Malva pudding is a sweet pudding of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n origin. It contains apricot jam and has a spongy caramelised texture. A cream sauce is always poured over it while it is hot, and it is usually served warm with custard and/or

ice-cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

. Many South African restaurants offer it. The pudding is thought to originally be of Dutch then

Cape Dutch Cape Dutch, also commonly known as Cape Afrikaners, were a historic socioeconomic class of Afrikaners who lived in the Western Cape during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The terms have been evoked to describe an affluent, apolitical se ...

origin synonymous with the Cape. The pudding gained popularity on the West Coast of the US after Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, Art Smith, served it for Christmas dinner in 2006 to the pupils of the

Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa (OWLAG) is a boarding school for girls, grades 8–12, in Henley on Klip, Gauteng Province, South Africa. The school is a project begun by the American entrepreneur and philanth ...

in South Africa. There are various theories on the origin of the name. *The

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...

says it comes from

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

', meaning "marshmallow" (ultimately from Latin , 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 marsh mallow. *''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. *Art Smith said that according to Colin Cowie, his hospitality ambassador in South Africa, the pudding was named after a woman called Malva. * Another theory is that the sauce originally contained

Malvasia Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. ...

(malmsey) wine. Proponents of this theory include brandy or sherry in the sauce. * Still others suggest that the pudding was originally accompanied by Malvasia wine.

Jan Ellis Jan Hendrik Ellis (5 January 1942 – 8 February 2013) was a South African rugby union player who represented the Springboks in 38 tests, which at his retirement in 1976 was a record. His 7 test tries equalled Ferdie Bergh's record for forwards ...

Pudding is a variant.

Cape brandy pudding

Cape brandy pudding is a closely related dish to, possibly a variant of, Malva pudding. The main difference being the substitution of some Malva ingredients with Cape brandy and

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for sweetness.

References

South African cuisine Puddings {{SouthAfrica-stub

Cape brandy pudding

See also

References