Baked vanilla pudding

I’m a sucker for baked puddings, especially in Winter time when you need a bit of extra warmth and comfort. Malva pudding is surely one of my favourites, but I also bake a mean chocolate pudding (my Mom’s recipe). I suppose you can turn most cake batters into a pudding by adding some kind of sauce. But when the sauce is rich and buttery and fragrant with vanilla, I am in pudding heaven.

For a real easy, stress-free, moist, saucy, baked vanilla pudding, try this recipe using Sasko Quick Treats Vanilla Flavoured Muffin Mix. I bake the batter in a deep porcelain oven dish, then drench it with a milky, buttery, sweet vanilla sauce. Like a malva pudding it absorbs all the liquid making it very moist and deliciously saucy. Serve it warm with fresh vanilla custard and/or vanilla ice cream – perfect for a rainy Winter’s evening in front of the fire!

Ingredients:

• 1 x 500 g packet Sasko Quick Treats Vanilla Flavoured Muffin Mix
• 2 eggs
• 140 ml vegetable oil
• 120 ml milk

Ingredients for sauce:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 100 g butter
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 10 ml vanilla essence

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix oil, milk and eggs well using a whisk or electric beaters. Add muffin mix and whisk for 1 minute.
3. Pour batter into a greased, deep, medium size ovenproof dish, then bake for 50 -60 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven, then let it cool for 10 minutes before pouring over the sauce.
4. For the sauce: add milk, water, butter, sugar and vanilla to a small saucepan, and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and carefully pour over baked pudding, giving it time to absorb inbetween. When all the sauce is poured over the pudding, let it stand for at least another 15-30 minutes before serving. Re-heat before serving, if necessary. Serve with custard and/or vanilla ice cream.