Plate 10 of 10

Haupia

Name: Haupia
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 27 min
Yield: 16 squares
Cuisine: Hawaii
Ingredients: 800 ml Unsweetened coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk; 240 ml Cold water; 130 g Granulated sugar; 65 g Cornstarch, or Polynesian arrowroot, pia; 2 g Fine sea salt; 2 leaves Fresh ti leaves, washed, for serving

The luau's last word, in four ingredients. Coconut cream heated with water until steaming, a cold slurry of cornstarch or Polynesian arrowroot, sugar and a pinch of salt whisked in, cooked two full minutes past the moment it seizes into a glossy pudding, poured into a square pan and chilled three hours into a firm, clean-cutting block served on ti leaves.

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 12 min
Serves: 16 squares
Difficulty: Easy

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

Nine porcelain-white squares of coconut haupia arranged on a green ti leaf on a wooden plate.

Hau means cool and pia is Polynesian arrowroot, the tuber starch that came in the voyaging canoes alongside the coconut palm. Haupia is the ancient dessert of the Hawaiian feast: coconut cream, sugar and starch, cooked until it sets into a firm, silky block that cuts into squares.

It is neither a wobbling jelly nor a soft custard. Done right it holds a sharp edge, melts on the tongue, and tastes of nothing but coconut. It comes to the table on a green ti leaf as the last course of the luau.

Ingredients

800 mlUnsweetened coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk
240 mlCold waterdivided
130 gGranulated sugar
65 gCornstarch, or Polynesian arrowroot, pia
2 gFine sea salt
2 leavesFresh ti leaves, washed, for serving

A starch gel, not a custard

Starch granules hydrate in cold water, then swell and burst between 75 and 85 °C into a network that traps the coconut fat. There are no eggs to curdle. Chilled below 40 °C the amylose realigns into a firm, sliceable gel that melts again at body temperature.

Cream, not cream of coconut

Sweetened cocktail cream of coconut is mostly syrup. Only pure unsweetened coconut cream or full-fat milk has the 20 to 24 percent fat the set depends on.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt is a quarter teaspoon that keeps the sweetness from going flat. Fat is coconut cream's lauric triglycerides. There is no acid and no heat. Umami is the faint vegetal depth of mature coconut.

Equipment

Heavy 3-quart saucepan
Whisk and a heatproof silicone spatula
20 cm square pan, lightly greased
Offset spatula

A heavy saucepan so the bottom does not catch, and a square pan for clean 2-inch squares. Line with plastic wrap for an easy lift.

Method

Prepare the pan1 min
Grease the square pan with a drop of coconut oil, or line it with plastic wrap.
Grease the square pan with a drop of coconut oil, or line it with plastic wrap.
Make the slurry2 min
Whisk the cornstarch, sugar, salt and 120 ml of the cold water until completely smooth.
Whisk the cornstarch, sugar, salt and 120 ml of the cold water until completely smooth.
Heat the coconut cream4 min
In the saucepan, heat the coconut cream with the remaining 120 ml water over medium, stirring, until steaming but not boiling, about 75 °C.
Heat unsweetened coconut cream or full-fat coconut milk with the remaining 120 ml water over medium, stirring, until steaming at about 75 °C; do not boil. Do not use sweetened cocktail cream of coconut.
Add the slurry1 min
Re-whisk the slurry and pour it into the hot cream in a steady stream, whisking constantly.
Re-whisk the slurry and pour it into the hot cream in a steady stream, whisking constantly.
Thicken3 min
Lower to medium-low and whisk hard, scraping the base and corners. Within 2 to 3 minutes it turns suddenly from thin liquid to a thick, glossy, bubbling pudding.
Lower to medium-low and whisk hard, scraping the base and corners. Within 2 to 3 minutes it turns suddenly from thin liquid to a thick, glossy, bubbling pudding.
Cook out the starch2 min
Keep stirring with the spatula 2 full minutes more, until glossy and heavy on the spatula with slow-bursting bubbles, 85 to 90 °C.
Keep stirring with the spatula 2 full minutes more, until glossy and heavy on the spatula with slow-bursting bubbles, 85 to 90 °C.
Pour and chill3 hr 30 min
Pour into the pan at once and smooth the top. Cool 30 minutes, then refrigerate uncovered at least 3 hours until firm.
Pour into the pan at once and smooth the top. Cool 30 minutes, then refrigerate uncovered at least 3 hours until firm.
Slice
Wipe a sharp knife with a warm damp cloth and cut 16 squares, wiping between cuts. Serve cold on ti leaves.
Wipe a sharp knife with a warm damp cloth and cut 16 squares, wiping between cuts. Serve cold on ti leaves.
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Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: a glossy, opaque, porcelain-white block that cuts into sharp-edged squares.
- Auditory: slow, thick plopping as the pudding bubbles in the pan.
- Olfactory: clean toasted coconut milk and warm sugar.
Check for an opaque, glossy porcelain-white block that cuts into neat squares. Expect slow thick bubbles during cooking and aromas of coconut milk and warm sugar.

Storing it

Keeps 3 days covered in the fridge. Never freeze: ice crystals break the starch network and it weeps on thawing.

Troubleshooting

Lumps.: Starch met hot liquid dry. Always a cold slurry first.
Chalky, and it will not set.: Pulled the second it thickened. Two full minutes after it bubbles.
Cloying and soft.: Cream of coconut from the cocktail aisle. Pure unsweetened coconut cream only.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Coconut cream	Full-fat canned coconut milk, never lite or carton	Fat is what sets it firm and silky
Cornstarch	Arrowroot, tapioca starch or potato starch	A clean, translucent gel
White sugar	Raw cane or turbinado sugar	A pale ivory tint

Scaling

Half

A 10 by 20 cm loaf pan with 400 ml cream, 32 g starch and 65 g sugar; chill 2 hours.

Double

A 23 by 33 cm dish with 1.6 litres cream and 130 g starch, whisked in a 6-quart pot; chill 4 hours.

What to serve it with

The sweet close of a luau, after kalua pig, poke and long rice
Slices of ripe island papaya
Iced hibiscus and mint tea

Questions

What is pia?

Polynesian arrowroot, a tuber starch brought by the first voyagers. It gives a softer, more translucent gel; cornstarch is the modern standard.

Can I freeze it?

No. Freezing ruptures the starch network and the pudding weeps into a spongy mess.

What is haupia pie?

A North Shore bakery invention: chocolate pudding in a crust, haupia on top, whipped cream over that.