Maja Blanca
Silky coconut milk pudding with sweet corn and crisp golden latik.
Ingredients
Measure and prepare everything before you begin cooking.
- 800 ml coconut milk, divided
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 can (340 g) sweet corn kernels, drained
- ¾ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup latik or toasted desiccated coconut, for topping
Instructions
- 1
Lightly oil a 20 cm square dish and set it on a heatproof surface. Reserve 1 cup of the coconut milk in a bowl; pour the remainder into a heavy saucepan.
- 2
Add the sugar, drained corn and salt to the saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is steaming but not boiling hard.
- 3
Whisk the cornstarch into the reserved coconut milk until completely smooth, then whisk in the evaporated milk. Stir it once more immediately before adding because cornstarch settles quickly.
- 4
Pour the slurry into the hot coconut mixture in a thin stream while whisking continuously. Lower the heat and cook for 6–10 minutes, scraping the bottom and corners, until very thick, glossy and bubbling slowly.
- 5
Stir in the vanilla. Keep cooking for 1 more minute so the starch loses its raw taste; the mixture should hold a deep trail when a spatula passes through it.
- 6
Immediately spread into the prepared dish and smooth the top with a lightly oiled spatula. Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours until firm.
- 7
Top with latik or toasted coconut just before serving. Cut with a lightly oiled knife and wipe the blade between slices for clean squares.
