story
If you thought malva pudding couldn’t get any better, then you haven’t tried a white chocolate version studded with beautiful local South African dried fruit. A little naartjie zest and an impressive mould, and you have a malva that would win over any tannie!
Ingredients
MALVA PUDDING
150 g dried fruit, chopped (I used a mixture of peaches, pears, prunes, apricots, nectarines, and raisins)
250 ml strong hot rooibos tea
200 g white or brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
75 g smooth apricot jam
200 g cake flour
5 ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
50 g white chocolate baking drops, roughly chopped
15 g (15 ml) salted butter, melted
60 ml plain yoghurt, buttermilk, or amasi
15 ml (1 tbsp) white vinegar
finely grated zest of 2 naartjies or oranges
WHITE CHOCOLATE SAUCE
60 g salted butter, at room temperature
200 g castor sugar
juice of 2 naartjies
90 ml water
125 ml cream
100 g white chocolate baking drops
60 ml (4 tbsp) brandy (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 for fan-forced ovens).
- Place the dried fruit in a medium bowl and pour over the hot rooibos. Allow to soak.
- Butter and flour 1 x 20-cm stainless steel Bundt tin.
- Beat together the sugar, eggs, and jam until light and pale.
- Drain the soaked dried fruit well using a sieve and measure out 60ml of the rooibos tea.
- Sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then add the white chocolate chunks and soaked dried fruit, and toss to coat (see TIP).
- Fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, then add the melted butter, rooibos, yoghurt, vinegar, and zest.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- While the pudding is baking, make the sauce by placing all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Unmould the pudding immediately and pour half of the hot sauce onto the still-hot pudding and serve with the remaining sauce.
TIP: Coating the chocolate and dried fruit in the flour prevents the chunks from sinking to the bottom of the pudding.
