South African Malva pudding is rich, syrupy and absolutely delicious served with quick and easy frozen custard. The ultimate dessert.
Us South Africans are a proud bunch. We love pretty much everything about our country but something I am often reminded about by friends who have emigrated to other countries, is that our weather is simply the best (no jokes) and there is nothing like South African food. Those who now live in Australia, the UK and the States often reminisce about our braais, biltong, koeksisters and bunny chows. They miss Pap en Vleis and Melktert. But the most requested recipe I have been asked for time and time again, is Malva Pudding. South Africans bloody LOVE Malva Pudding. And with good reason.
Malva pudding is a warm, baked dessert of Cape Dutch origin and is all kinds of luscious. It’s not unlike sticky toffee pudding in theory but the flavour is different due to the addition of apricot jam and vinegar which gives the finished dish its characteristic taste and appearance. A glossy butter-enriched syrup is poured over when the baked pudding comes out of the oven and is then allowed to soak into it, adding even more deliciousness.
The Malva pudding recipe I use comes from my aunt (even though she hates being called an “Aunt” because she’s not that much older than me) and is by far the best one I have ever tasted. It is rich, dark and totally scrumptious. Malva pudding is most often served with shop-bought vanilla custard called Ultramel (although some people make their own Creme Anglaise to go along with it), ice cream or a simple drizzle of cream and even though all of those are absolute perfection, I wanted to change things up a little. I’ve been toying with the idea of making a frozen custard of sorts for a while and when I re-watched an old Nigella episode where she makes a Margarita ice cream with whipped cream as the base, wondered if that same concept wouldn’t work with custard. I used a tub of shop-bought vanilla custard and mixed it into softly whipped, sweetened cream and then popped it into the freezer, hoping for the best. The end result exceeded my highest expectations. The frozen custard/ice cream scooped beautifully and the taste was so rich, creamy and absolutely perfect with the Malva pudding. Warm, syrupy pudding, cold, creamy ice cream. What could go wrong?
The star here is still the Malva pudding though and if you’ve never tried it, I urge you to do so. You won’t be disappointed and in fact, I guarantee it will be one of the recipes you make over and over again.
South African malva pudding with easy frozen custard
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons smooth apricot jam/apricot preserves
- 2 teaspoons white spirit vinegar
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda baking soda
- pinch of salt
for the syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons golden syrup you can also substitute maple syrup/honey
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the frozen custard
- 2 cups 500ml whipping/heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar
- 2 cups shop-bought vanilla custard
Instructions
- To make the ice cream, whip the cream and icing sugar until soft peaks form.
- Fold in the vanilla custard then place in a freezer-safe dish and press a piece of baking paper/parchment paper onto the surface of the ice cream. Place in the freezer and allow to freeze for at least 2-3 hours or until firm.
- To make the pudding, pre-heat the oven to 180°c and grease a 20cm baking dish (alternatively, use smaller oven-proof dishes for individual portions).
- In a large saucepan, melt together the butter, sugar, apricot jam and vinegar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Sift the flour then add to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
- Add the baking soda and salt and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish/dishes and place in the oven.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes until the pudding dark brown and baked through (a skewer inserted should come out clean).
- While the pudding is baking, prepare the syrup.
- Bring all the syrup ingredients to a boil and reduce the heat. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Pour the syrup over the pudding as it comes out of the oven.
- Allow to stand for 20 minutes then serve with scoops of the frozen custard.
More South African recipes you might like:
Iced Rooibos tea peach punch
Pannekoek (Crepes with cinnamon sugar)
Lamb curry bunny chow
Smoked Snoek fish cakes
I made this but the sauce was more like a topping and would not soak in. I have noticed that most other recipes add liquid (cream, milk, water) to the sauce which keeps it thinner for pouring. Is it an omission in the recipe?
I never have that issue, perhaps it boiled for a little too long and became more like a caramel sauce? That could be one reason it didn’t soak in. It should be quite thin and hot when you pour it over the pudding to make sure it soaks in.
Hello! So, I am a SOuth African living in Germany. Having grown up with this dessert I wished to make it for a friend here in Germany. However, I had a little assistant (2,5year old) helping me. And in the chaos I made a few mistakes. But actually, they were too bad. But from experience….
– let the sugar, butter, vinegar mixture cool completely.
– used just short of a cup of acorn syrup (instead of sugar – silly) for the sauce (I got confused) but it was actually really good!! (Never added more sugar than).
Thank you for the lovely recipe
Kelsey
Most malva pudding recipes I have made say to bake the pudding covered – do you cover yours when you bake it? Definitely going to try your recipe – love the idea of the frozen custard!
No, I don’t. I don’t think it’s necessary. 🙂
Hi Alida
Would this recipe work in a 8 cup capacity oval baking dish? or perhaps a 23cm square aluminium foil baking dish, as I dont have round baking dishes. Also could I use 1/2 cup dark brown sugar for the batter instead of the 1 cup called for.
Thanks
Debbie
Yes, absolutely! You could definitely use less sugar if you preferred. I haven’t tested it so can’t say what the texture difference would be but I can’t foresee any issues.
Hi
Is it possible to use self raising flour for this recipe?, if so, does the bicarbonate of soda need to be reduced?, also how many grams are 2 cups of flour?, get so many different outcomes looking it up on the internet.
Thanks 🙂
Debbie
Yes, reduce the amount of bicarb by half. 2 cups is approximately 250g. 🙂
Can you prepare it beforehand and just warm it up when needed?
Most definitely! This is a great make-ahead dessert.
This recipe is absolutely amazing! My niece found this recipe years ago for a school project here in Oklahoma. I don’t know what the project was, but her family loved the recipe so much that they made it again for the rest of the family. My husband and I have made it for years since. It’s my husband’s absolute favorite recipe! We sadly lost the recipe in a move 2 years ago, and I am so glad to have found it again! There are many Malva Pudding recipes out there, but THIS was the one we fell in love with. I can’t wait to make it this weekend. My husband will be pleasantly surprised! We love it warm, but it’s great cold too. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
I’m so glad you found my recipe and love it Carrie.
That Malva pudding looks out of this world! I might have a hard time waiting for it to cool down #impatient
Thanks! 🙂 It’s a goodie. And lucky for you it doesn’t have to be completely cool when you eat it, in fact it’s better warm so dig right in!
I don’t know anything about South African food at all but this looks and sounds absolutely delicious. I will absolutely have to give this a go
Thanks Chris! This is one of those tried and trusted, super patriotic SA dishes and everyone here loves it. 🙂
What an interesting dessert! It sounds delicious!
Thanks Sabrina. It’s a good one!
i’m not familiar with south african food at all (i’m in california, where i haven’t tried any african food besides ethiopian, and i surround myself mostly with asian food), but this sounds amazing! and the vinegar is making me very curious; i know it’s only a tiny bit, but it still seems very unique!
The vinegar is a very interesting element and is actually something that is used a lot in South African baked desserts. I think it cuts through the richness of all that butter and sugar and rounds things out nicely. 🙂
Yum, this custard looks amazing!
Thanks Sabrina! 🙂
Wow Alida, I’ve never heard pf Malva pudding, but obviously I’ve been missing something that’s incredibly delicious! The added syrup must take this dessert over the top! On my list of must trys!! Thanks so much for sharing!
That syrup does all the magic. The end result is a seriously decadent dessert. I’d love to hear your thoughts once you’ve tried it. 😉
My gran used to make this, brings back memories
🙂 Food that brings back memories is the best kind of food!