Coconut in Desserts

CEBU, Philippines — The Philippines is coconut country. Even in the remotest, even uninhabited, island in the archipelago, there would most likely be several coconut trees standing. And coconut trees don’t need much tending; these often just grow by themselves.

It’s no wonder that coconut is a main ingredient in Filipino cuisine. It’s used extensively in both main dishes and desserts. Among the big favorite and versatile Filipino coconut-based desserts is Maja Blanca – it’s a favorite because, well, it’s a curious person who does not like it; and versatile because, aside from it being so easy to make, Maja Blanca will do as a good snack by itself and as dessert either at home meals or at banquets.

Maja Blanca is simply made from coconut milk, cornstarch, and sugar. It is alternately called Coconut Pudding, but most popularly as Maja Blanca. This luscious sweet thing is easy to make and all the ingredients are very common.

The original Maja Blanca Recipe does not include corn and milk, although these additional ingredients have since become too common with Maja Blanca. These give an added taste and a more creamy texture. Today Maja Blanca is widely known to have whole young corn kernels and a milky taste.

Preparing Maja Blanca is quick and easy. It is something that aspiring home cooks can do. It’s basically cooking everything in a pot and arranging it in a tray afterwards.

Using fresh coconut milk is ideal for Maja Blanca. But canned coconut milk will also do as alternative, for convenience or if fresh coconut is not available. There will be a very slight difference in taste between the two, but the output will still be Maja Blanca that everyone knows of.

Maja Blanca can easily be adapted to include various other ingredients, often resulting in variations in its color. Examples include Maja Calabasa, which uses squash, and Maja Ube, which uses purple yam. There’s even Maja Buko Pandan, a light green variant that is flavored with pandan leaves and young coconut meat.

Overall, the resulting dish should be thick and smooth. Cornstarch is responsible for its texture and form. It is first diluted in heated milk, either fresh or evaporated, and stirred constantly until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth.

Refrigerating the Maja Blanca, for at least one hour, will improve its texture by making it firm. Then, topping it with toasted grated coconut, or with latik, makes it all the more tastier.

Here’s a Maja Blanca recipe from

https://panlasangpinoy.com to try at home:

Maja Blanca

Ingredients:

4 cups coconut milk

¾ cup cornstarch

14 ounces condensed milk

¾ cup fresh milk

¾ cup granulated sugar

15 ounces whole sweet kernel corn

5 tbsp toasted grated coconut

Procedure:

• Pour the coconut milk into a cooking pot

and bring to a boil.

• Add the sugar, condensed milk, and whole sweet kernel corn then stir until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

• Simmer for 8 minutes.

• Combine the fresh milk and cornstarch, then whisk

until the cornstarch is diluted.

• Pour the fresh milk and cornstarch mixture in the cooking pot and stir thoroughly.

• Allow to cook while stirring until the mixture reaches

your desired thickness.

• Pour the mixture in a serving tray then arrange and flatten the top using a flat tool such as a wooden spatula.

• Allow to cool down then refrigerate for at least one hour.

• Garnish with toasted grated coconut (or “latik,” if available).

Refrigerate. Serve cold.