Fruity Maja Blanca

Fruity Maja Blanca, the more colorful, refreshingly sweet version of the usual Maja blanca. Made of coconut cream and milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, fruit cocktail, corn, and cheese, thickened with a cornstarch slurry, cooled down to a custard-jelly like dessert topped with more fruits and grated cheese on top!

Fruity Maja Blanca Recipe:

Ingredients :

• 2 cups cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups coconut cream 
• 3 cups thin coconut milk
• 1 big can evaporated milk (370ml)
• 1 big can condensed milk (300ml)
• 2 cups fruit cocktail
• 1 cup whole corn kernel
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (more for toppings)
• 1/2 cup sugar (optional / add or omit as needed)

Steps :

1. In a bowl, mix together cornstarch and water till the starch has dissolved. Set aside.
2. In a pot add coconut cream, coconut milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, fruit cocktail, corn kernel, and cheese. Mix well. Taste and add sugar as needed.
3. Boil at medium heat, let this simmer for 5 – 7 minutes stirring continuously. Turn the heat to low, stir while adding the cornstarch slurry. Continuously mix and cook for another 3 – 5 minutes.
4. The batter should look smooth. Add this into your choice of mold. Top with more fruits. Let this cool to room temperature before slicing.
5. Serve topped with cheese.

Where did this dish come from?

One of the more popular Spanish-Filipino desserts. The Maja Blanca description is as follows: a coconut cream based pudding mixed with corn or fruit cocktail making it decoratively interesting especially for fiestas, a dessert for the more festive seasons usually dressed up to replace fruit salad as this does not need refrigeration. This delicacy’s origins started during the Spanish colonization, the dessert meaning “Maja” or ‘to pound or mash’ and “Blanca” meaning ‘white’ expressing what the method and the look of the dish is. The coconut milk and cream back then needed to be pounded to extract the sap/milk before being cooled, sometimes mixed with kernels of corn aka ‘Maja Mais’ or nuts.

How to make this fruity Maja Blanca recipe?

This panna cotta and fruity gelatin hybrid is made by mixing a creamy concoction of coconut cream and coconut milk, made milkier with evaporated milk, sweetened with condensed milk, colorful with bits and pieces of strained canned fruit cocktail and corn kernels, with some cheese to cut through a bit of the sweetness and make it slightly salty, adding more sugar as needed. Mix in a pot at medium heat till the sugar dissolves, giving it a taste and adding more sugar as needed. To completely make the gelatinous and almond flan-like texture. It needs a helping of cornstarch slurry, mixed at low heat continuously to avoid the bottom from burning. Mix well till the batter looks smooth. Then pour it into a mold that you can line with banana leaves for extra aroma, top with more fruits you’d like. Cooled to room temperature or in the fridge till it’s firm enough to cut. Slice and serve topped with more fruits or grated cheese!

Questions:

• Can you make Fruity Maja Blanca without coconut milk?

Yes, you can use coconut cream, regular dairy/cow’s milk, or non-dairy milk. The dairy and nondairy milk are great alternatives if you’d like to flavor your base without the coconut flavor muddling the taste.

• Maja Blanca flavors?

The usual flavor comes from the coconut milk and cream and corn, this recipe itself is refreshingly sweet from the canned fruit mix. But many of the other ‘modern’ flavors are chocolate, ube, buko pandan, and many more options depending on one’s personal preference.

• What can you use as Maja Blanca toppings?

Aside from shredded cheddar cheese, you can also top it with condensed milk, shredded coconut, toasted coconut, nuts, latik (coconut milk cooked till it curdles), or depending on its base flavoring it can also be chocolate, or more fruits to pair with.

Other Yummy Filipino Sweets!

• Ube Cheese Buchi
• Nilupak na Kamoteng Kahoy (sweetened milky cassava cake with peanuts and cheese)
• Sinalab (cassava pancakes)
• Puto Bumbong (sweet purple rice cakes)
• Bibingkang Malagkit (Filipino glutinous rice cake)
• Mango Ice Candy (mango flavored ice pops)
• Buko Salad Ice Candy (coconut flavored ice pops)

Fruity Maja Blanca Resipi: (Tagalog version)

Mga Sangkap :

• 2 tasa cornstarch
• 1 tasa tubig
• 2 tasa gata (unang piga)
• 3 tasa gata (pangalawang piga)
• 1 lata evaporated milk (370ml)
• 1 lata condensed milk (300ml)
• 2 tasa fruit cocktail
• 1 tasa buong butil ng mais
• 1/2 tasa ginadgad na keso (at extra pang dekorasyon)
• ½ tasa asukal (opsyonal / idagdag o tanggalin kung kinakailangan)

Paano Lutuin :

1. Sa isang mangkok, haluin ang cornstarch at tubig at itabi.
2. Ilagay ang mga gata, evaporated milk, condensed milk, fruit cocktail, butil ng mais, at keso sa palayok.haluin ng mabuti, lagyan ng asukal kung kinakailangan.
3. Ikulo ang mga ito ng 5 – 7 minuto. Haluin ng tuloy-tuloy hanggang kumapal. Ibaba ang init at ibuhos ang hinalong cornstarch habang hinahalo ito. Iluto at ihalo muli ng 3 – 5 minuto.
4. Magmumuka itong makinis o walang buo buo. Ilagay ito sa molde at idekorasyon ng mga prutas sa itaas. Palamigin bago hiwain.
5. Ihanda na may keso sa itaas.