My Weekend Plans Involve You ( and dessert)

Leave a comment

What a super relaxing weekend… the first summer rains fell and the girls and I were cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Sunday lunch with friends allowed for some must needed socializing. No Sunday lunch is complete in Southern Africa without Malva Pudding for dessert. Rain or sunshine, winter or summer, this dessert is a favorite in our Kalahari kitchen. Loved by family and friends, this old South African classic will soon become a regular dessert on your weekend menu.

Malva pudding, also called malvapoeding or marshmallow pudding, is a traditional South African dessert. It is a sweet pudding recipe with a yellow sponge drenched in a decadent sauce. Generally, it also contains apricot jam, which is a classic ingredient in South African cuisine.

With over 180 000 results in Google – this pudding is a South African legend – and can be found in nearly ALL South African cookbooks and on dessert menus countrywide. Every family has their special version of this recipe and no one’s Malva Pudding is as good as what your grandmother used to make!

Desserts are the fairytales of the kitchen; a happily-ever-after to supper.

Terri Guillemets

This Malva Pudding recipe is an age old version of the ever so popular ones that you can find anywhere online. Sweet, sticky and super easy to make, this dessert is easily made from your store cupboard basics. Yes, this is my grandmother’s recipe with a twist. A happily-ever-after for three generations.

I love to add another South African favorite by adding half a cup of Amarula Cream to the cream sauce that is poured over the dessert after baking. Amarula is a cream liqueur made from the nutritious marula fruit only found in the Sub-Saharan African countries of South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Zimbabwe. If you cannot find Amarula ( it is available on Amazon!) just add the same equivalent of cream to your sauce. I only pour half of the sauce over the baked dessert and then serve the rest of the sauce on the side.

This dessert is mouthwatering served with homemade custard or vanilla bean ice cream. Enjoy this South African classic!

Read More

Say Cheese… Cheesecake!

Leave a comment

I love a baked cheesecake! It is my number one cake and dessert and something I love baking. The decadent mixture of cream cheese and sour cream…the excitement and thrill of removing a smoothly baked, no cracks- cheesecake from the oven…. pure bliss. Simple. Elegant. Decadence.

The intense enjoyment and appreciation of cheesecake dates back far, very far… as far back 230 A.D. according to John J. Sergreto in his book Cheesecake Madness. Rumour has it that the Romans were first introduced to cheesecake on their quest to concur Greece, which seems to be the first enjoyer of cheesecake.

Sources say that cheesecake, in ancient Greece, was believed to be a good source of energy and even served to athletes during the Olympic games. We have no Olympic Games this year due to the pandemic, but that does not mean we can not indulge in a slice of creamy, silky, smooth baked cheesecake!

Because you don’t live near a bakery doesn’t mean you have to go without cheesecake.

Hedy Lamarr

My mom has been baking this recipe for years and we still call it a family favorite here in my Kalahari kitchen. You need look no further for a creamy and ultra smooth classic cheesecake recipe! A buttery cookie crust, with a thick layer of creamy cheesecake and a whipped sour cream topping, if you like.

Once you have a stellar base recipe, you can alter it with different ingredients and flavors. Get creative or keep it simple. Either way, it’s going to impress. Say hello to your new favorite cheesecake recipe!

Pages: 1 2