Malva Pudding is a decadent South African dessert. It is moist, sticky, sweet, milky, buttery and the perfect treat for when you want to indulge.
Hands up if you love baking during the weekend! This Malva pudding is the perfect weekend indulgence. It is a I-have-worked-so-hard-so-I'm-gonna spoil-myself-this-weekend kind of dessert!
Mr. N is not a lover of sweet treats. But when he tasted Malva Pudding, he just kept eating! There is something irresistible about this luscious melt-in-your-mouth milky pudding. It is warm, rich and so satisfying!
This pudding has made me rethink my love for other decadent treats like souffles or mug cakes. That's because it is like your best souffle, cake or pudding in one. So so delicious!
I adapted this recipe from the amazing cookbook, The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa by Chef Marcus Samuelson.
Make some, friends! You only need a few basic ingredients and one-not-so basic ingredient: apricot jam. I used apricot preserves instead and it works so well!!
More African Traditional Desserts
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- PERFECT PLAIN CAKE
Malva Pudding is a decadent South African dessert. It is moist, sticky, sweet, milky, butter and the perfect treat for when you want to indulge.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ cup apricot jam or apricot preserves
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter an 8-inch oven-safe pan.
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Sieve the flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.
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In another bowl, combine the egg, sugar, butter and apricot jam/preserves. Beat together until pale in color.
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Add the flour to the bowl and beat in.
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In a bowl, mix the milk and vinegar together then add the vanilla extract.
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Add the milk to the egg mixture and mix well to combine. Pour batter into prepared pan. Let it bake for 35 minutes until brown at the top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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While the pudding bakes, make the sauce. Combine butter, sugar and evaporated milk in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer on medium heat while stirring continuously until the butter and sugar completely melt.
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As soon as the pudding comes out of the oven, pour the warm sauce over it. Let it stand for about 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.
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Serve the Malva Pudding warm with whipped cream or ice cream if you like. But it is really great as it is!
1. Malva pudding is best served warm.
2. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of the sugar in the cake but I used half a cup of sugar instead. I find that half a cup of sugar together with the sweet apricot jam yields a sufficiently sweet Malva Pudding.
3. Be sure to pour your warm sauce over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
4. This recipe is adapted from the book, The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa by Marcus Samuelson.
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Oompfh I LOVE malva pudding! Especiall with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream 🙂 Your recipe looks very good and I love the photo's, so beautiful!
Thank you, Dory! Malva goes so well with some ice cream!
Is there a substitute for d apricot jam? Can I do without it
You can use any other jam you can find - same quantity. You need jam for this recipe. Hope this helps.
I think this was one of the best things I've ever baked. I made it for my family last night and even the one who doesn't like desserts loved it. I served it warm with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of the apricot jam. Beautiful and delicious! Thank you!
So happy to hear that, Gary! My husband doesn't like desserts but he always enjoys Malva Pudding. You served it the right way with ice cream. Yum! Thank you for your comment.
Hi Precious, I’m from South Africa but live in America for 20+ years, love making food from home and this is a star recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Glad you love it Elizabeth!
Thank you for this delicious recipe going to try it today. I have only tasted Malva pudding once and today suddenly I feel for Malva pudding. Thank you for your easy and delicious recipes.
You are so welcome, Winifred. Malva Pudding is truly one of the best desserts.
We are a Ghanain-German family. I love your recipes. I made this malva pudding today and everyone loved it <3
Thanks so much for the feedback, Anja.