Comfort food personified, this pudding is a South African dessert with Dutch origins. It looks and sounds like a very ordinary recipe, but it is much more than the sum of its ingredients. It is, in my opinion, really meant to be eaten in a cold climate, but I grew up eating Malva on sweltering days, fresh out of the oven with cream or custard.
Yields: 4-6
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon smooth apricot jam
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
1 large egg
Syrup
½ cup sugar
½ cup milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup hot water
1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a square pie/baking dish.
2. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter, apricot jam and vinegar together. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the egg and sugar together until the mixture is pale yellow—about 4 minutes. Add the butter, apricot jam and vinegar mixture to the eggs and sugar together with the milk, then mix.
5. Add the flour mixture bit by bit and beat well.
6. Pour mixture into the baking dish and bake for 30-45 minutes until the pudding is dark brown and baked through (a skewer inserted should come out clean).
In a small saucepan over medium heat combine all of the syrup ingredients and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the syrup over the cooked pudding and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve with heavy cream.