South African Malva Pudding: The 1978 Boschendal Dessert of the Cape Winelands

Malva pudding, the warm, spongy, apricot-jam cake soaked in a creamy hot sauce and served with custard or ice cream, is the national dessert of South Africa, and yet it is barely fifty years old. The pudding was first served in 1978 at the restaurant of the Boschendal wine estate in the Franschhoek valley of the Western Cape, where a chef named Maggie Peplar, brought in to cover a colleague's vacation, added it to the menu. The dish was an instant hit with the estate's guests, was copied by restaurants across the country, and within a decade had become the dessert most identified with South African home cooking. The pudding has Cape Dutch roots, drawing on the sweet, baked, sauce-soaked puddings of the Afrikaner kitchen, and it is a close cousin of the British sticky toffee pudding, though its flavor, built on apricot jam and a warm cream sauce, is its own (Wikipedia — Malva pudding; Food52 — How One South African Dessert Rose to Icon Status).

The name "malva" is itself a small mystery. Some hold that it derives from the Afrikaans word for marshmallow, which may have been an early ingredient, and others that it comes from the Malvasia (malmsey) wine with which an older Dutch version of the pudding was once soaked. Whatever the etymology, the pudding is unmistakable: a baked sponge, light and golden, punctured while hot and drowned in a warm sauce of cream, butter, and sugar, which soaks through the cake and turns it into a soft, pudding-like, deeply comforting dessert. It is said to have been one of Nelson Mandela's favorites.

Ingredients (serves 6): - 1 cup all-purpose flour - 1 teaspoon baking soda - ½ teaspoon salt - 2 large eggs - 1 cup granulated sugar - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted - 1 tablespoon apricot jam - 1 teaspoon white vinegar - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - ½ cup whole milk - For the sauce: 1 cup heavy cream - ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter - ½ cup granulated sugar - 2 tablespoons hot water - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - A pinch of salt - Vanilla ice cream or custard, for serving

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8-inch square baking dish. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale. Stir in the melted butter, apricot jam, vinegar, vanilla, and milk. Add the dry ingredients and fold until just smooth. Pour into the dish and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. For the sauce: in a saucepan, combine the cream, butter, sugar, hot water, vanilla, and salt; bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick it all over with a skewer or fork and pour the hot sauce slowly over the top, letting it soak in. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or custard.

For a Crowd (serves 12): - Double the recipe and bake in a 9-by-13 dish; double the sauce and pour it all over. The pudding reheats beautifully, covered in foil, in a 300°F oven.

Variations: - Classic Boschendal: The original, with apricot jam and a cream-butter-sugar sauce. - Chocolate Malva: Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the batter and 2 ounces of chopped dark chocolate to the sauce for a chocolate version. - Brandy Malva: Add a splash of Cape brandy to the sauce for a grown-up Cape Dutch take.

Pairing: A malva pudding pairs with a glass of the sweet Muscat (Constantia) or Noble Late Harvest wine of the Cape, or with a cup of strong rooibos tea. For a brunch gathering, a sparkling mimosa or a sweet dessert wine complements the caramel and apricot notes. Serve warm, always with custard or ice cream.

Reference Links: - Malva pudding (Cape Dutch origin, Boschendal 1978, South African cuisine): Wikipedia - How One South African Dessert Rose to Icon Status—in Only 40 Years (Boschendal, Maggie Peplar, 1978): Food52

Pro Tips: The apricot jam is the signature flavor; do not substitute another jam without expecting a different pudding. Prick the hot cake generously before pouring the sauce, and pour the sauce slowly, so it has time to soak in rather than pool on top; the cake should absorb all of it. Serve the pudding warm, never cold, because the sauce and the texture are best when warm. Make the sauce while the cake bakes so both are hot when they meet; the heat is what drives the sauce into the crumb. Malva pudding is best eaten the day it is made, but it reheats well, covered, in a low oven or briefly in the microwave.