Hawaiian Haupia Coconut Custard

It was tempting to make a Hawaiian-inspired dessert using pineapples… but as I mentioned to you originally, we were instructed by our Guruji to only make one dish with pineapple for the Hawaiian Vegetarian Festival a few weeks ago.

To be honest…  I liked the idea and the challenge, because as I have learned, Hawaiian cooking is much more than about the pineapple.  And just by adding pineapple to something, doesn’t make it Hawaiian, right??  This was a Hawaiian Festival, not a pineapple festival.

A typical Hawaiian dessert is haupia…  very similar to a Puerto Rican tembleque.  To make sure the locals didn’t confuse this Hawaiian dessert with its local “braddah”, as they say in the islands, we added a nice little twist, of lime rind that is and a drizzle of carob syrup.

HAWAIIAN HAUPIA COCONUT CUSTARD

2 cans of coconut milk or one 25oz can

1 cup of water

6 tbs cornstarch

2/3 cups brown sugar

¼ tsp salt

2 pieces of lime rind

1. In a large saucepan or small pot at medium high heat, add the coconut milk.  Feel free to use a larger pot than you think you might need so you’ll have enough space to stir the mix.
2. Add the sugar, salt and lime rinds and stir well with a wooden spoon.
3. Add 1 cup of water to the cans to “wash them” from any leftover coconut milk.  Add the cornstarch to this water to create a slurry.  Mix well with a small whisk and add to the pot on the stove.
4. Stir the mixture kinda constantly to avoid the cornstarch to fall to the bottom of the pot and create lumps.  When the mixture feels it’s starting to thicken, lower the heat so the bottom doesn’t scorch.  Continue stirring making a figure 8 until the mixture coats the back of the spoon and when you run your finger thru the coating the side do not come together again.
5. Transfer individual plastic cups for individual servings.   Make sure you remove the lime rinds.
6. Allow to slightly cool for about 20 minutes on top of the kitchen counter.  After that, transfer to the fridge to cool and set for about 2 hours.  The final product will set but still be “jiggly” when you shake the mold or cup.
7. Garnish with a drizzle of carob syrup and a paper umbrella…

Tags: #karmafree, carob, coconut, coconut milk, custard, food, Hawaii, lime rind, Vegan, vegetarian