Malva pudding
Malva pudding is an apricot-jam sponge soaked in a hot butter and cream sauce, and Maggie Pepler's stayed on the Boschendal buffet for about three decades.
- TraditionCape Dutch and Afrikaans baking
- Kind of dishSweets
- SeasonAll year
- OccasionAny day of the week
The moment the sponge comes out of the oven, a hot sauce of cream, milk, butter and sugar is poured over it and soaks in, leaving a sticky, caramelised top and a moist centre. The batter is light, made with apricot jam, a spoon of vinegar and bicarbonate of soda, and malva pudding is served warm, usually with custard or cream.
Its modern popularity is linked to the Boschendal wine estate. In the late 1970s the food writer Michael Olivier, who then ran its restaurant, asked his friend Maggie Pepler to cook there while the head chef was on holiday. Her malva pudding stayed on the buffet for about three decades, and a 2020 report says she had learnt it from her mother.
Where it came from before that is less certain. A 2013 Getaway feature traced an early recipe to a 1924 cookbook by Mrs P W de Klerk, although it had no apricot jam, and the source of the name is still debated.
Check out these sources
- Throwback Thursday: Dark malva pudding · Daily Maverick
- Malva pudding, the original · Michael Olivier
- Malva pudding · Wikipedia
