Malva Pudding

This simple, homemade malva pudding is flavored with apricot jam and drenched in a rich cream sauce. Serve it warm with custard, cream, or ice cream for a delicious comforting dessert.

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 10

Servings10 portions

saltyginger.comMary-Lou

Ingredients

Malva Sponge

1 cup white granulated sugar (caster/granulated)
2 eggs (medium-large *Note 1)
2 tablespoons apricot jam (*Note 2)
1½ cups plain flour (all-purpose/standard grade)
1½ teaspoons baking soda (bicarb/bread soda *Note 3)
½ teaspoons table salt
2 tablespoons butter *Note 4
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons vinegar

Malva Pudding Sauce

380 mL evaporated milk (1 tin/can - 12 oz*Note 5)
⅓ cup light brown sugar
½ cup butter *Note 4
½ cup water
½ teaspoons table salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F. Grease a large glass or ceramic ovenproof dish (I used a 9 Inch or 23cm square baking dish). *note 6
Place the sugar, eggs, and apricot jam in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat (with a whisk attachment) until the mixture is light and fluffy (this takes about 3-5 minutes). This can be done by hand.
1 cup white granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons apricot jam
Sieve the flour, baking soda, and salt into the egg mixture. Mix until just combined. The batter with be thick.
1½ cups plain flour, 1½ teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoons table salt
Either in a small saucepan, or a microwave-proof bowl or jug, heat together the milk, butter, and vinegar, mixing until combined. The mixture will curdle. This is fine.
2 tablespoons butter, ½ cup milk, 2 tablespoons vinegar
Add the butter mixture to the batter and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure everything is well combined.
Pour the malva pudding batter into the glass or ceramic dish, and smooth to the edges. Cover the dish with an ovenproof lid or with tin/aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid or foil cover, and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until the malva cake is a deep golden brown and a cake tester/toothpick comes out mostly clean from the center of the pudding. *Note 7
During the last 10 minutes of the sponge baking, combine all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Stir the ingredients together on medium-high heat until the butter is completely melted, the sugar is dissolved, and the sweet sauce is heated all the way through.
380 mL evaporated milk, ⅓ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup butter, ½ cup water, ½ teaspoons table salt
Once the sponge is baked, remove it from the oven. Prick all over the pudding with a cake tester, skewer, or toothpick. Pour the sauce over the top of the pudding. At first, it will look as if there is too much sauce, but it will be rapidly absorbed into the sponge.
Serve the warm pudding with some fresh cream, custard, or a scoop of ice cream.

All temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. Decrease the temperature by 20°C/25°F or gas mark 1 for "fan" or air-fryers.

Video

Notes

New Zealand size 6 eggs are around the same size as an Australian/South African Large or a US/Europe Medium.
Apricot jam: traditional flavour profile for the Malva sponge, however, if you need a substitute for the apricot jam - I have used honey, golden syrup, or maple syrup in a jam (pun intended) with great results.
Baking soda: the preferred leavening agent because vinegar is used. If you do not have baking soda, replace it with 3 teaspoon of baking powder and leave out the vinegar.
Butter can be substituted with baking margarine. But this will have a slight impact on the flavor.
Evaporated milk can be substituted with cream or even half cream and half milk.
I used a 9 inch/23cm square baking dish, but have also used a 9" deep pie dish. I highly recommend sing a glass or ceramic baking dish for this dessert.
The pudding must be covered for the first 20 minutes of baking to ensure a brown crust does not form too early, impeding the rise of the sponge.

For a brandy sauce simply replace the water in the pudding sauce with brandy!

Small-Batch Malva Pudding

This Malva pudding can easily be halved by clicking on the "½: button above the ingredients, and baked in a smaller casserole/baking dish (that has a 1.2-1.5L volume). If I was halving the recipe, I would probably make the sauce with cream so as to not have half a tin of evaporated milk bouncing around the fridge.

Storage and Freezing

Store this pudding covered in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. I recommend reheating the pudding in the microwave before serving.

This pudding can be frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure the pudding is sealed in an airtight container. Allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight before serving. Heat in the oven or the microwave before serving.

Nutrition