Haupia
A firm coconut pudding, set until you can cut it into neat squares. It is cool, silky, and only a little sweet, the dessert you see at every luau and the white layer in that famous chocolate haupia pie.
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.
Haupia
Makes one 8-inch pan, about 16 squares
You need
- 2 cans (13.5 oz each) coconut milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup water
- Pinch of salt
Steps
- Whisk the cornstarch into the water until smooth. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk, sugar, and salt over medium, stirring, until it is warm and the sugar dissolves.
- Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and keep whisking. It will thicken to a pudding in a few minutes. Let it bubble gently for one more minute.
- Pour into an 8-inch pan and smooth the top. Chill at least 3 hours, until firm, then cut into squares.
Finish a plate of kalua pork with these, or see the rest of the Hawaiian favorites.
Where I read up on this
- Haupia, Wikipedia