Malva Pudding
A sticky apricot jam sponge with a hot cream and butter sauce poured over it the moment it leaves the oven, so it soaks all the way through.
Photograph credit: Malva Pudding is a South African dessert ... - Flickr - JFGryphon by Jim Griffin · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Where This Goes Wrong
Hot sauce onto hot sponge, straight out of the oven.
Prick it all over first so the sauce has a way in.
It will look like too much sauce. It is not.
How to Make Malva Pudding
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Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F fan and butter a 22 by 30 cm baking dish.
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Whisk the sugar and eggs for 5 minutes until pale and thick, then beat in the apricot jam.
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Whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl.
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Mix the milk, vinegar and melted butter.
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Fold the dry ingredients and the milk mixture alternately into the egg mixture in three additions.
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Pour into the dish and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until risen, deep brown and a skewer comes out clean.
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While it bakes, put all the sauce ingredients in a pan and heat, stirring, until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Bring to a simmer for 1 minute.
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The moment the pudding comes out of the oven, prick it all over with a skewer.
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Pour the hot sauce evenly over the hot sponge. It will look like far too much liquid.
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Leave 20 minutes for it to soak in completely, then serve warm with cream or custard.
Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Pan and tin size.
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Why the Method Works
The sauce goes over the sponge while both are hot, which is the only way it gets absorbed rather than pooling underneath — a cooled cake sheds it. A tablespoon of vinegar in the batter reacts with the bicarbonate of soda for lift and, more usefully, keeps the very sweet sponge from being cloying.
After You've Cooked It
Refrigerate up to 4 days and reheat covered at 160°C / 320°F fan. Freezes 2 months.
What to Serve Alongside
- Pouring cream or custard
- Vanilla ice cream
- Strong coffee
Common Questions About Malva Pudding
How long does Malva Pudding take to make?
15 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking, plus 20 minutes of soaking, so allow 1 hour 20 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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