sunday supper: tremblingly delicious

Have I ever mentioned how much I love coconut? It's up there with blueberries for one of my favorite flavors. Pretty much any dessert that focuses on coconut is going to be awesome in my book. Coconut cream pie, Mango with coconut sticky rice, coconut ice cream, whatever. When I'm feeling lazy and want some coconut dessert, I often buy the Goya powdered Tembleque mix. Just mix with milk, heat, pour into a dish and refridgerate for a couple of hours. Couldn't be easier. Except, making real tembleque from scratch is just as easy. Who knew?



Mmmmm smooth, creamy goodness. I was surprised that there is actually no dairy in traditional tembleque. The creaminess comes entirely from coconut milk.

Yesterday was apparently the day for disturbing images with plastic wrap. What does it say about my psyche that whenever I see something covered in plastic wrap I think of serial killers? It can't be a good thing.



You're technically supposed to unmold the tembleque, but who am I kidding? I'm not trying to impress anyone, I just want my coconut fix. I'm happy to scoop. I guess if you don't unmold it, you don't get so much of the trembly effect that gives this dessert it's name. Speaking of which, The Joy of Cooking mistakenly calls this dessert "trembleque". Whoops.



Recipe after the jump:

TEMBLEQUE - Coconut Pudding
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Ingredients
5 cups unsweetened coconut milk (3 13.5 oz cans is perfect)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cornstarch
cinnamon for sprinkling

Preparation
In a medium saucepot, combine all but 1/2 cup of the coconut milk with the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. In a bowl or measuring cup, combine the remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk with the cornstarch, stirring until well combined. Add the slurry mixture to the saucepan slowly, stirring constantly. Continue to stir and simmer for another minute or two. The mixture will start to thicken. Pour into a 2 quart greased mold or baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap, pushing the wrap down onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. If you intend to unmold it, it is best to refrigerate even longer so that it doesn't fall apart when you turn it. Serve cold with a sprinkle of cinnamon. It is also delicious topped with fruit or nuts.