Brown Butter Malva Pudding with Orange-Brandy Sauce and Vanilla Custard

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C for 10 min and lightly grease a 15×10 cm ovenproof dish with some of the butter.

   Add in this stepButter (for browning, plus greasing) 3 g

   oven

2. Put the rest of the butter in a small pan over medium heat and cook for 2 min, stirring, until the foam subsides, brown specks form on the bottom and it smells of hazelnuts. Tip it straight into a bowl (left in the pan it keeps cooking and turns bitter) and stir in the milk and vinegar.

   Add in this stepButter (for browning, plus greasing) 12 gMilk 50 mlWhite wine vinegar ½ tsp

   medium heat

3. Beat the egg, weigh out the amount in the list, add the sugar and orange zest and whisk with an electric mixer for 4 min, until pale and ribbony, then mix in the apricot jam.

   Add in this stepEgg, beaten and weighed (1 egg ≈ 50 g) 25 gCaster sugar 55 gOrange (finely grated zest only) ½Apricot jam 1 tbsp

4. Sift over the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and fold in with a spatula in a few additions, alternating with the brown butter milk, just until no dry flour shows. A runny batter is right.

   Add in this stepPlain flour 55 gBicarbonate of soda ½ tspSalt 1 pinch

5. Pour into the dish and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 min, until the top is glossy deep caramel and a skewer comes out free of wet batter.

   oven

6. Meanwhile make the custard. Heat the custard milk over medium-low heat for 3 min, until steaming at the edges (don't boil). Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl, then pour in the hot milk a little at a time, whisking constantly so the yolks don't scramble. Return to the pan and stir over low heat for 4 min, scraping the bottom, until it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through leaves a clear line. Take off the heat and add the vanilla. If it boils it will turn lumpy.

   Add in this stepMilk (for the custard) 150 mlEgg yolks 1Caster sugar (for the custard) 20 gCornflour (cornstarch) 1 tspVanilla extract (or a vanilla pod) ½ tsp

   medium-low heat→low heat

7. Put the cream, butter, brown sugar and orange juice in the sauce pan over medium-low heat and stir for 3 min until melted, then take off the heat and add the brandy. Some alcohol remains, so for children use the same amount of orange juice instead.

   Add in this stepDouble cream 100 mlButter (for the sauce) 35 gLight brown sugar 35 gFresh orange juice 30 mlBrandy (or more orange juice for alcohol-free) 1½ tbsp

   medium-low heat

8. As soon as the pudding comes out, prick it all over, slowly pour over the hot sauce and leave it for 15 min to soak in. Serve warm in bowls with plenty of custard poured around.