Pandan Coconut Double Skin Milk Pudding Recipe

This pandan coconut double skin milk pudding is a cross between Malaysian coconut pudding and Chinese steamed double skin milk pudding.

While Malaysian coconut pudding is often set by boiling coconut milk with agar agar (seaweed jelly) powder, Chinese double skin milk pudding (双皮奶 shuāng pí nǎi) is set by steaming milk with egg white. Here I've crossed the two, steaming the milk pudding inside a young coconut so that the milk also takes on the coconut flavour, and also infusing the milk with pandan leaves too.

You can also see how I make this on YouTube:

Ready? Let's go.

Ingredients:

1 young coconut
150ml full fat milk
3 pandan leaves
1 egg white
1 tbsp caster sugar

Method:

1. Open the coconut at the top: slice as much as the white, fibrous outer layer off around the top, then (carefully and using a sturdy knife), make a few cuts around the top in a rough circle to create 'weak points'. Make one last deeper cut through the shell, and carefully use this opening to lever the top open.

2. Drain the coconut water inside (save it to drink), and discard the top – after you've snacked on the coconut meat on it, obviously.

3. Place the milk in a small saucepan, and shred up and knot the pandan leaves to place in the pan along with it. Bring it to a low simmer for ten minutes, stirring every so often – you don't want the milk to form a skin just yet.

4. Pour the hot milk into a small bowl, discarding the leaves, and leave to cool to room temperature – this is when it'll form the first skin. Pop any bubbles with a toothpick while it's still hot.

5. While the milk is cooling, stir the egg white and sugar together in a large jug until the sugar is dissolved, trying not to create too much foam.

6. Using a spoon to nudge the milk skin on top aside, pour most of the milk underneath into the egg white mixture, leaving a little milk behind in the bowl so that the skin is still floating. Using clean hands, pick the milk skin up, pour that little bit of milk left into the coconut, and lay the skin on top as flatly as possible (this is the tricky part which I admittedly usually fail at!).

7. Lightly whisk the egg white and milk in the jug together, again taking care not to make too many bubbles, then pour it through a sieve into the coconut – the skin should float on top.

8. Finally, cover the top of the coconut tightly with foil, and steam for an hour or until set. Enjoy it warm or cold, and don't forget to scoop up and eat the young coconut meat too.

Enjoy, and have fun.