Healthier Single Serving Malva Pudding

Hello there!

Just a warning, this is new for me. Please bear with me as I get accustomed to the ways of the blogging world!

So my first recipe has a terrible picture. I'm very sorry about that. I left my camera at a friends' house and couldn't wait to eat my creation until I got it back from her. So I took a picture with my phone! At least there's a picture, right? (No Instagram, either, folks...I still haven't given in to a smart phone). Also, I ate some of it (most of it) before I got to take a picture. Forgive me for that too. It's an honest mistake! And, the background is terrible. I'll get better, I promise.

It's always good to leave plenty of room for improvement, right?

So here's the deal: if you haven't ever heard of Malva Pudding, I believe that's completely normal. It's a South African dessert that I found when I was searching for international dishes to make last summer. It's not like American pudding. At all.

Maybe more flan-like, or bread pudding-like. I'm not sure. I'm not an expert in either of those desserts. But it's sooo good. So you'll just have to try it for yourself!

Curious yet?

Oh and I attempted a healthier version. Now I'm not saying it's healthy. I'm saying it's healthier! But the original packs quite a saturated fat punch, due to all the butter. So I've gotten rid of the butter and scaled back on sugar a bit too. I also added some whole wheat flour.

Also, it's a one-serving recipe so you don't have to have a whole batch of delicious gooey malva pudding sitting around all week...or all day depending on your level of self-control. The only problem with this is that it's unlikely you'll have a 1/12 cup measuring device...or 1/3 tsp. I recommend just eye-balling it! It's good to do a little math in the kitchen every once in a while ;)

Mostly gone--that's a good sign, right?

I had my dad try it fresh from the oven (he hadn't tried the original) and he thought it was pretty good...which is saying something since he's not a huge fan of healthy desserts in general. I personally think it will definitely solve any malva pudding cravings I get! And I do get quite a few considering how recently it was that I found out about it.

Gooey and delicious, but ugly

So here's the recipe:

Healthier Personal Malva Pudding

Adapted from this delicious, but less-healthy version: http://simply-delicious.co.za/2011/04/11/malva-pudding/

Batter:

1 tsp banana--mashed and brown

1 tsp "smooth" preserves (I subbed strawberry, but the original calls for apricot)

1/8 cup sugar

1/3 tsp white vinegar

1/3 cup flour (I did a 1:1 ratio whole wheat:white)

1/3 cup milk

1/3 of an egg (or1/12 cup applesauce)

1/3 tsp baking soda

very small pinch of salt

Syrup:

1/8 cup honey (I used a little less, but it depends on sweetness preference)

1/8 cup of boiling water

1/10 cup of coconut oil

1/4 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease with olive oil or spray small oven-safe dish (I used a 1 7/8 cup glass dish).

Melt banana, preserves, sugar, and vinegar until smooth--I microwaved for 15-20 seconds, stirring in between. Sift flour, then add to mixture, alternating with milk. Add applesauce, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Pour into greased dish, and put in oven. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. It should start to brown on the top and a toothpick should come out clean when it's done.

Begin the syrup with 5-10 minutes left in the oven. Add all 4 ingredients and heat to make a syrup. I used a microwave because of the small amount, but stove-top would've provided a better syrup-like consistency.

When the pudding is done, pour syrup on top. It should take some time to soak in, 5-10 minutes. When they syrup is soaked in and the malva pudding is cooled down enough to eat, dig in!