This vegan malva pudding is rich, sticky, caramely and saucy! It’s totally divine served warm with vegan whipped cream or ice cream.
Malva pudding is a huge favorite in South Africa. If you go to a wedding in South Africa, the chances are good there’ll be malva pudding served.
If you go to a dinner party the chances are good there’ll be malva. It’s served in many restaurants. So you get the idea, it’s kind of a big deal in SA culture.
In terms of a comparison, I would say it’s pretty close to a sticky toffee pudding.
It’s a sponge cake made with apricot jam and you poke a bunch of holes in it and pour over a creamy sauce. The sponge soaks it up and the result is a rich, moist, sticky, caramel pudding!
Even though it is VERY saucy, as you make a big batch of sauce to pour over it, it’s usually served hot with custard, whipped cream or ice cream as well. I mean bring on the richness!
So I wanted to make a vegan version of malva pudding, which I did, and it came out wonderfully!
You really wouldn’t know this is a vegan malva unless someone told you. Everything about it, from taste to texture is just spot on.
How To Make Vegan Malva Pudding
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
The Pudding:
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Add white vinegar to some soy milk and let it curdle. Then add that to the mixing bowl along with applesauce, apricot jam and coconut oil and mix into a batter. Use a hand whisk briefly to remove any large lumps. It’s okay if the apricot jam isn’t entirely mixed and has some little lumps.
- Transfer the batter to a 9×9 square baking dish.
- Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
The Sauce:
- When the malva is almost finished cooking, start making your sauce.
- Add vegan butter to a saucepan and melt it.
- Add sugar and coconut cream and heat together until it reaches a simmer, stirring all the while.
- Remove from the heat and add vanilla extract.
Putting It Together:
- When the malva comes out the oven, poke holes all over it with a toothpick and then pour over the sauce.
- Make sure to distribute the sauce evenly across the whole pudding. Leave it to sink in.
- When the sauce has mostly sunk into the pudding, cut it into squares.
How To Serve Malva Pudding
It’s wonderful served warm with vegan whipped cream or vegan ice cream.
How Long Does It Keep?
It keeps perfectly covered in the fridge for around 5 days and can be reheated slice by slice in the microwave. Top with your vegan cream or ice cream and it’s just as good as the day it was made.
More Vegan Puddings and Desserts
- Vegan Bread Pudding
- Vegan Rice Pudding
- Vegan Peach Cobbler
- Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Peaches and Cream Chia Pudding
- Vegan Apple Crisp
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Malva Pudding
Ingredients
For the Malva Pudding:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar
- ½ cup Soy Milk (120ml)
- ½ cup Applesauce (140g)
- 2 Tablespoons Smooth Apricot Jam (40g)
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (30ml) Melted
For the Sauce:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- ¾ cup White Granulated Sugar (150g)
- 1 cup Canned Coconut Cream (240ml) Unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9×9 square dish* with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix together.
- Add the white vinegar to the soy milk and let it curdle. Then add that in along with the applesauce, apricot jam and coconut oil and mix into a batter. Use a hand whisk briefly to remove any large lumps. It’s okay if the apricot jam isn’t entirely mixed and has some little lumps.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- When the malva is almost finished cooking, start on your sauce.
- Add the butter to a saucepan and melt it. Add the sugar and coconut cream and heat together until it reaches a simmer, stirring all the while. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract.
- When the malva comes out the oven, poke holes all over it with a toothpick and then pour over the sauce making sure to distribute it evenly across the whole pudding. Let the sauce sink in and then cut into squares.
- Serve warm with vegan whipped cream or vegan ice cream.
Notes
- You can probably also use a different non-dairy milk such as almond milk or oat milk though we have not tested all options.
- Use canned full fat unsweetened coconut cream for the sauce. It does not need to be chilled and the cream does not need to be separated from the water, just shake up the can and measure out a cup. You could also use canned, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk.
- An 8×8 square dish is also fine to use, but the baking time may be slightly longer.
- Nutritional information is for the malva pudding and sauce only and excludes ice cream.
- This recipe was first published in March 2016.
Tastes really good. My husband said it tastes like normal malva. My toddler loooved it, and so did everyone else
Quick question, can it be frozen after baked and defrosted later? Quote a bit portion was made and I’m thinking of freezing some for later.
So glad you enjoyed it! I think it would be fine to freeze. Just let it thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat before serving. 🙂
Just btw,we didn’t freeze it because it was so yum that we kept eating it. South African December things ????
Hi, what can I use to replace the applesauce?
You could use mashed banana but it will change the taste a bit because applesauce is much more neutral in flavor.
Baby food apple puree (purity) works perfectly well
I’m South African and you know how much we love our Malva pudding. We are also a vegan family so when I recently made this Malva pudding, we were absolutely blown away by the results. Outstanding thank you!! This is definitely on the Christmas pudding list this year and my son has asked me to make it instead of a birthday cake???????????? Thank you!!
So happy to hear that Janet! Thanks for the wonderful review! xo
As a South African I am very familiar with Malva Pudding and this recipe is phenomenal.
People that I have served it to say that it is better than traditional Malva!
Thank you so much for this winner of a recipe.
Hi Cindy! I am sooo happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the brilliant review and rating. 🙂
Made this last night, soooo delicious! My family LOVED it! Thank you, this one’s a keeper!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I made this for my dinner party and it was a big hit. I t was everything I expected and more.Thank you for sharing this with me.
Wonderful Jennifer! Thanks for the awesome review! 🙂
Hi there,
I’m planning to make this recipe for a friends dinner party and I’m wondering if there are any elements of the dessert that can be made ahead of time?
It looks amazing!!
You could probably make the cake part of the dessert ahead of time and then just gently reheat in the oven and prepare the sauce when you’re ready to serve. Or even make the sauce as well ahead of time and then reheat everything (whisking will be handy in case there are lumps) and serve.
I first had malva pudding during a study abroad trip to Namibia. I was vegetarian at the time, but I went vegan shortly after and didn’t think I’d ever be able to have malva pudding again. Random cravings/memories of the dish led me to your website. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’ve made it twice now and your recipe is even more delicious than what I remember from abroad! Definitely a keeper!
That is fabulous to hear Ruthe! Thank you so much for posting! 🙂
Looks deeeeeelicious! But I only ever have oat milk… would that work instead of soy milk? Please and thank you!
Yes it should be fine!
Delicious!! Doesnt even taste vegan!! Love your blog!! My new favourite web page x
Fantastic! That’s always what you want, for it to just taste like delicious dessert, not ‘vegan’ dessert! 🙂 So glad you like the blog! Thanks so much! ?
Can you use another plant based milk or does it have to be soy
Yes, you can.
Would you recommend replacing the flour with gluten free flour? Would that work?
Hi Gwendolene, I have not tested this recipe as gluten-free, but if you do try it that way I would recommend you use a gluten-free all purpose baking blend that replaces regular flour in a cup for cup measure. Gluten-free flours do tend to absorb more moisture than regular flours but because this has such a rich sauce I think it might not matter. Let us know how it goes! 🙂
Would you be able to sub the vegan butter for coconut oil?
In this case I wouldn’t, if getting vegan butter is an issue, you could try the sauce with a bit of extra coconut cream instead.
Hi Alison!
This was my 1st attempt at a Sticky Pudding and i followed your recipe exactly.
It turned out rich, sticky and ohh soo good. I thought your Carrot Cake was my best bake so far but this Pudding topped it! And it was very easy to make.
Thanks once again for a recipe. I cant wait to try more 🙂
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing! ???
This pudding was so so delicious! Impossible to tell from the ‘original’ recipe and easy to make.
So glad you enjoyed it Nina! 🙂
Hi Alison! I’m wondering if peach jam can be replaced by more applesauce? Maayybe? Thanks and looooooove your page. My son and i never stop making your desserts 🙂 we are vegan and sweet 😉
Hi Diana! So so happy to hear you love the site and are enjoying the desserts! Yay! To answer your question: sure you can replace the jam with more applesauce – or you can use another kind of jam. The apricot jam is more of the ‘traditional’ flavor of the recipe but is not crucial and if you use applesauce instead it will ensure the right balance of ingredients- so yes – you can do that!
Your sticky Malva pudding is beyond divine. What a treat