Bluepea Flower Coconut Candy

Bluepea Coconut Candy.png

Today's RECIPE is a childhood treat an aunt used to make every Chinese New Year. Of course, she'll make them pink and red for the occasion. We used our homegrown blue pea flowers(bunga telang) to color ours. You may like to use pandan juice for green, roselle for red, pineapple for yellow and so on. Experiment with flavors and colors. It is a sweet candy although we have reduced the sugar in this recipe. Reduce more if you wish but it will take longer for it to set. Happy cooking!

Recipe by Mama Ding

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Total Time | 55 mins

Prep Time | 10 mins

Cook Time | 45 mins

Servings : 1 tray (20x20 cm/8x8 inch)

Ingredients

  • 300 g (3 cup) freshly grated coconut

  • 300 g (1 cup) condensed milk

  • 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar

  • 2 tbsp butter/ghee

  • 1 tbsp vanilla essence

  • 1/2 cup blue pea flower juice (Steep 70 fresh flowers in 1/2 cup of hot water for 30mins then squeeze out as much juice as possible)

Method

01 In a wok/pan, add grated coconut, condensed milk, sugar and blue pea flower juice. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally till the mixture starts to dry up, about 30mins.

02 Add butter and vanilla essence. Continue stirring to prevent burning.

At this point, stir continuously as the mixture will dry up and it will burn easily. Cook until it becomes really thick and the mixture leaves the side of the wok/pan, about 15mins.

03 Transfer to an 8x8 inch (20 x 20 cm) baking tray lined with non-stick parchment paper or banana leaves. Using a spatula, flatten the mixture and press down. Work quickly as the mixture will harden as it cools.

04 Let cool completely before cutting into 1 cm (half inch) squares.

Notes

Desiccated coconut can also be used for this recipe. Add quarter cup of water and steam the desiccated coconut for 15mins before cooking with the other ingredients.
Dried blue pea flowers can be used. Steep as many as you like to get the tone of color you want. If you prefer a darker tone, you will need around 100 flowers.

Powdered blue pea flower can also be used. Add 2 tsp or more to the mixture in step 01.

Do take note that the amount of sugar has already been reduced in this recipe. We need enough sugar so that the candy will set and harden. If you reduce sugar further, it may not set or you will end up with soft candy.

Dessert, CandyMama DingComment