Malva pudding is a classic South African dessert, deeply rooted in our diverse cultural heritage. It’s a soft, spongy, caramelly, buttery cake served warm, soaked in a rich, creamy sauce, and topped with homemade custard or vanilla ice cream.
As a South African chef, I grew up with this pudding, often served alongside other Cape Malay favorites like Bobotie, Tomato bredie, or frikkadels at family dinners, especially on Sundays and holidays.
Malva pudding is an easy, home-style recipe that’s both straightforward and versatile, allowing you to adapt it to your dietary needs. We’ll walk through all the different ways you can customize it. Everything from ingredient substitutions to making it in a microwave.
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Ingredients
- Apricot jam — Not essential, but it's traditional. If you don't have it, leave it out.
- Vinegar — Use a mild vinegar like malt (brown vinegar) or apple cider. If you want to make malva pudding without vinegar, see the recipe card.
- Sugar — Essential to use brown sugar for this recipe to get that unique toffee caramel flavor.
- Cream/ milk — Some recipes use Ideal milk(evaporated milk) for the sauce, which is fine. I like using a combination of milk and cream.
- Butter/oil — For the cake part it's best to use a combination of butter and cooking oil. It gives the best texture to the malva cake.
- Flour — All-purpose flour. If you omit the vinegar and baking soda, you can use self-raising.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: Set your oven to 170°C (338°F) with the fan on, without using the grill. In a saucepan over medium heat, add milk, light brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, cooking oil, apple cider vinegar, smooth apricot jam, and butter. Stir until the butter melts. Bring to a warm temperature without boiling, then set it aside at room temperature.
- Step 2: Crack the eggs and place them in a stand mixer. Whisk on medium-high until fluffy and holding their peaks. While the eggs are whisking, sieve the plain flour and bicarbonate of soda together.
- Step 3: Once the eggs are fluffy, add the milk-apricot jam mixture to the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Mix thoroughly to combine. When the wet mixture is smooth, fold in half of the whisked eggs. Once they’re combined, fold in the remaining eggs, being gentle to keep the mixture airy and light.
- Step 4: Butter your baking dish with room-temperature butter.
- Step 1: Carefully pour the mix into the baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Step 2: Once cooked, poke holes with a fork or toothpick all over the cake while warm.
- Step 3: Heat the sauce ingredients in a saucepan until starting to simmer.
- Step 4: Pour the hot sauce all over the cake and spoon over any sauce pooling on the sides.
- Step 3: Wait for 15 minutes until the sponge has soaked up all the sauce.
- Step 4: Serve while warm with homemade custard and/or vanilla ice cream.
Top Tips
- Don’t Overmix — Fold the eggs gently to keep the batter light and fluffy.
- Use a Suitable Baking Dish — Stick to the recommended dish size to ensure even rise and texture.
- Ensure the Sauce is Warm — Pour the soaking sauce over the pudding while it’s still warm. This ensures the pudding absorbs the sauce evenly.
Watch how to make it
Substitutions
- Gluten-free — Use a gluten-free flour blend to replace regular flour in this recipe.
- Lactose-free — Replace with lactose-free milk and cream with nut milk or coconut milk.
- Ideal milk — Use evaporated milk, commonly known as Ideal milk, instead of cream in the sauce.
Variations
- No-Vinegar Malva Pudding — If you prefer not to use vinegar, replace it with a tablespoon of lemon juice. This will react with the baking soda and help the pudding rise.
- No-baking soda - Leave out the baking soda, use self-raising flour, and skip the vinegar.
- Microwave Malva Pudding — For a faster version, microwave the pudding in a microwave-safe dish. Start with 2-minute intervals on medium-high, checking for doneness after each. It won't deliver the same rich toffee caramel flavor as the baked version.
- Malva Pudding Cupcakes — Make individual servings by pouring the batter into a muffin tin. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. You’ll get perfectly portioned, soft cupcakes that soak up the sauce beautifully.
- Chocolate Malva Pudding — Add cocoa powder to the batter. You can replace 2 tablespoons of the flour with cocoa powder or add cocoa powder to the soaking sauce.
- Alcohol - Add Amarula or brandy to the sauce before pouring over the cake. To remove the alcohol, flambé or boil it before adding to the sauce to burn off the alcohol.
Equipment
A 24 cm (9.5 inches) long, 18 cm (7 inches) wide, and 5 cm (2 inches) deep baking dish is ideal.
You also need a stand mixer or hand mixer to whip the eggs.
When baking, it's always advised to use kitchen scales instead of cups and spoons for accuracy.
How to serve it
- Custard — Homemade custard is the classic way of serving malva pudding.
- Ice cream — Vanilla ice cream is another favorite and pairs well with warm pudding and custard.
- Fresh cream — Simple whipped cream is also delicious, lightens up the pudding, and cuts the sweetness.
- Liquor — A touch of warm brandy or rum poured over last minute for the grown-ups.
Storage
Malva pudding can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in the microwave or oven before serving.
FAQ
Is malva pudding the same as sticky toffee pudding?
The idea is similar but the ingredients vary slightly. Especially with reel sticky toffee pudding containing dates. Otherwise, they are both baked sponge cakes soaked in a creamy caramel sauce.
Is this recipe similar to Woolworths Malva pudding?
Malva pudding is a traditional recipe with most recipes containing similar ingredients. Both recipes use classic ingredients like apricot jam and vinegar.
Malva pudding origin
The origin of malva pudding is highly disputed. With most sources claiming a mixture of Dutch and Cape Malay influence.
Common issues and how to fix them
Here’s a list of common issues people may encounter when making Malva pudding, along with tips on how to fix or avoid them:
1. Pudding Not Rising Properly
- Cause: This can happen if the baking soda isn’t mixed well, or if the batter is too thick.
- Fix: Make sure you’re using fresh baking soda, and ensure it's evenly distributed throughout the flour. Also, be gentle when folding in the eggs to keep the batter light. If the batter feels too thick, try adding a little more milk to loosen it.
2. Pudding is Too Dense
- Cause: Overmixing the batter or not folding the eggs in gently can result in a dense, heavy texture.
- Fix: When folding in the eggs, do it gently to preserve air in the batter. Don’t overmix, as this will deflate the batter and make the pudding denser.
3. The Cake is Too Dry
- Cause: Overbaking or not enough soaking liquid can leave the cake dry.
- Fix: Keep a close eye on the baking time; it should be golden brown, but not too firm. Once out of the oven, ensure the soaking sauce is poured over the cake while it’s still hot, and give it time to soak in properly (10-15 minutes).
4. Sauce Not Absorbing
- Cause: If the holes in the pudding aren’t deep enough or if the sauce isn’t warm enough, it won’t soak in properly.
- Fix: Use a toothpick or skewer to prick holes all over the cake, focusing on the middle where the liquid tends to struggle. Ensure the sauce is warm (but not boiling) when you pour it over.
9. Microwave Version Too Wet or Dry
- Cause: Microwaving can be tricky because it doesn't allow the cake to bake evenly, leading to parts that are too dry or too wet.
- Fix: If you’re making Malva pudding in the microwave, reduce the microwave time and check every 2 minutes until the cake is spongy. Be sure to pour the sauce over it immediately once done, and let it absorb.
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Recipe
Cape Malay Malva Pudding | Traditional South African Dessert
Malva pudding is a decadent South African dessert nostalgic to locals. It's a rich toffee caramel sponge soaked in a creamy sauce and served with homemade custard.
Servings 12 portions
Ingredients
For the malva cake
- 2 (2) eggs - large
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) butter
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) oil - neutral cooking oil
- 200 g (1 cups) light brown sugar
- 1 g (¼ teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 3 g (½ teaspoon) salt
- 45 g (3 tablespoon) apricot jam - note 1
- 15 g (1 tablespoon) vinegar - note 2
- 190 g (¾ cups) milk
- 150 g (1 cups) flour - all-purpose - note 3
- 4 g (1 teaspoon) baking soda - note 4
For the sauce
- 200 g (¾ cups) cream - note 5
- 100 g (½ cups) water
- 100 g (½ cups) light brown sugar
- 50 g (3 ½ tablespoon) butter
- 1 g (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
To serve
- 200 grams (¾ cups) custard - hmemade custard or store bought
Instructions
- Set your oven to 170°C (338°F) with the fan on, without using the grill.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add milk, light brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, cooking oil, apple cider vinegar, smooth apricot jam, and butter. Stir until the butter melts. Bring to a warm temperature without boiling, then set it aside at room temperature.
- Crack the eggs and place them in a stand mixer. Whisk on medium-high until fluffy and holding their peaks. While the eggs are whisking, sieve the plain flour and bicarbonate of soda together.
- Once the eggs are fluffy, add the milk-apricot jam mixture to the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Mix thoroughly to combine. When the wet mixture is smooth, fold in half of the whisked eggs. Once they’re combined, fold in the remaining eggs, being gentle to keep the mixture airy and light.
- Butter your baking dish with room-temperature butter. Carefully pour the mix into the baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- While the sponge is cooking, heat the sauce ingredients in a saucepan until starting to simmer.
- Once cooked, poke holes with a fork or toothpick in the sponge while warm. Pour the hot sauce all over it, and spoon over any sauce pooling on the sides.
- Wait for 15 minutes until the sponge has soaked up all the sauce, then serve while warm with homemade custard and/or vanilla ice cream.
Video
Notes
- Apricot jam — Smooth apricot jam is traditional.
- Vinegar — Brown vinegar (malt vinegar) or apple cider vinegar. Otherwise, use lemon juice.
- Flour — Pain all-purpose flour. If not using baking soda or vinegar, use self-raising flour.
- Baking soda — In conjunction with vinegar, make the cake rise. You can replace the baking soda with baking powder and remove the vinegar.
- Cream — Heavy cream makes an exceptional malva pudding. Many local recipes use evaporated milk instead, which is more cost-friendly and also delicious.
Nutrition
Serving: 60grams Calories: 297kcal Carbohydrates: 41g Protein: 4g Fat: 14g Saturated Fat: 8g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0.2g Cholesterol: 68mg Sodium: 267mg Potassium: 135mg Fiber: 0.3g Sugar: 28g Vitamin A: 484IU Vitamin C: 0.4mg Calcium: 83mg Iron: 1mg
Keywords:cape malay malva pudding, malva pudding, south african dessert
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Karen Abrahams says
I've made malva pudding for many years and thought to give this recipe a go just to see if it lives up to my friends hype. Surprised that such a simple recipe has so much flavour. The texture is to die for and the custard he recommends is easy and soooo smooth. Will be making this again. Thanks for sharing.x