3 warm winter puddings you have to try

If you like malva pudding, you’ll love this traditional Afrikaans pud. It’s super saucy, spongy and loaded with all the warming winter flavours: ginger, cinnamon and mixed spice.

Ingredients:

• 2 T butter
• 200 g sugar
• 1 free range egg
• 180 g flour
• ½ cup milk
• 1 t ground ginger
• 1 t ground mixed spice
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t bicarbonate of soda
• 1 T apricot jam
• Custard or butterscotch sauce, for serving

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and then add the remaining ingredients.
2. Place 3 cups boiling water and 300 g sugar in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the sugar has melted and a syrup forms. Pour the syrup into a 23 x 30 cm ovenproof dish.
3. Pour the pudding mixture into the liquid in one go – do not stir. (The pudding will cook in the sugar syrup.) Bake for 1 hour.
4. Serve with custard or butterscotch sauce.

Cook's note: “This is a great dessert for winter – saucy, spongy and all those warming winter flavours! Don’t fret if it looks like there is too much liquid bubbling around the pudding, it’s supposed to be very ‘soupy’. It’s not the prettiest of desserts, but it’s delicious!” – Jeanne Calitz

(Serves 6-8)

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This traditional English pudding is essentially a spiced apple purée baked inside buttered bread. It’s an affordable and easy dessert to make, but looks impressive turned out on a platter.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Granny Smith apples (450 g after peeling and coring)
• 25 g butter
• 1 T castor sugar
• 2 t ground mixed spice
• 100 g butter, melted
• 6 - 8 thick slices white bread, crusts removed and cut in half (rectangles and circles for the base)
• 1 free range egg yolk
• Icing sugar, for dusting
• Toffee sauce, for serving

Method:

1. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Rinse them in cold water and place
2. in a saucepan with the butter, castor sugar and mixed spice. Cook over a low heat until soft enough to beat into a chunky purée. Allow to cool.
3. Brush the crustless rectangles of bread with melted butter on both sides. Line a 1-litre pudding bowl with the buttered bread, overlapping it and allowing no gaps. Press in firmly.
4. When the apple purée has cooled, beat in the egg yolk. Fill the lined pudding bowl with the mixture and top with the remaining bread. Weigh it down with a small saucepan or bowl and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
5. Place the pudding bowl (with the weight still on it) in the oven on a baking tray and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the weight and bake for a further 10 minutes to brown on top.
6. Allow the pudding to settle in the bowl for a few minutes after removing from the oven, then invert onto a warm plate to serve. Serve with a dusting of icing sugar and warm toffee sauce.

Cook's note: "The key to this pudding is the bowl in which you steam it. It should have steep sides so the pudding doesn't collapse when you turn it out. Also make sure that there are no gaps in the bread, press it down firmly to make a crust." - Hannah Lewry

(Serves 4)

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This family recipe has been passed down through the generations in creator, Zayaan Nordien’s family. It’s an excellent way to use up guavas if you’ve got a tree and is glorious drenched in syrup. You can also use canned guavas out of season, or replace the guavas with apples.

Ingredients:

For the base:

• 2 T butter, melted
• 150 g brown sugar
• 2 free range eggs
• Salt, a pinch
• 120 g flour
• 1 ½ t baking powder
• ¼ cup milk
• 6 lightly poached guavas, cut into 2cm slices (they should still be quite firm)

For the sauce:

• 100 g brown sugar
• ½ x 380 g can evaporated milk
• ½ cup cream
• 1 t vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 20cm ovenproof dish. To make the base, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one by one and mix well until smooth and creamy.
2. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter and sugar, alternating with the milk. Mix until smooth.
3. Pour a third of the batter into the greased dish, then top with a third of the sliced guavas. Repeat with the remaining batter and guavas.
4. Bake for 35–45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
5. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a gentle heat, stirring continually. Keep warm while the tart is baking.

Cook's note: An adaptation of a French apple tart, this version using guavas has been passed down through the generations. Sometimes I like to replace the sugar in the sauce with the poaching liquid to ensure the flavour of the guava comes through. Use canned guavas out of season.

(Serves 4-6)

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