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Maja blanca
Coconut corn pudding
Maja blanca: set coconut and sweet corn pudding with toasted coconut
Wobbly squares of maja blanca sit on almost every Filipino Christmas Eve table, beside the leche flan and the fruit salad. Coconut milk and milk are thickened with cornflour into a smooth white pudding studded with sweet corn, poured into a tray and set firm enough to slice, then crowned with latik or toasted coconut. It tastes cool, milky and gently sweet, and kids love it. Chef's tip: whisk the cornflour into cold liquid first and keep stirring as it heats; added to hot milk it seizes into lumps you can't whisk out.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups coconut milk
- 3 ½ oz cornflour
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 1 ¾ oz white sugar
- 7 oz sweet corn kernelstinned and drained, or creamed corn
- 1 tsp coconut oilfor the dish
- 1 ⅜ oz desiccated coconut
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Toast 1 ⅜ oz desiccated coconut in a dry pan over a medium-low heat, stirring, until evenly golden, 4–5 minutes. Tip onto a plate.
5 minStep 2: Brush a 20 × 30 cm dish with 1 tsp coconut oil.
1 minStep 3: Whisk 3 ½ oz cornflour into 250 ml of 3 ¼ cups coconut milk until smooth, with no lumps.
2 minStep 4: Pour the rest of the coconut milk, ¾ cup evaporated milk, 7 oz sweetened condensed milk and 1 ¾ oz white sugar into a heavy pan and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat, stirring.
6 minStep 5: Whisk in the cornflour mixture and 7 oz sweet corn kernels and keep stirring for 8–10 minutes, until it is very thick, glossy and a spoon drawn through leaves a clear trail.
10 minStep 6: Pour into the dish, smooth the top and scatter with the toasted coconut. Cool, then chill for at least 2 hours until firm. Cut into squares to serve.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 240 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 27 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does maja blanca take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
- What can I use instead of cornflour?
- Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.
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