Kitchen Diary

And just like that it happened…..in the blinking of an eye…..overnight!  Autumn, my favourite of all the seasons, has disappeared without actually showing her beautiful self much at all. Now and again I throught I caught a glimpse of her but then summer reappeared with a vengeance again. The last couple of days were once again in the 30′s and today? I think if it was 13 we were lucky. We so need the copious amounts of rain that has fallen today so I am definitely not complaining. It will be lovely to see the countryside turning green again and the little Silvermine river filling up once more to flow freely into the ocean.

With the advent of cold weather my thoughts turn to comfort food. Today was a typical example…I sent brownieboy out to go and buy some lamb and our bellies are full tonight with delicious lamb curry. Earlier this week my brother and sis in law were visiting from the Free State and came over for lunch. I am here to share with you all my delicious Malva Pudding that I served for dessert – a well-loved, traditional baked South African dessert from Dutch origins that graces the most classy plates in the classiest restaurants…….and also most homes! Everyone needs to have this particular ace up their sleeves. Talk about comfort food on a cold wintry night. It ticks all the boxes for me! And the beauty of it is that it is simple and easy to prepare. I am not sure where the name comes from (malva is Afrikaans for marshmallow but this does not have any marshmallow in it) but Wikipedia suggests that it is called Malva Pudding after Malvasia dessert wine from Madeira – apparently the two were served together after the meal in the good old days…that makes sense! My inspiration for this recipe comes from my well worn Cook With Ina Paarman – one of the doyennes of South Africa’s culinary history.  This book was given to me years ago by a very good friend and it has been the inspiration for many a delicious meal. I will blog a few of them when I can. Right now I am in the midst of organizing the South African Food and Wine Blogger Indaba 2012 and it is taking up all of my time.  I am in the process of discussions with a new headline sponsor so should be able to make an announcement soon. But I CAN tell you all that this event will be happening on 24 June 2012 in Cape Town once again. It will be a one day event as before….but I am hoping to add a few new twists that will make it very attractive for all those keen to attend. So do save the date and those who are planning to fly down for it, best you start making plans and booking tickets! To sweeten you all up a little bit more…..here is my Malva Pudding Recipe

MALVA PUDDING

Serves 8-9

(adapted from the original recipe in Cook With Ina Paarman

published by Ina’s Kitchen 1987 ISBN 0 620 11087 2)

Ingredients:

250ml Castor Sugar

1 ¼ Cups (312ml) Cake Flour

2 XL Eggs (at room temperature)

1 ½  tsp (7ml) Bicarbonate of Soda

Pinch of Salt

Finely grated zest of 1/2 an Orange or 1 whole Clementine

½ Cup (125ml) Milk

1 Tbs (15ml) Smooth Apricot Jam

2 Tbs (30ml) Butter

1 Tbs (15ml) Vinegar

½ tsp (2.5ml) Real Vanilla Extract

Sauce:

1 Cup (250ml) Evaporated Milk (or fresh cream if you prefer)

½ Cup (125g) Butter

½ Cup (125ml) Sugar

½ Cup (125ml) Orange Juice (or water if you prefer)

Knife point of Vanilla bean seeds

It also works well with ½ brandy and ½ orange juice  for an adult version

 Method:

Preheat oven to 180⁰ Celcius

Grease a medium to large deep ovenproof dish and set aside

Beat the eggs and castor sugar until light and fluffy

Beat in the apricot jam and orange zest

Sift the dry ingredients together in a seperate bowl

Melt the butter and mix together with the milk and vinegar

Alternately fold some of the dry ingredients and liquid into the batter until all is folded in (I do about a third of each at a time) end with dry ingredients

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes

About 5 minutes before the end of baking time melt all the sauce ingredients together in a saucepan and boil gently for a few minutes – this can also be done in the mircrowave

As soon as the pudding comes out of the oven poke some holes into it with a fork or skewer then pour the hot sauce over and leave to be absorbed for about 15 minutes or so

(I like to keep about half the sauce aside and serve it warm with the pudding)

Serve this pudding warm with thick cream, custard, crème frâiche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream – my best way….I just love the mouth feel of hot and cold at the same time! 

For a yummy extra South African twist I like to sometimes half whip some cream, add a tot of amarula liqueur  and 10ml Icing Sugar to it and then whip until stiff peaks form and serve this with the warm pudding….yummy!

The beautiful thing about this dessert is that it is one of those dishes that improve with age and maturity  So it is always a good thing to make more than enough for left overs. Oh and you can safely make it a day or two before you need it and leave it sealed with foil or cling film in the fridge, just warming it up before you need to serve it.

To all my Christian readers and friends I wish you a Blessed and Joyous Easter! To all the rest of you I wish you a wonderful time of happiness and joy with families and friends, a time of renewal and celebration of life.

browniegirl xx