How to Make Maja Blanca

Maja Blanca is also called white coconut custard. The word maja blanca literally means white lady. This is usually served as a dessert or snacks. This one of the most favored Filipino delicacy. There are different ways on how to serve this dish. A richer version is made with carabao milk while a simpler version skips the corn kernels and cream-style corn.

This recipe  serves 20 slices. If you wish to make more, just simply adjust the measurement of ingredients.

Materials:

Large casserole

Glass or stoneware serving platter

Small casserole (for the curd bits cooking)

Ladle

Ingredients:

Juice from 1 young coconut (buko)

! can 425 gram cream-style corn

1 can 425 gram corn kernels

! cup (240 ml) coconut cream

2 cups (480 ml) coconut milk

½ cup (120 gram) powdered milk

¾ cup (150 gram) sugar

½ cup (65 g) cornstarch

½ cup 120 ml water

Preparation

1. If using young coconut, crack open and reserve the juice. ( about 350 ml)
2. Use ½ can cream style corn.
3. Use ½ can whole corn kernels.
4. If using a mature coconuts, extract coconut cream and milk.

Cooking

1. In a large casserole, put the coconut juice, coconut milk, powdered milk, sugar, cornstarch, water, cream style corn and corn kernels. Wait for it to boil. Once it has started boiling, adjust the stove to low heat.
2. Simmer over low fire for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom to avoid burning the mixture.
3. When the mixture thickens, remove casserole from heat.
4. Pour into a glass or stoneware serving dish. Approximately 20 x 26 x 5 cm. Let it sit for a while and allow it to cool.
5. Obtain a small casserole and heat the thick coconut cream. Adjust your stove into medium heat. Once it started to boil, lower the heat and continue cooking for about 30 minutes. The milk should separate into oil and solid curd. Remove the curd bits or also known as “latik”.
6. Sprinkle the curd bits over the maja blanca. Cut into 5 x 5 cm.
7. You may serve it individually or you may not remove it from the serving platter. Just make sure to place a serving spoon.

Special considerations:

• For individual serving, place one piece on a small plate and garnish with curd bits and about one tablespoon or the remaining whole kernel corn
• When making the “latik” or curd bits, stir slowly and sparingly so that larger pieces of curd remain.

• Coconut cream: In Filipino dialect, it is called kakang gata. It is the first extraction of the grated meat of the mature coconut. Extraction: place the grated meat in cheesecloth or a bowl and squeeze to extract coconut cream. Strain with a fine mesh strainer. One whole coconut yields about 4 cups or 290 grams of grated coconut. Extracted cream from an average size coconut is ½ cup or 120 ml. A canned coconut cream may be used as a substitute. It is readily available in supermarkets.