Pudim de Côco

This is one of my favorite desserts, a classic my mother and my aunts always made. At all of our celebrations, this lovely coconut custard with its billowy meringue topping and chocolate sauce, always made an appearance! Every spoonful is a bite of nostalgia from my childhood!

500 grams sugar
200 grams unsweetened coconut (fine)
5 tablespoons of flour (heaping)
8 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
500 mL milk

for the meringue
8 tablespoons of sugar + the 8 egg whites


Preheat oven 180/350

In a large bowl, mix the sugar and the egg yolks with a  hand mixer.
Next add the coconut, the flour and the milk, mix well.
Pour the mixture into a butter greased glass baking dish (13x9).
Bake 30 minutes or just until almost set, (it will continue to cook after you add the meringue)

For the meringue, beat the egg whites and the 8 tablespoons of sugar, until stiff peaks form.

Remove the custard from the oven, and top with the meringue, swirl it with a spoon to form peaks.
Return to the oven,  and bake just until the meringue turns golden. (keep your eye on them)

Once the meringue topping is golden, remove from the oven, and let it cool. Next make the chocolate topping!

for the chocolate sauce

6 tablespoons  cocoa powder
8 tablespoons White granulated sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch ( Maizena)
1/2 cup Milk or Water
1 tablespoon of butter
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and make lump-free mixture.
Now heat the mixture over medium-low heat and keep stirring constantly.
Cook till it becomes thick (within a minute or two) and then turn off the stove.
Let it cool then drizzle over the meringue!



**if you don't want to make the chocolate sauce, storebought works just fine!