Haupia

What it is

Haupia is coconut milk cooked with sugar and a starch until it thickens, then poured into a pan and chilled until it sets firm enough to slice. That is the whole thing. It tastes clean and coconutty, not heavy, and it holds its shape in a tidy square. You will find it on the dessert table at luaus and folded into pies and cakes.

A short history

Haupia is old, a traditional coconut pudding found across Polynesia. The name puts two Hawaiian words together: hau, meaning cool or chilled, and pia, the starch from the Polynesian arrowroot plant. That arrowroot starch was the original thickener. When Western ships brought sugar and cornstarch to the islands, cornstarch gradually took over from pia, which was harder to come by, and the pudding got a touch sweeter. The version most people make today is that adapted one, but the idea goes back a long way.

How to make it at home

This is about as easy as dessert gets. The only thing to watch is the whisking, keep it moving so it thickens smooth, not lumpy.

Getting it to set

Haupia has one failure mode and it is haupia that will not firm up. Here is where it comes from.

Use full fat canned coconut milk. Not the carton stuff from the refrigerated aisle, not light coconut milk, and not coconut cream. The canned full fat kind has the fat content the recipe is built around. Light coconut milk is mostly water and it sets soft and weeps. Shake the can before opening, or if it has separated, scoop everything in and whisk it smooth over the heat.

Measure the cornstarch properly and level it off. Haupia is a ratio, and eyeballing the starch is how you end up with either soup or rubber. If you like it firmer for cutting into neat squares, add another tablespoon.

Dissolve the starch in cold liquid first, always. Whisk the cornstarch into a little of the coconut milk off the heat until there are no lumps, then add that to the pot. Cornstarch dropped into hot liquid seizes instantly into lumps you cannot whisk out.

Then cook it longer than you think. Bring it to a real simmer, with bubbles breaking the surface, and hold it there whisking for a solid minute or two. Cornstarch only reaches full thickening power once it has properly boiled. Pulling the pot the moment it looks thick is the single most common reason haupia stays loose in the pan.

Chill it at least three hours, uncovered until cool, then covered. Overnight is better. Warm haupia will not slice.

Haupia beyond the square

The plain chilled squares are the classic, the ones on every luau dessert table cut small because they are rich. But the same pudding is a building block.

Haupia pie is the big one. Pour the hot haupia into a baked pie shell and chill, then top it with sweetened whipped cream. Chocolate haupia pie layers a chocolate custard underneath and is a Hawaii bakery staple.

Haupia cake means white or chiffon cake layered with haupia in place of frosting between the tiers, which is a common local birthday and graduation cake.

It also goes on top of things. A layer of haupia over sweet potato, over a mochi base, or spooned over fresh mango. Some people stir a little cocoa into half the batch and pour the two in layers for a striped pan.

For the traditional version, look for pia, Polynesian arrowroot starch, in place of the cornstarch. It is hard to find outside Hawaii and it sets a bit differently, softer and more delicate, but it is the original.

Questions I get

Can I use less sugar?

Yes. Haupia is not meant to be very sweet, and sugar is not doing structural work here, so you can cut it back without hurting the set. Taste the pot before you pour.

Can I make it dairy free or vegan?

It already is. Coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch, water. That is the entire dish, which is part of why it turns up at every potluck.

Why is mine grainy or separated?

Usually the heat was too high or the whisking stopped. Keep it at a steady simmer and keep the whisk moving the whole time.

How long does it keep?

Three or four days covered in the fridge. It slowly weeps a little liquid after day two. Do not freeze it, the texture goes grainy.

How do I get clean squares?

Chill it fully, run a thin knife around the edge, and wipe the blade between cuts. A pan lined with parchment lets you lift the whole slab out and cut it on a board.

How much should I make?

An 8-inch pan cuts into about sixteen squares, and that feeds a crowd because the pieces are small on purpose. Haupia is rich and people take one or two. For a party, doubling into a 9x13 pan works without changing anything but the cooking time, which runs a few minutes longer since there is more in the pot.

Can I flavor it?

A split vanilla bean or a strip of lime zest steeped in the coconut milk as it heats, then fished out, is a nice touch. Keep additions liquid free. Stirring in fruit juice or puree throws off the starch ratio and it will not set.

Finish a plate of kalua pork with these, or see the rest of the Hawaiian favorites.