On Monday 15th September, the Greens Team celebrated World Afro Day by putting on an Afro-Caribbean menu for our students.

Honouring days like these is a real joy for our team for many reasons. We love the diversity within the school and enjoy highlighting it through food. We love that students get to try dishes from all over the world, and most of all we love watching students explain to their friends what the dishes mean to them and when they would eat them at home.

One of the dishes on the counter was Malva Cake. This traditional South African pudding is often found in restaurants and is always served warm, usually with a hot cream sauce. We served ours with custard.

Here is the recipe to try at home. It makes a perfect pudding as the weather starts to turn cooler.

Ingredients

150g plain flour
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp apricot jam
2 eggs
175g light brown sugar
55g caster sugar
200ml milk (preferably full-fat)
50g melted butter, plus extra for greasing
1 tbsp white wine or spirit vinegar

For the sauce
200ml double cream
100ml milk (preferably full-fat)
160g caster sugar
80g butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Cream or ice cream, to serve (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease an ovenproof ceramic or glass dish measuring approximately 20 x 30cm.

Place the flour in a large bowl and sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together the jam, eggs and sugars until pale in colour. Mix together the milk, butter and vinegar. Gradually add the milk mixture and the flour to the egg mixture, alternating between the two, until everything is combined into a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish, cover with foil and bake for 35–40 minutes until the sponge is cooked through and springy to the touch. Remove the foil and return the sponge to the oven for a further 10 minutes to brown the top. The edges should turn a deep brown, becoming chewy and caramel-like. (It is better to bake a little longer so that the sponge can absorb the sauce.)

To make the sauce, place all the ingredients with 5 tablespoons of water in a saucepan over a medium heat. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.

When the pudding is baked, remove it from the oven and set aside for a few minutes. Pour the hot sauce over the sponge and leave it to soak for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve with cream or ice cream, if you wish.