SUGAR HIGH
- Sarah Levi
- Mar 7, 2017
- 2 min read
Traditional South African Malva Pudding
Add a chocolaty touch of culture to any meal by topping it off with this immaculate South African dessert. This sweet traditional dish is without a doubt a weekly dining ritual in the humble lives of Namibians. Although this hearty old-fashioned dessert has been rumored to make mouths water for almost 800 years, this spongy slice of heaven never fails to leave an unprecedented mark on your tastebuds that are fit for the gods.
This dessert, interestingly enough, has a history almost as rich as the dish itself. It has been claimed that halva (pronounced "alfa") pudding was named gayer a South African woman Malva however others have proposed that the unique name came from the Afrikaans word for marshmallow, malva.
This pudding, which is extremely common in modern South Africa, was first brought there by Dutch settlers in 1652. At the time, the light as air dessert was exclusive to rich upperclass men and women. South Africa then colonized modern-day Namibia in 1917, which used to be down as German South-West Africa, and during the 73 or so years of colonial rule, the previously underestimated dish took the area by a storm.
For years halva pudding snuck onto anxiously awaiting porcelain plates and now it has become as common as sand and has made itself a staple on any self-respecting chef's menu.
Recipe:
Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6-8 pieces
Ingredients:
6½ ounces sugar (3/4 cup, 200 ml, or 180 g)
2 large eggs
1-tablespoon un-salted butter (room temperature)
4 tablespoon Apricot jam
1½ teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup or 5 ounces all-purpose flour
1-teaspoon baking soda
½-teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon vinegar
¾ cup milk
For the sauce:
1-cup evaporated milk
¼ -1/3 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons / 3 ounce. / 88 grams butter.
2 ounce milk/ semi sweet chocolate
½ teaspoon almond extract
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease an 8 inch pan generously with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl beat eggs, orange zest, sugar, butter and apricot jam, until light and fluffy. Then add the vinegar and milk to the eggs mixture
3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt
4. Gradually, fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture. The mixture might be runny however that is normal.
5. Pour batter into a greased cake pan. Bake at 350 until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25–30 minutes
6. While the cake is baking, heat the evaporated milk, chocolate, butter, sugar, almond and vanilla extract, in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Remove from heat
7. Using a skewer poke holes in the cake extending all the way to the bottom of the cake.
8. Pour the chocolate butter sauce on the cake. Serve immediately or set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
9. Enjoy!
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