Orange malva pudding with clotted cream and mandarin

Malva
Sugar 1 cup
Egg 1
Orange jam/marmalade 1tbs
Flour 1 cup
Bicarb soda 1tsp
Baking powder 1tsp
Salt ¼ tsp
Butter 1 tbs
White vinegar 1 tsp
Milk 1 cup

Sauce
Cream 1 cup
Unsalted butter 6 ounces
Sugar 1 cup
Orange juice ½ cup
Cointreau 1 shot
Clotted cream/Pure cream 3 cup

This recipe is a slight variation of my Mum's malva pudding recipe which she got from a winery in Stellenbosch about 35 years ago. Malva pudding is a traditional South African pudding served with custard. The main flavour is apricot traditionally, but in this recipe, we have used orange instead to match with the mandarin. I grew up in South Africa before spending 11 years in the uk. Discovering clotted cream in the uk, made me think of how it would be the perfect accompaniment to my Mum's malva pudding. The mandarins balance the richness in the dish perfectly. The malva recipe is a little strange, don’t be alarmed by the amount of liquid it calls for to be poured over the cake. It gobbles it all up.

For the cake:

·         Beat the sugar and egg in a mixer until fluffy

·         Add the jam and continue to mix

·         Sieve the flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt twice

·         Melt the butter, add the milk to the pan and warm just enough so the butter stays melted.

·         Add the vinegar to the egg/ sugar/ jam mix in the mixer

·         Add the melted butter and milk to the egg mixture alternately with the flour

·         Beat well

·         Bake in a lined, greased tray covered at 175’c for 30 minutes without opening the door

·         Check after 30 minutes

·         A cake tester should come out clean.

·         Once cooked remove cover and brown the top of the cake

·         Melt the sauce ingredients together and pour over the warm cake

·         Leave to cool and absorb

For the clotted cream:

·         place the cream in a shallow tray so the cream is about 1 cm thick and place in an 82’c oven over night uncovered

·         the cream should separate into a thick buttery top layer and a thin mulky bottom layer

·         the next morning allow to cool in the fridge then gently using a slotted spoon; lift the thick part of the cream including the buttery bits into mixing bowl.

·         Add a little of the thin cream and mix very gentle until the desired consistency is achieved.

Serve the pudding warm with a dollop of clotted cream, fresh manadarin and a drizzle of mount zero mandarin oil