File under NOMSIES: Malva Pudding!
OK, first question: What is Malva Pudding? Don't worry, I hadn't heard of it either, until we received a parcel from Kari's Malva Pudding a couple of weeks ago. According to their website, here's their backstory:
Handmade in Aptos California by the Mansfeld Family. Kari started making her favorite Malva puddings for friends and family when they came over for dinner and after being told enough times that she should make them and sell them she decided to do just that. Each Malva uses only the freshest and best local ingredients including cage-free eggs from the Glaum chicken ranch just up the road and fresh apricot jam from the local farmer's market with no corn syrup in it. Kari and her family have been making each Kari's Malva Pudding for the past year and a half in their home town of Aptos, California. Each Malva Pudding is hand poured and packaged and frozen while fresh to lock in the homemade taste. Very easy to defrost and reheat and pass off as your own delicious creation. Top with candied pecans or a couple of fresh berries for a beautiful and delicious treat.
Traditionally, Malva Pudding is served warm with a little warm custard in winter and warm with a little ice cream in the summer. It is great all year, but even better when you have a couple of friends over for an easy dinner. Malva Pudding is the favorite dessert of Nelson Mandela. Art Smith, Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, served Malva Pudding during the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy's first Christmas dinner. Although it is a pudding, it is not like a chocolate pudding, or a baked fruit pudding. It is more like a cake, a moist and delicious cake, moist like a tres leches, but an entirely different flavor - lighter and more caramelly.
...but since proof is in the..ah, you know...how does it taste?
Now, Mr. Spy and I are not huge fans of the 'pud, but we both agreed that this baked pudding (more like a flan or souffle in texture) was decidedly pleasant, especially when served with a contrasting creamy scoop of ice cream. $19.98 plus shipping for a 2-pack is not unreasonable, but is significant, so this one might be reserved for pudding enthusiasts.