Is there anything more comforting than a warm bowl of malva pudding on a chilly day? Try one of these four recipes and cosy up with this traditional South African dessert. 

Chocolate and caramel malva pudding 

Serves 6–8 // Total Time 40–45 Min  

Ingredients 

For the malva 

2 cups (400 g) dark brown sugar  
5 large eggs  
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence  
1¾ (263 g) cups cake flour  
½ cup cocoa powder  
2 tsp (10 ml) baking powder  
1 tsp (5 ml) salt  
2 cups (500 ml) cream 
80 g dark chocolate, melted 
2 tsp (1 ml) bicarbonate of soda  
1 Tbsp (15 ml) white spirit vinegar     

For the sauce  

¼ cup (60 ml) butter
1 cup (250 ml) brown sugar
1 can (410 g) evaporated milk
Fresh blueberries and mint leaves, for serving 

For serving   

Blueberries
Fresh mint   

Method  

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
2. Cream sugar, eggs and vanilla essence until sugar dissolves. 
3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together. 
4. Fold half the dry ingredients through the egg mixture, then add half the cream. Repeat the process. 
5. Fold in melted chocolate. 
6. Combine bicarb and vinegar and add to mixture. 
7. Pour batter into a greased 20×25 cm oven dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and poke holes into pudding using a skewer or sharp knife. 
8. Heat sauce ingredients in a pot until sugar dissolves, then boil for 1 minute. 
9. Pour sauce over hot pudding. 
10. Garnish with berries and mint to serve.

Recipes and photography: Fresh Living Magazine 

 

Maize malva pudding

Serves 4 // Hands-on 20 minutes // Hands-off 45 minutes 

Ingredients 

200 g caster sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp (15 ml) smooth apricot jam
250 g maize meal
1 Tbsp (15 ml) bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter
½ cup (125 ml) milk
1 Tbsp (15 ml) vinegar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) vanilla essence

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Beat the caster sugar and eggs until fluffy. Whisk in the jam.
3. Sift the maize meal, bicarb and salt into a separate bowl.
4. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add milk, vinegar and vanilla essence.
5. Add both the butter mixture and the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 2 L ovenproof dish.
6. Bake for 45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Serve with custard.

 

Chocolate & Orange Malva Pudding with Custard 

Serves 8–10 //  Total time 1 hour 45 minutes 

Ingredients

For the custard  

2 cups (500 ml) cream 
2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla essence
3 Tbsp (45 ml) castor sugar
4 egg yolks  

For the pudding 

1 cup sugar
3 eggs 
3 Tbsp (45 ml) apricot jam, heated 
1½ cups (375 ml) flour 
1½ tsp (8 ml) Bicarbonate of soda 
1 tsp (5 ml) salt 
25 g butter 
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) vinegar 
⅔ cup (150 ml) milk 
150 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped 
Zest of 2 oranges  

For the sauce 

1 cup (250 ml) cream 
150 g butter 
¾ cup (150 g) sugar 
¾ cup (180 ml) hot water   

Method 

For the custard 

1. Place the cream and vanilla in a pot over medium heat.
2. Add the sugar and egg yolks to a bowl and whisk for 3 minutes, until pale and thick.
3. Just before the cream starts simmering, remove from the heat. 
4. While whisking the egg-yolk mixture, add around half a cup of the hot cream and stir vigorously to mix through. Continue to add the cream bit by bit, to not overheat and curdle the eggs.
5. Move the custard back into the pot and place over a low heat.
6. Stir continuously for 10–15 minutes until the custard has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
7. Strain the custard into a jug through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bits. Place a layer of cling film on the surface of the custard and refrigerate until needed. Adding the cling film to the surface of the custard prevents a skin from forming. 

For the malva 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Add the sugar and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat well until thick, about 2 minutes. Mix through the jam.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, bicarb and salt.
4. Add the butter, vinegar and milk to a bowl and microwave until the butter is just melted.
5. Add the sifted dry ingredients and the milk mixture alternately to the egg mixture. Beat well until smooth and combined. Stir through the chocolate and orange zest until evenly dispersed. Cover and bake for 45–55 minutes.

For the sauce 

1. Just before the pudding is ready, place the ingredients for the sauce in a pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved and butter has melted.
2. Remove the pudding from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Use a skewer or knife to pierce holes all over the surface, through to the bottom of the dish.
3. Slowly pour the warm sauce over the pudding, stopping to let it absorb the liquid before adding more.
4. Serve the malva pudding with the vanilla custard.

 

Chocolate malva pudding with apricot ganache 

Serves 6 // Cooking time 30 minutes 

Ingredients  

For the pudding 

2 cups (500 ml) milk
2 tsp (10 ml) bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp (10 ml) baking powder
2 cups (300 g) flour
1 cup (200 g) white sugar
½ (3 ml) tsp salt
2 eggs
2 Tbsp (30 ml) vinegar
4 Tbsp (60 ml) apricot jam  

For the sauce 

1 tin (410 g) evaporated milk
¼ (50 g) cup sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence 

For apricot ganache 

100 g dried apricots, chopped
200 g dark chocolate, melted
200 ml cream, heated 

Method 

For the pudding 

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. In a bowl, mix together the milk and bicarb. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, and then add the milk mixture and stir until smooth.
3. Pour the batter into a baking tray or individual baking ramekins, filling them 3⁄4 of the way, and bake for 30 minutes until golden.

For the sauce 

1. Heat the ingredients in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Pour over pudding as soon as it is removed from the oven so that it can soak in.

For the ganache 

1.  Add all the ingredients into one bowl and mix through until incorporated. Serve with the malva pudding.

Also read: Creamy condensed milk rice pudding