Malva Pudding

Malva Pudding is a favorite dessert in South Africa. This sweet treat is reminiscent of Tres Leches cake whereby you pour a creamy mixture over a cake that has been poked full of holes to absorb the liquid. The result is a spongy, decadent dessert scented with orange and almond, perfect with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Slightly adapted from africanbites.com

3/4 cup cane sugar
2 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons apricot jam
finely grated zest from 1 orange
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk

FOR THE SAUCE

1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick salted butter
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Spray a 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until combined. Add in the eggs, orange zest, and apricot jam, and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the buttermilk.
3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25–30minutes
6. While the cake is baking, heat the evaporated milk, butter, sugar, almond and vanilla extracts in a saucepan over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Turn off heat.
7. Using a skewer, poke holes in the cake all the way to the bottom of the cake.
8. Pour the sauce  evenly over the cake after you take it out of the oven. The sauce will be absorbed into the cake. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving. Can be served at room temperature or chilled (but it tastes best when warm.) Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.