Malva Pudding is a traditional South African baked dessert made with apricot jam and covered in a rich butter cream sauce. This soft, caramelized pudding cake is served warm with custard or vanilla ice cream and is one of South Africa's most loved comfort desserts.
If South African Desserts pique your interest, you have to try this South African Trifle with Peppermint Crisp and Caramel, as well as these Cinnamon Sugar South African Pancakes.
Why This Malva Pudding Recipe Works
- Recipe name: Malva Pudding
- Ready in: 1hr 15 minutes
- Serves: 10 servings
- Main ingredients: Sugar, self-raising flour, butter, eggs, apricot jam, and evaporated milk.
- Perfect for: This is the perfect recipe for special occasions or for South Africans living abroad who need a taste of home.
- Why I love it: I have tried many malva puddings, but my favorite version is this recipe, which was given to me by my Great Aunty Val. Aunty Val is now 90 years old, and she is my reservoir of recipes for traditional South African desserts. This malva recipe is super moist thanks to the rich butter sauce!
- Calories: 526kcal
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Key Ingredients
- Self-raising flour - This recipe can also be made with cake flour or all-purpose flour sifted with baking powder.
- Apricot jam - I normally choose a smooth apricot jam, but a chunky one will also work. This is the signature ingredient that gives malva pudding its distinctive flavor.
- Vinegar - Choose a white spirit or white wine vinegar for this recipe.
- Ideal milk - This is a full-fat evaporated milk. This recipe's version of the butter and cream sauce uses whole milk instead of heavy cream. It gives the sauce a wonderfully rich flavor and means you don't have to worry about keeping fresh cream in your fridge.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
Turn this into an adult-only boozy malva pudding by adding ½ cup of Tia Maria or Amarula to the pouring sauce. Serve your malva pudding with homemade Vanilla Bean Custard, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream instead of traditional Ultra Mel custard.
I've decorated my malva with Mini Meringues and homemade honeycomb. If you are feeling extra adventurous, take a look at this recipe for Milktart Malva Pudding, which combines two classic desserts into a two-layer pudding that is served cold!
How To Make South African Malva Pudding
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and brush an oven-proof dish with melted butter. Add the eggs and the sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and airy. Add the apricot jam, vanilla, salt, and vinegar to the egg-and-sugar mixture and beat until well combined.
- Step 2: Sift together the flour and salt, then slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture while the mixer runs at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure there are no lumps, then mix again.
- Step 3: Combine milk and the bicarbonate of soda in a jug. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the batter with the mixer running. Mix until the batter is smooth and lump-free.
- Step 4: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the pudding comes out clean, and the pudding is golden brown.
- Step 5: Add the water, sugar, evaporated milk, and butter to a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Allow the sugar and butter to melt, stirring occasionally.
- Step 6: Once the butter and sugar have melted, pour half of the hot sauce slowly over the hot pudding as soon as it comes out of the oven. Allow the sauce to seep into the pudding before pouring the rest over the pudding. Serve this pudding warm with custard or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
How To Make Mini Malva Puddings
If you would prefer to bake individual malva puddings, you most certainly can! Set the oven timer for 15 to 20 minutes, then start checking the malva pudding. Ensuring that the mini-baked dessert is cooked through before removing it from the oven.
Add the cream and butter sauce to the mini pudding when it is still in the mold. This is so that the puddings can soak up the sauce before you remove and plate this traditional South African baked dessert. If you love mini desserts, you can't miss trying these Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts or these Banoffee Tartlets.
How To Store Malva Pudding
Store any leftover malva pudding in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Before serving, choose to reheat the dessert in the microwave or oven until hot.
Expert Tips
- Always check the true temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer.
- Try to loosen the jam before adding it to the egg mixture to ensure that it mixes well into the batter.
- Make sure you butter your baking dish properly. For a delicious-tasting malva, I recommend using butter to coat your oven dish rather than cooking spray or oil.
- When pouring the sauce, do this very slowly. You want the sauce to seep into the warm malva pudding so the entire cake is moist, not just the bottom where the sauce settles.
Malva Pudding FAQs
Yes, this recipe can be baked as mini desserts; you will just need to adjust the baking time based on the size of your molds.
My favorite way to serve malva is hot with cold ultra-mel custard; this pairing cannot be beaten! If you are looking for a recipe that can be made ahead of time and served cold, try this Malva Milktart Recipe.
This malva pudding freezes well. Do this by portioning the malva and placing the slices into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months and bring to room temperature before heating and serving.
There isn't much beating involved in this recipe, so you can make it with a standard hand whisk and a large bowl if you'd prefer.
Absolutely! Pour the batter into mini ramekins and bake them for about 15 to 20 minutes.
The best way to describe this traditional South African dessert is to compare it to a sticky toffee pudding. It is similar in that this pudding is baked in an oven dish and then covered with a sticky sauce after it is cooked. However, it is less sweet than a sticky toffee pudding, and the added apricot jam and bicarbonate of soda give this dessert a distinct taste.
More Easy South African Dessert Recipes
Warm baked desserts drenched in custard or topped with the perfect scoop of vanilla ice cream have this baker's heart! And if this sounds good to you, you just can't miss trying this Apricot Bread and Butter Brioche Pudding and this Apple & Blackberry Crumble.
Happy Baking, With Love, Kitty
Please leave a star rating and comment below if you tried this recipe! And if you're wondering what to try next, have a look at this Milktart Malva Pudding!
📖 Recipe
Malva Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tbsp apricot jam
- 2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 eggs
Butter Sauce
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tin ideal milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and butter an oven-proof dish.
- Add the eggs and the sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is pale and airy.
- Add the apricot jam, vanilla, salt, and vinegar to the egg and sugar mixture and beat well.
- Sift the flour and slowly add this to the egg mixture with the mixer running at low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that there are no lumps.
- Mix the milk and the bicarbonate of soda together in a jug. Slowly pour this into the batter with the mixer running. Mix until the batter is smooth and lump-free.
- Pour the batter into a prepared dish and bake in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the pudding comes out clean, and the pudding is golden brown.
- To make the sauce, combine the water, sugar, ideal milk, and butter in a pan set over medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt and pour this slowly over the pudding as soon as it comes out of the oven. Enjoy!
Ana says
Decadent, delicious, yummy ... Definitely not enough adjectives to describe this one!
Thank you so much for sharing Aunty Val's Malva Pudding Kitty, it's the best one EVER!
Alex says
I made this for my husband and served it with custard! He loved it!
Julia says
I tried this malva recipe and loved it! Thank you so much!