Malva pudding is a sweet pudding of South African origin. It contains apricot jam and has a spongy caramelized texture. A cream sauce is often poured over it while it is hot, and it is usually served hot with custard and/or ice-cream. Many South African restaurants offer it.

There are various theories on the origin of the name.
• The Oxford English Dictionary says it comes from Afrikaans malvalekker, meaning "marshmallow" (ultimately from Latin malva, a mallow). This may arise from a resemblance between the pudding's texture and that of a marshmallow or a similar Afrikaner sweet, the malvelekker, made with the extract of marshmallow.
• Malva is also Afrikaans for geranium (in the broad sense, including Pelargonium). Another botanical theory is that the batter was originally flavoured with the leaves of the lemon- or the rose-scented geranium, varieties of South African native plants.

Ingredients:
Pudding
30ml (2T) Butter/Margarine
125ml Sugar
1 Extra Large Egg
15ml (1T) Apricot Jam
5 ml (1t) Bicarbonate of Soda
125ml (½C) Milk
250ml (1C) Cake Flour
Pinch of Salt
15ml (1T) Vinegar
Sauce
125g Butter/Margarine
185 ml (¾C) Sugar
65ml (¼C) Water
185 ml (¾C) Cream
5ml (1t) Vanilla essence

Method:
Pudding
1. Cream butter and sugar together, beat in the egg until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the apricot jam.
3. Dissolve the bicarb in the milk.
4. Sift the flour and salt together and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.
5. Lastly stir in the vinegar.
6. Pour into a deep round dish about 19cm diameter. Cover the dish with a lid or foil and then bake for 1 hour at 180°C.
Sauce
1. Bring the butter, sugar and water to the boil and simmer, stirring all the time for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from the stove and then add the cream and the vanilla.
3. Pour over the hot baked pudding.

Image courtesy of Food24
History courtesy of Wikipedia