Cremitas de Coco Bicolor
(kreh-MEE-tahs deh KOH-koh bee-koh-LOHR)
Late-Night Plaza Sweets: Dulces y Sobremesa
If you’ve ever walked the coastal plazas of Progreso on a humid summer night, you know the comforting weight of a cold cremita de coco sold from a vendor's cooler. It's a dense, cool relief against the suffocating Yucatán heat. Look online and you'll find too many knock-offs mistaking this velvety street sweet for a baked coconut bar or a cloying fudge. But a proper cremita is a patient, stovetop custard. This version skips the back-breaking labor of cracking whole coconuts by using canned milk, but it demands your absolute, undivided attention at the stove until the sweet pudding bubbles like glossy lava.
Before you start
Wash the shredded coconut.
Commercially packaged coconut contains anti-caking starches that will make the custard chalky and lumpy. Rinse it thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve under cold water for 30 seconds and squeeze out the excess water before using.
Ingredients
- unsweetened shredded coconut1 1/2 cup
- full-fat coconut milk13 1/2 oz
- whole milk2 1/2 cup
- refined white sugar1 cup
- Mexican cinnamon stick1 large
- coconut extract1 tsp
- cornstarch3/4 cup
- cold water1/2 cup
- pink gel food coloring3 drops
- ground cinnamon1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Infuse the milk and coconut base.
In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, combine the washed shredded coconut, coconut milk, whole milk, white sugar, and cinnamon stick until it reaches a gentle simmer, then let steep for 5 minutes.
- 02
Remove the cinnamon stick before it ruins the color.
Use a slotted spoon to fish out and discard the cinnamon stick; leaving it in will quickly tint your pristine white milk a muddy brown.
- 03
Prepare the cornstarch slurry.
In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until completely smooth and entirely free of lumps.
- 04
Incorporate the slurry and stir relentlessly.
Lower the heat slightly and pour the slurry into the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or balloon whisk.
- 05
Cook until the mixture hits the lava point.
Do not walk away; keep scraping the bottom of the pot for 10 to 15 minutes until the whisk leaves visible trails and large, thick bubbles violently pop at the surface like hot lava.
- 06
Pour the white layer and let it skin over.
Pour two-thirds of the hot pudding into a lightly greased 8x8-inch glass dish or individual cups, tapping gently to level, and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
- 07
Tint the remaining pudding pink.
Add the pink gel coloring to the pudding left in the pot, stirring vigorously until the color is a vibrant, solid pink without any streaks.
- 08
Add the top layer and chill.
Gently pour the hot pink mixture directly over the slightly-set white layer, cool on the counter for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for at least two hours before dusting heavily with ground cinnamon.
Notes
Refined sugar is non-negotiable.
Raw or brown sugar will taint the stark white aesthetic of the bottom layer, which is the visual hallmark of a true cremita.
Use gel coloring, not liquid.
Liquid food coloring introduces excess water that can thin out the final layer and compromise the dense, velvety set of the custard.