Savour Roodeberg with a traditional winter warming dessert

Cozy up to winter with an indulgent twist on two time honoured South African classics, Roodeberg red wine and the treasured malva pudding.

Roodeberg Reserve, a bolder rendition of the original Classic Red Blend, is a silky smooth winter comforter for wine lovers looking for a more full-bodied red. A fairly recent newcomer, the wine is an intense, richly layered blend of the finest barrels in the cellar. The 2019 vintage is meticulously crafted from predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon supported by Shiraz, Malbec and just a dash of Petit Verdot and Durif (Petite Sirah).

Just as the Reserve is a bold tweak on the original Roodeberg Classic Red Blend, so too can the traditional malva pudding be transformed into a delicious chocolate dessert. Rich and moist, it is a perfect match with the wine and a dreamy way to end a typical South African feast.

“Pairing the right flavours with a particular wine is all about balance. The slightly bitter sweetness of the chocolate in the richly textured malva pudding balances beautifully with the silky tannins, ripe plums, blueberries, crushed herbs and hints of dark chocolate in the wine,” says well known food writer Ilse van der Merwe.

“If malva pudding and chocolate pudding had a love child, this would be it,” is how she describes her decadent dessert.

Roodeberg has a wide selection of delicious recipes created by well-known foodies. For more information and online purchases of Roodeberg’s accomplished blends, visit www.roodeberg.com

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Chocolate Malva Pudding

Recipe by Ilse van der Merwe of www.thefoodfox @The_FoodFox

Ingredients

For the batter:

125 g (almost a cup) cake flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda

1 cup caster sugar

2 XL eggs

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon apricot jam

1 tablespoon white or brown vinegar

1 tablespoon melted butter

For the sauce:

1 cup cream

1 cup milk

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

½ cup hot water

½ cup butter

A pinch of salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Grease a medium size oven dish approximately 20cm x 20cm x 5cm with butter or non-stick spray. Stir the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb and sugar together into a bowl. In another bowl beat the eggs, then add the milk, jam, vinegar and butter and beat well. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 minutes at 180° C until well risen and fully cooked. While the pudding is baking, place all the ingredients for the sauce in a small pot and heat until just simmering, stirring often, ensuring that you melt all the sugar and butter. When the pudding is done, remove from the oven, prick all over with a toothpick or sosatie sick and slowly pour over the sauce. The pudding will eventually take up all the sauce. 

Serve warm with some ice cream and a few fresh berries.