Malva Pudding is an age old tradition in many South African kitchens and every mother and grandmother swear by their absolute there-is-no-better recipe. The one recipe asks for more butter, the other for more cream and huge domestic debates have been had over this issue. The truth is, it is the ultimate winter comfort pudding....no matter how you make it!
With butter and sugar in the base and then butter, sugar and cream in the sauce, it scores a whopping 10+ on the cardiac scale but also a 10+ on my family's favorite pudding scale.So, what do I do? It is not a dessert you can make often, seriously, it cannot be good for any heart. but a small indulgence now and then is acceptable, don't you think?
When the talented Sam from Drizzle and Dip posted her Orange Malva Pudding some time ago, I  thought it was such a great idea to use orange juice to cut through the richness of the butter and cream, I couldn't wait to try it. (Alas, the orange juice did little to combat the richness, the pudding remained rich and over-the-top-decadent.)Yesterday I bought a whole box of  naartjies and while unpacking them into the fruit basket, the lovely citrussy smell reminded me of Sam's Orange Malva Pudding. What if I use the naartjies(tangerines) instead of the oranges...mmm, a plan started to form in my mind!

 During the winter season we go through boxes and boxes of naarjties, it is perfect to keep the Vit C levels up and the children love a naartjie or two in their lunchboxes. I love using them in recipes too, savory or sweet. I have a made a Clemengold Tarte Tatin,  filled them with chocolate mousse, a very creamy Risotto with Honeycomb and I have even oven-dried naartjies to make a most decadent snack, of course only after I have dipped them in dark chocolate!

Malva Pudding with a hint of Tangerine

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp marmelade or two preserved naartjies with the syrup, chopped
1 cup flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a little salt
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp butter - softened
1 cup milk
Sauce

Ingredients
1 cup cream
150gr butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup naartjie juice
zest from 1 naartjie

Method

Preheat your oven to 180C. In your mixer, beat the egg and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the marmelade or the chopped preserved naartjies. Sift the flour, salt and bicarb together in another bowl. Melt the butter and mix with the vinegar and while your machine is running, add the flour and vinegar and milk mixture  to the egg and sugar mix until all the ingredients are  well incorporated. Pour the batter into a greased oven-dish and bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. In the meantime make the sauce.
Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a pot and slowly melt it. When the pudding comes out the oven, pour the sauce over the pudding. Initially it looks as if the sauce is too much, but trust me, it all disappears into the pudding leaving your with a moreish hug-in-a-bowl!