Coconut Lu’au Dessert

Name: Coconut Lu’au Dessert
Ingredients: 2½ cups of coconut milk; 5 rounded tablespoons of sugar; a pinch of salt; 6 tablespoons of cornstarch; 2 tablespoons of dried, sweetened coconut flakes

Haupia

Preparation info

Serves
16

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Tradewinds & Coconuts

By Jennifer Brennan

Published 1997

About

These little squares of firm, creamy-white coconut pudding are the traditional lu’au dessert; generally served in individual portions on leaf-lined plates.

Polynesian arrowroot (pia, see Glossary,) was the original starch thickener for this dessert, however, cornstarch is now more commonly used.

Ingredients

2½ cups of coconut milk
5 rounded tablespoons of sugar
a pinch

Dessert
Gluten-free
Vegan

Method

In a double boiler, heat 2¼ cups of the coconut milk, reserving the remaining ¼ cup for use in the next step. Add the sugar and salt, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the reserved coconut milk (¼ cup) and the cornstarch, stirring, to make a cream. With a rubber spatula, scrape the coconut milk/cornstarch cream in