558 Javanese pudding
This classic Javanese pudding is a simple, sweet and creamy dessert that looks more like a mousse (bavarois) than a pudding. A bavarois contains gelatin to bind it. This pudding uses cornmeal. That makes it not a bavarois, but it is just as frothy because of the egg whites.
The palm sugar finishes it off. The warm, sweet flavor together with the creamy taste of coconut milk, is delicious. I love pudding and porridge. Many puddings in Indonesia are not cow milk based. The main ingredient is coconut milk. Who doesn’t like that!? ;-).
Beb suggests to serve the dessert with mango or pineapple (from a can).
Want to see more Indonesian desserts. Follow me on Pinterest. I search the internet for great Asian desserts as a hobby ;-).
Javanese pudding from Beb Vuyk’s Groot Indonesisch Kookboek, page 438.
Ingredients
1/2 liter thick santen (coconut cream or milk)
40 grams of cornflour
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
50 grams Javanese sugar (gula jawa)
Melt the sugar in 50 ml (1/2 cup) of water and sieve it. Bring the santen with the cornstarch to a boil to form a thick substance. Stir occasionally when it cools. Mix in the sugar and the beaten egg whites. Pour it into a mold. Let it cool down completely in the refrigerator and serve the pudding with mangos or canned pineapple.
It looks simple, but it was quite difficult. Yesterday I posted an update on Instagram. I was unsure if my pudding would succeed. I was afraid the pudding would collapse when taken out of the mold. But fortunately that was not the case.
An important and fun start of this dessert is figuring out the correct pudding mold. My mom, who collects beautiful antique molds, brings me a few. Aren’t they beautiful? I halve the quantities in the original recipe so I can make a small pudding.
The cornmeal makes the coconut milk binds well. I use thick liquid coconut cream. You can get it in your supermarket or Asian shops or here online.
The pudding thickens quite fast as you heat it up. Keep stirring! I make a mistake when the pudding cools down. You have to keep on stirring. That way the substance will not curdle. When I add the liquid sugar, lumps appear. I could relatively easily stir them out, but it was not necessary.
The recipe Beb Vuyk suggest to sieve the Javanese sugar. Not necessary in my opinion if you melt the gula jawa disks I get from my Asian shop or supermarket.
Egg whites: it tastes like nothing but will keep your pudding frothy. Delicious!
Before you pour the pudding into the form, make it wet with some cold water. It will pop out easier afterwards. I tapped the mold gently on the counter. The air comes out and the shape is well formed. Now you need some patience to let the pudding cool down completely.
Look: A tropical party in your house. The sun came out immediately when it was on the plate. With mango it tastes great. I have not tried it with pineapple, but it probably will be delightful too.
Beb Vuyk, best known for her Groot Indonesisch Kookboek (Great Indonesian Cook Book), was much more than a great cook. She belongs to the most important Dutch-Indonesian (Indo) writers and journalists of her time. Check this out.
