{"id":265017,"date":"2025-06-29T15:20:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T13:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/?p=265017"},"modified":"2025-06-29T15:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T13:33:15","slug":"jan-ellis-pudding-a-classic-south-african-dessert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/vistanews\/jan-ellis-pudding-a-classic-south-african-dessert\/","title":{"rendered":"Jan Ellis pudding \u2013 a classic South African dessert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is a fact that\u00a0South Africans love puddings, and no, I don\u2019t mean the weird English concept of puddings which can include savouries like Yorkshire pudding.\u00a0I mean sponge-cakey puddings baked in the\u00a0oven and usually served warm with some sort of sauce or syrup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s nothing glamorous or sexy about them, and they don\u2019t require any sort of expensive or exotic ingredients. Mostly, they originated in farm kitchens where the lady of the house had to whip up a pudding from what she had on hand \u2013 flour, eggs, butter, sugar and maybe a jam of some sort. Those redoubtable housewives had a pudding for every occasion, as I discovered in my copy of the\u00a0Oranje Kook-, Koek- en Resepteboek<\/em>\u00a0of 1918, written by the mysterious \u201cMrs D.J.H.\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s see\u2026 we have ertappelpoeding<\/em> (potato pudding), armmanspoeding<\/em> (poor mans\u2019 pudding \u2013 a steamed suet pudding with raisins), damespoeding<\/em> (ladies pudding with currants, jam and brandy), goedkoop en lekker poeding<\/em> (cheap and tasty pudding \u2013 perfect for the credit crunch, perhaps?), jongmans poeding<\/em> (young men pudding with candied peel and sultanas), oujongnooi poeding <\/em>(old maids\u2019 pudding), telefoonpoeding<\/em> (telephone pudding with ginger and apricot jam), skrikkeljaarpoeding<\/em> (leap year pudding) and vogelnes poeding<\/em> (birds nest pudding \u2013 no birds nests involved though!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a cluster of puddings which are so similar that some sources describe them as being one and the same pudding.\u00a0These are\u00a0malva poeding<\/em>\u00a0(literally mallow pudding),\u00a0bruinpoeding<\/em>\u00a0(brown pudding) and\u00a0Jan Ellis poeding.\u00a0<\/em>All consist of some combination of flour, sugar, eggs, milk, apricot jam and some sort of raising agent, and after the pudding is baked a syrup is poured over it. However, after combing various sources it appears to me that there are some small distinguishing features.\u00a0 Malva pudding contains vinegar, whereas Jan Ellis pudding apparently does not. Brown pudding has a syrup that does not contain cream, whereas both malva and Jan Ellis pudding have a creamy syrup.\u00a0 Small differences, I know, but I\u2019m a stickler for detail.\u00a0So I am taking the view that Jan Ellis pudding is a discrete entity, but is part of a close-knit pudding family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan Ellis was a well-known\u00a0Springbok<\/a>\u00a0rugby player in the 1960s and 70s, and held the record for most-capped Springbok player of all time when he retired\u00a0(38 caps). Legend has it that this was his favourite pudding and to this day it bears his name. I have to say that the man had good taste. The pudding itself is a fairly dry, cake-like affair that baked to a nice almost crispy crust.\u00a0Still, I was a little dubious about the texture until I poured generous amounts of the creamy, caramelly syrup over it. Oh my.\u00a0It\u2019s rib-sticking, warming comfort food at its very best and the pudding just soaks up the syrup like a sponge \u2013 even my desert-avoiding husband liked it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to confess, though, that I could not leave well alone. I figured that the traditional recipe (I used\u00a0one from Pieter-Jasie<\/a>) as it stood needed a little something to take the edge off all that unadulterated sweetness, and for some reason nutmeg sprang to mind.\u00a0I also happened to have a tablespoon or so of grated orange zest left over from another recipe, so into the syrup that went.\u00a0The end result was wonderful enough to make me wonder why I had spent so many years faffing about with creme brulees, mousses and crepes \u2013 this is pudding as pudding is meant to be.\u00a0And I\u2019m immensely proud to claim this piece of pudding heritage as my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 JAN ELLIS PUDDING (serves 2-3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/u><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3\/4 cup of self-raising flour
1 egg
1 tbsp apricot jam
1\/4 cup milk
1\/4 cup sugar
1\/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp softened butter
a pinch of salt
a pinch of ground nutmeg
1 tsp grated orange zest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syrup:<\/p>\n\n\n\n