My friend Jeff is, by any measure, a man who has done well. Waterfront home. Catamaran on the dock. A golf swing his mates stop to watch with undisguised envy. Yet when his birthday comes around each year, his request is the same. No fancy restaurant. Nothing elaborate. Just one thing: Natalie’s Malva.
His wife Natalie delivered it to our dinner table last week and the moment I tasted it, I completely understood. Malva pudding is a South African classic – a warm, sticky, impossibly tender baked pudding soaked in a rich butter and cream sauce that seeps into every corner. It is the kind of dessert that makes a table go quiet.
It is also, remarkably, one of the simpler things you will ever bake. A handful of pantry staples, a greased baking dish and about an hour in the oven. Natalie’s tip: she doubles the pudding but only does one and a half times the sauce – personal preference, but worth knowing. It also freezes beautifully and works perfectly in muffin tins for individual serves, cooking in just 30 to 35 minutes.
Jeff asks for nothing else. After one taste, you won’t wonder why.
A warm, sticky South African baked pudding soaked in a rich butter and cream sauce. The dessert Jeff requests every birthday – and once you make it, you’ll understand why. Freezes beautifully and works in muffin tins for individual serves.
Servings 8
Ingredients
1 cups cup caster sugar (approx 220g)
1 cups cup plain flour (approx 150g)
1 large egg
15 millilitres apricot jam
5 millilitres bicarbonate of soda
15 millilitres olive oil
5 millilitres brown vinegar
1 cups cup full-cream milk
1 cups cup sugar (approx 220g) — for sauce
0.5 cups cup water — for sauce
90 grams unsalted butter — for sauce
1 cups cup pouring cream — for sauce
Method
1 Preheat and prepare: Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a medium baking dish (approximately 20x30cm) well with butter.
2 Whisk egg and sugar: In a large bowl, whisk 1 large egg and 1 cups cup caster sugar (approx 220g) together until light, pale and fluffy – about 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture should look almost like a thick cream.
3 Add jam, oil and vinegar: Add 15 millilitres apricot jam, 15 millilitres olive oil and 5 millilitres brown vinegar to the egg and sugar mixture. Whisk well to combine.
4 Add the milk: Pour in 1 cups cup full-cream milk and stir to combine.
5 Sift in flour and bicarb: Sift 1 cups cup plain flour (approx 150g) and 5 millilitres bicarbonate of soda into the wet mixture. Stir gently until you have a smooth, quite runny batter — this is normal. Don’t overmix.
6 Bake the pudding: Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the surface is a deep golden brown and a skewer or knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. The pudding will rise and then settle – that’s fine.
7 Make the sauce: About 10 minutes before the pudding is due to come out, make the sauce. Place 1 cups cup sugar (approx 220g) — for sauce, 0.5 cups cup water — for sauce and 90 grams unsalted butter — for sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts, then bring to the boil. Add 1 cups cup pouring cream — for sauce and bring back to the boil, stirring. Remove from heat.
8 Soak with sauce and serve: Remove the pudding from the oven as soon as it is cooked. Immediately pierce holes all over the surface with a skewer. Gently pull the edges of the pudding away from the sides of the dish. Pour the hot sauce evenly over the entire surface, making sure it gets into the holes and underneath the edges. The pudding will absorb the sauce as it sits. Serve warm, with extra cream or vanilla ice cream alongside.
Natalie’s tips:
She doubles the pudding recipe for a crowd but only makes 1.5 times the sauce – double sauce is a personal choice but she finds it excessive.
Freezes perfectly. Make ahead, freeze without the sauce, then make the sauce fresh when reheating.
Muffin tin version: Pour the batter into a greased 12-hole muffin tin and bake at 180°C for 30 to 35 minutes. Pour the warm sauce over immediately. Perfect for entertaining. When pouring the sauce over the hot pudding, Natalie pierces holes all over the surface and pulls the edges away from the dish slightly — this lets the sauce get underneath and soak through every layer. Don’t skip this step.
Brown vinegar is the traditional South African ingredient. White wine vinegar works as a substitute but brown is worth finding — it’s in most supermarkets.