Pistachio Tembleque
A creamy Puerto Rican pistachio tembleque made with coconut milk and pistachio butter for a silky, nutty twist on the traditional holiday dessert. Naturally gluten-free and easy to make.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 481kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cans coconut milk
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 cup pistachio butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 teaspoon matcha powder optional for enhanced color
Instructions
- Make a mixture of 3 teaspoon matcha and 2 tablespoon hot water. We want the matcha to be thick and colorful. Set aside.The recipe starts in a cool saucepan away from the heat. Once you have incorporated the ingredients, take them to the stove to cook. Have your molds ready before you begin.
- Infuse half the milk with pistachio butter. Place the pistachio butter in a pot with half the coconut or desired milk. Dissolve the butter. Once the butter is incorporated into the milk, strain the butter to remove any hard particles from the pistachios.
- Dissolve the cornstarch and half of the coconut milk in a saucepan. Make sure that the cornstarch is fully dissolved and no lumps are visible.
- Add the sugar, a pinch of salt, and vanilla. This is a great opportunity to add rose or orange blossom water.
- Incorporate the pistachio milk into the cornstarch mixture. Place on the stove at medium-high heat, stirring continuously until it starts to thicken.
- Once the mixture thickens, reduce the heat to medium while continuously stirring, and then bring to a boil. Let it boil for about a second or two. Remove from heat and pour into mold.
- Add the matcha mixture to the mixture. Add in small batches to gauge the color of the tembleque.
- If you still do not achieve a desired green color, add a few drops of green coloring or more matcha tea.
- Pour the mixture into a cake/pie dish or beautiful mold. You may also choose individual servings, such as silicone bundt molds or disposable aluminum cups with lids. The aluminum cups are great for gift-giving and sharing.
Notes
Top Tip
Please make sure your milk is full-fat. This will help the custard to congeal once refrigerated.Expert Tips
- Pistachio butter: At the time of this recipe, I was not able to find pistachio butter in any of my local supermarkets, so I bout shelled pistachios and ground them. You could use a neutral oil; however, I opted for coconut oil, since this dessert has a coconut milk base.
- Remove Grounds: If you make your own pistachio butter, as I did, you will find it has granules. I chose to remove them. Once I got my milk, the flavor I needed. Commercial pistachio butters are far smoother and should not need to have the milk strained. You could also use pistachio milk; however, many pistachio by-products are pretty expensive.
- Wooden Spoon vs. Whip: Traditionally, the recipe uses a wooden spoon. The reason is that the whip adds air to the dessert. However, it can be done with a whip. Use a wooden spoon if available.
- Real vanilla extract: It should not affect the appearance of the tembleque. When I tested the recipe, I had dark artificial vanilla available. Still, it turned the tembleque dark, so I opted for the clear artificial vanilla since I could not find a natural extract. If the color of the tembleque is not an issue, use the vanilla you have at hand.
- Boil: Waiting for the mixture to boil is one of the most complex parts of the recipe. When you stir at medium-high heat, the mixture goes from fluid to dense. Turn the heat down to medium and continue stirring, stopping only to check that it's boiling. Boiling activates the cornstarch, which helps the mixture set.
- Molds: Prepare your mold(s) before you cook the mixture. This way, you can pour the mixture into the molds without letting it set in the pot.
Nutrition
Serving: 4oz | Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 152mg | Potassium: 393mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 4mg
