South African Malva Pudding

Set your oven to 170°C (338°F) with the fan on, without using the grill.

In a saucepan over medium heat, add milk, light brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, cooking oil, apple cider vinegar, smooth apricot jam, and butter. Stir until the butter melts. Bring to a warm temperature without boiling, then set it aside at room temperature.

Crack the eggs and place them in a stand mixer. Whisk on medium-high until fluffy and holding their peaks.

While the eggs are whisking, sieve the plain flour and baking soda together.

Once the eggs are fluffy, add the milk-apricot jam mixture to the flour and baking soda. Mix thoroughly to combine. When the wet mixture is smooth, fold in half of the whisked eggs. Once they’re combined, fold in the remaining eggs, being gentle to keep the mixture airy and light.

Butter your baking dish with room-temperature butter.

Carefully pour the mix into the baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

While the sponge is cooking, heat the sauce ingredients in a saucepan until starting to simmer.

Once cooked, poke holes with a fork or toothpick in the sponge while warm.

Pour the hot sauce all over it, and spoon over any sauce pooling on the sides.

Wait for 15 minutes until the sponge has soaked up all the sauce.

Serve while warm with homemade custard and/or vanilla ice cream.