What is "malva pudding"

n. A sweet spongy pudding from South Africa made with apricot jam.

Malva pudding is a sweet pudding of Cape Dutch origin. It contains apricot jam and has a spongy caramelized texture. A cream sauce is often poured over it while it is hot, and it is usually served hot with custard and/or ice-cream. Many South African restaurants offer it.

It is of Cape Dutch origin with many additions which may differ from one area to the next, e.g., ginger. It has many variants, such as the Cape brandy pudding, which also includes brandy and dates, and the tipsy tart, which contains only brandy.

The pudding gained popularity on the West Coast of the US after Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, Art Smith, served it for Christmas dinner in 2006 to the pupils of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

There are various theories on the origin of the name.

• The Oxford English Dictionary says it comes from Afrikaans malva, meaning "marshmallow" (ultimately from Latin malva, a mallow). This may arise from a resemblance between the pudding's texture and that of a marshmallow or a similar Afrikaner sweet, the malvelekker, made with the extract of marsh mallow.
• Malva is also Afrikaans for geranium (in the broad sense, including Pelargonium). Another botanical theory is that the batter was originally flavoured with the leaves of the lemon- or the rose- scented geranium, varieties of South African native plants.
• Art Smith said that according to Colin Cowie, his hospitality ambassador in South Africa, the pudding was named after a woman called Malva.
• Another theory is that the sauce originally contained Malvasia (malmsey) wine. Proponents of this theory include brandy or sherry in the sauce.
• Still others suggest that the pudding was originally accompanied by Malvasia wine.