PHOTO/ Jisele Garcia Widen your Christmas dessert palette with this tembleque recipe!
By Jisele Garcia,
Opinion Editor
The essence of the holiday season is spending time with family and continuing traditions. Here are my family’s renditions of Latinx desserts to enjoy during the holidays.
Tembleque
This coconut pudding dusted with cinnamon is one of the most popular desserts in Puerto Rico.
Ingredients
▢ 1 14-ounce can cream of coconut
▢ 2 14-ounce cans of coconut milk
▢ ¾ cup of cornstarch
▢ ¼ cup of sugar
▢ Pinch of salt
▢ 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
▢ 3 stars of anise
▢ 5 cloves, or ½ teaspoon of ground cloves
▢ 2 cinnamon sticks
▢ 1 cup of water
Instructions
1. Put cinnamon sticks, anise, cloves and water in a small saucepan then place it on medium-low heat over a stove until golden. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2. While the saucepan simmers, put the wet ingredients including the cream of coconut, coconut milk and vanilla in a large saucepan and mix it until smooth. In another bowl, whisk the dry ingredients which are salt, corn starch and sugar.
3. Empty the dry ingredients into the large saucepan and stir until there are no clumps. After, strain the small saucepan contents into the large saucepan as well and mix.
4. Next, place the combined mixture on medium-high heat and consistently stir the mixture until it begins to thicken. Then, lower the heat to medium and stir until the mixture picks up a thick batter consistency.
5. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until it cools down. After it cools, pour the mixture into foam cups and place them in the refrigerator for about 24 hours until the pudding forms a gelatinous consistency.
6. Take out the cups and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Enjoy!
Arroz con leche Nicaragüense
Latinos have different renditions of rice pudding, but Nicaraguans enjoy this cinnamon-infused and raisin-sprinkled recipe.
Ingredients
▢ 3 cups of water
▢ 1 cup of white rice
▢3 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
▢ 1 cup of sugar
▢ 1 cup of raisins
▢ 2 cinnamon sticks
▢ Ground cinnamon to sprinkle
Instructions
1. Put the water, rice and cinnamon sticks into a large, deep saucepan. Leave on medium heat until water boils then lower heat to medium-low until rice is done. Stir frequently.
2. On a smaller saucepan, warm the condensed milk on low heat. Stir consistently, as the milk burns quickly if left idle, for 15 minutes.
3. After the 15 minutes, pour the warm milk, sugar and raisins into the saucepan. Stir often on medium heat until desired consistency. The rice pudding takes about 30 to 45 minutes to finish cooking.
4. Remove cinnamon sticks, sprinkle on ground cinnamon and it’s ready to serve!