Coconut Pudding (Puerto Rican Tembleque)

Tembleque is a traditional Puerto Rican dessert. This firm coconut and cinnamon infused pudding or custard is widely enjoyed at Christmas time, but it is found in restaurants and cafes throughout the year. Tembleque, which means 'wiggly' in Spanish, is a dessert with a texture between jello and pudding. It's firm, velvety, and creamy. It's sweet, but not too sweet. So you always end up eating more than one slice. In addition to being widely served in Puerto Rico on any occasion, tembleque is popular in many other Latin American countries as well (for example Colombian Natilla - Cinnamon Milk Custard). You can even sometimes find it in Southeast Asian cuisine as well, where coconut milk is a popular ingredient. Sweets or desserts were created in Puerto Rico by a mixture of what was the Spanish conquest, slavery, and immigration traffic on the island. After the exploitation of the island's resources, which included a large amount of gold, there was not much left on the island, but one thing was abundant in Puerto Rico and it was sugar, and with this great resource came the creativity and preparation of delicious delicacies. Two of the most famous desserts from Puerto Rico are Tembleque and Arroz con Dulce. These two come from the European Culture that abounded in the Island during the times of colonization due to the great traffic that existed between Puerto Rico and what at one time was called the Motherland Spain.

1 (13½ oz) can coconut cream
1 (13½ oz) can coconut milk
1 stick cinnamon
½-¾ cup sugar
½ cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp. kosher or sea salt

Garnish:
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Have a 7" bowl (your pudding mold) ready to pour the custard into.

In a small bowl, mix sugar, cornstarch and kosher or sea salt. Set aside.

Using a wide pan, simmer coconut cream, coconut milk and stick cinnamon for 5 minutes. Remove the stick cinnamon.

Add the sugar mixture all at once and stir vigorously until it is all incorporated. Continue stirring for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and pour the pudding into your mold bowl. Let it sit at room temperature for an hour. Chill for 2 hours or overnight.

Run a knife around the edges of the pudding in the bowl. Place a plate over the bowl and carefully flip it. The pudding should slide out onto the plate without any problem.

Sprinkle ground cinnamon on top of the pudding. Slice and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

Cook's Notes:

• An 8x8 square baking dish can be used, too.
• This pudding or custard can also be poured into silicone muffin cups and served as individual desserts.