Masala Chai Malva Pudding

Does the world need another Malva Pudding recipe? I am going to answer yes because this Masala Chai Malva Pudding is delicious and even though quite a bit different, it is still very much a South African dessert.

Replacing the usual sweet, cream sauce with the aromatic and spicy flavours of masala chai is pretty much a perfect match with the caramel notes of the traditional Malva Pudding.

Masala Chai is the iconic Indian drink that is made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic spices, milk and sugar. It is known and loved for its warming, spicy, and slightly sweet flavours, usually consisting of spices such as green cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns, ginger, cinnamon and sometimes fennel seeds.

The term “masala” means “spice blend” and “chai” simply means “tea” in Hindi.

If you search the web for a Malva Pudding recipe, the one recipe that regularly comes up, is the Maggie Pepler recipe published by Michael Olivier back in 2013, a recipe she had made at Boschendal Wine Estate.

I tweaked the batter by adding salt (my grandmother always said “sweet recipes need salt and savoury recipes need sugar”) and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. And as I do with many older sweet recipes, reduced the sugar by at least 10 – 15%. I completely disregarded the sauce recipe and used a tin (410g) of evaporated milk and 40g of masala chai powder.

I find the using masala chai powder a much better way for the spiced flavours to be incorporated. I tried steeping teabags in boiling water for a few hours, but even after using 4 teabags the flavour was just too mild. The masala chai powder gives the right punch of flavour. Just check the sweetness of the powder, if they are quite sweet, reduce the sugar in the batter by another 20 – 30 grams. The Malva pudding does not have to be overly sweet to still be delicious.

As for the apricot jam, I usually end up using marmalade because that is what I always have in the fridge thanks to my friend Bianca’s ample supply of her fantastic marmalade. I don’t mind the little bits of rind in the malva pudding, in fact I find it adds a delicious bitter and zesty flavour.

One more important note, make sure the Malva Pudding is cooked through. If not, bake for another 10 minutes until done. If the pudding is not properly cooked, adding the sauce will make it super stodgy. I can attest to this from experience testing this recipe.

There are a few more Malva Pudding recipes on heinstirred:

This completely non traditional Malva Pudding with White Miso and Marmalade. Certainly not for the purists but gosh, it is so good.

And why not combine a Malva Pudding with the flavours of banana bread? I did it in this Banana Malva Pudding with Toasted Coconut Dukkah and had no regrets!

I hope you enjoy this recipe for Masala Chai Malva Pudding and if you’ve made it, do share it with me by tagging and following @heinstirred on Instagram. It is always a treat to see the recipes made and enjoyed.

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Masala Chai Malva Pudding

A fragrant twist on the classic South African dessert with a warming chai flavored sauce

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Soak Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Baking

Cuisine Dessert

Servings 8

Calories 650 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 130 g flour
• 15 ml bicarb of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 170 g sugar
• 1 eggs
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 15 ml butter, melted
• 15 ml apricot jam
• 15 ml vinegar
• 250 ml milk
• Sauce
• 410 g tin of evaporated milk
• 40 g instant masala chai powder

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
• Grease an ovenproof dish of about 25cm x 25cm x 5cm
• Grease a piece of aluminium foil that will be used to cover the pudding while baking
• Sift the flour, bicarb and salt
• Stir the sugar into the flour
• Beat the egg and vanilla very well
• Add the butter, jam and vinegar one by one, beating well after each addition
• Add the milk and beat again
• Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined
• Pour the batter into the dish, cover with the foil greased side down, and bake for around 45 minutes until cooked through and brown on top.
• Bake for longer if not cooked through. An underbaked Malva pudding will not absorb all the sauce and become stodgy
• 5 minutes before the pudding comes out of the oven, mix the evaporated milk and chai powder and heat to just below boiling while stirring
• As the pudding comes out of the oven, prick it all over with a fork
• Spoon the hot chai infused milk over the pudding and let it stand until most of the sauce has soaked in
• You can place the pudding back in the switched off warm oven to keep the pudding warm while it soaks
• Serve warm or cold with custard if desired

Keyword chai, malva