk, then add the vinegar to it. It will fizz up immediately, which is exactly what should happen.
- Add them separately to the batter and you lose most of it. Fold the flour and salt into the egg mixture alternately with the fizzing milk, in three additions. Fold rather than beat at this stage, and stop the moment the flour disappears.
- Pour into a buttered dish about 20 by 25 cm and bake at 180°C (355°F) for 40 to 45 minutes. It should be deep brown on top and springy, and a skewer should come out clean.
- Take the pudding straight from the oven and pierce it all over with a skewer, right down to the base. Pierce it deeply and thoroughly. The holes are how the sauce gets in, and a pudding pricked only on top ends up with a soaked surface and a dry middle.
- Pour the hot sauce over the hot pudding slowly, in stages, letting each pour soak in before the next. Both must be hot.
- Pour it all in anyway; the sponge takes every drop. Leave it to stand at least 20 minutes so the sauce settles right through. Serve warm with custard, cream or ice cream.
Technique
- It is even better the next day, reheated, once the sauce has fully settled.
- The sponge is meant to be dense and sticky, not light, so do not judge it as a Victoria sponge.
- Some recipes double the sauce, and few South Africans object.
Substitutions
- Any smooth jam in place of apricot, though apricot is traditional.
- Evaporated milk for part of the cream in the sauce.
Variations
- Baked in individual ramekins.
- With a splash of brandy or amarula in the sauce.
- With ginger or orange zest in the sponge.
History
A sweet, spongy baked pudding made with apricot jam mixed into the batter, served soaked in a warm cream or butter sauce poured over it after baking, developed among Afrikaner communities in South Africa, generally traced to Cape Dutch cooking traditions of the 1800s, with apricot jam reflecting the Cape region’s long-established apricot cultivation dating back to early Dutch colonial-era orchards. Its name is thought to derive from malvasia, a type of sweet wine once possibly used in older versions of the recipe, though the modern pudding does not typically include wine as an ingredient, and the exact origin of the malva name is not fully settled among South African food historians. It remains one of South Africa’s most widely recognized traditional desserts, closely tied to Afrikaner home cooking specifically.
Frequently asked questions
What is Malva pudding?
Malva pudding is a dessert from South Africa: sticky apricot sponge drenched in warm cream sauce. A sweet, spongy baked pudding made with apricot jam mixed into the batter, served soaked in a warm cream or butter sauce poured over it after baking, developed among Afrikaner communities in South Africa, generally traced to Cape Dutch cooking traditions of the 1800s, with apricot jam reflecting the Cape region’s long-established apricot cultivation dating back to early Dutch colonial-era orchards. Its name is thought to derive from malvasia, a type of sweet wine once possibly used in older versions of the recipe, though the modern pudding does not typically include wine as an ingredient, and the exact origin of the malva name is not fully settled among South African food historians. It remains one of South Africa’s most widely recognized traditional desserts, closely tied to Afrikaner home cooking specifically.
How long does Malva pudding take to make?
Malva pudding takes 20 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Malva pudding?
Yes, within limits. Any smooth jam in place of apricot, though apricot is traditional. Evaporated milk for part of the cream in the sauce.
What is the most important thing to get right in Malva pudding?
Add them separately to the batter and you lose most of it. Fold the flour and salt into the egg mixture alternately with the fizzing milk, in three additions. Fold rather than beat at this stage, and stop the moment the flour disappears.
