A South African Treat

Beautiful readers of Warrior Queen - whats up?! I'm Amanda, a South African lifestyle blogger from Niescior's Notes and for a day - I get to take over Raewyn's blog for a day! :) Yay me!

Anybody that knows me, knows that I like food! Actually, I don't like it, I LOVE it... Then again, who doesn't? 

Seeing as I am from South Africa, I thought it would be fun to share a little South African dessert. This dessert is of Cape-Dutch origin and its name is derived from Malvasia wine from Madeira. In the olden days, the dessert was served together with the wine after the main course at Cape tables. You'll find it on the dessert menu in A LOT of restaurants in South Africa, especially ones that are run by Afrikaans people. This dessert is none other than:

MALVA PUDDING

THE RECIPE

Cake Ingredients: 

 1 cup castor sugar

 2 eggs (they must be room temperature)

 1 tablespoon of smooth apricot jam

 1 ¼ cups of cake flour

 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

 1 pinch of salt

 2 tablespoons of butter (30ml) 

 1 tablespoon of vinegar (15ml)

 125ml of milk (1/2 cup)

Sauce Ingredients: 

 250ml of cream (1 cup)  

125ml of butter (1/2 cup)  

125ml of sugar (1/2 cup) 

 1 cup of Brandy (this can be substituted for water, organge juice or even Sherry - whatever you prefer.)

Set oven to 190°C (375F)

Beat castor sugar and eggs until fluffy then beat in the jam until a creamy consistency

Sift dry ingredients into separate bowl.

Melt butter in a small pot on a medium heat and add the vinegar and milk

Now add the above mixture (butter, milk, eggs) to the sifted ingredients and mix well.

Add the eggs mixture and combine well.

Pour into an ovenproof casserole dish that can take about 2 liters.

Bake at 190°C (375F) for 45 mins until the top is nicely browned.

Melt all the sauce ingredients together in a small pot over a medium heat and pour over the pudding before serving, preferably while it’s still hot.

Serve it with ice-cream or custard or both and a dash of whipped cream. ____________________________________________________

I made this pudding about two years and it was actually the first dessert that I ever baked and it tasted so good! This recipe is super simplistic and something that pretty much anyone can do.

Let me know if you've ever made or tasted malva pudding! If you try the recipe, I'd love to know about it!

If you'd like to win 16 months of ad space (including one month on Raewyn's blog) + a custom blog design + a custom domain, head on over to me little ole blog and enter!

Enjoy!

xoxo Amanda @ Niescior's Notes

Oh my goodness that sounds so good! Freshman year in college one of my roommates was from South Africa, but we couldn't bake so I didn't get to try anything. Thanks, Amanda for sharing!!! 

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. For every e-book purchased I will receive commission. 

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Mini Apple Crostatas [Guest Post]

Hey there Raewyn's readers!! I'm so excited to be taking over Warrior Queen for the day and getting to know y'all!

Ok, so about now you're probably wondering who this mysterious person is who is not Raewyn.

Allow me to tell you a little about myself--I'm Elizabeth. My soldier boy Zach and I are currently stationed in Hawaii and, although we miss home, we love living here in 'paradise'. Another thing I love is blogging which is why I have my own little corner of the internet over at Army Ever After where I pretty much write about life, love, and anything else that suits my fancy!

Raewyn and I 'met' through Just Jacq's Post Exchange program last month and decided it would be fun to 'trade' blogs for a day. Today Raewyn is over at my blog discussing weddings and budgets and things {Eeek! I love weddings!} and I'm over here talking to all of you about my favorite hobby--cooking!

When Zach and I first got married, about a year and a half ago, I pretty much just knew the basics of cooking. I mean, I'd taken home economics in high school and loved it, but other than that the kitchen wasn't really the place I spent most of my time in. Now, though, I love cooking up new recipes and experimenting in the kitchen. My favorite recipes are definitely desserts so I decided to share an easy peasy fall recipe with you today. It's scrumptious and pretty much requires no cooking know-how so it's perfect for a quick little bite of something sweet!

Mini Apple Crostatas

Makes 4 crostatas

Originally from the Pillsbury Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, softened
• 1 large baking apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (should be about 2 cups)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 8 tsp caramel flavored syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Unroll the thawed crust out on to your work surface. Roll crust out just slightly. With a circle cookie cutter, cut into 4 (5-inch) rounds. 

2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and place rounds onto parchment. 

3. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl, add apple slices into sugar mixture, and toss. Divide apple slices evenly onto center of each round. Fold 1/2-inch of the crust over filming and crimp. Crust should lie just a little bit flat over the apples. 

4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Drizzle about 2 tsp of caramel topping over each and top with ice cream. Serve warm and enjoy! 

There! Wasn't that super duper easy? I hope you've enjoyed getting to know a little bit about me and I hope you'll hop on over to Army Ever After and visit! (If you do, make sure to comment and tell me you found me through Raewyn.) 

Until then, Happy November!! 

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