Blancmange with cookies is an old Sicilian dessert that is very simple to make and was traditionally prepared by our grandmothers for birthdays or general celebrations. It’s my dad’s favorite dessert, for example, and my mom makes it every year for his birthday. Blancmange is an alternation of milk cream and cookies, nothing more, but the combination makes this dessert special, perhaps because it evokes many memories, perhaps because desserts were not eaten often, I can’t tell you. It is, however, a very good dessert that is easy to prepare and I recommend everyone to try. Let’s see together how to prepare it in the following recipe.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 2 Hours
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 4 1/4 cups whole milk (or almond milk)
- 7 oz sugar
- 3 1/2 oz corn starch
- 7 oz cookies (like Oro Saiwa type)
- 7 oz coffee (unsweetened)
- to taste colored sprinkles (for decoration)
Tools
- 1 Baking dish
- 1 High sided saucepan
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Moka pot
Steps
Start preparing your blancmange with coffee. Prepare 2 moka pots and pour them into a wide bowl so it cools. Meanwhile, pour the starch, sugar, and about 3/4 cup of milk into a saucepan, stir and dissolve the powders, then add the remaining milk and put on the heat. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally until you get a smooth, lump-free cream.
At this point, let the cream cool, stirring occasionally. Now take a 12 x 16 inch baking dish and start composing your blancmange. Quickly dip the cookies into the coffee and arrange them next to each other on the entire base of the baking dish, like tiramisu, you know?
Now pour half of the milk cream and continue with the second layer of dipped cookies. Then pour the remaining cream, level it, and place your blancmange with cookies in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours.
Before serving, decorate your blancmange with colored sprinkles as desired, cut into cubes, and serve very cold.
If you love Sicilian desserts, also check out my Cassata Recipes.
Saby advises…
The original blancmange calls for almond milk and no cookies. The cream is prepared in the same way and then you can put them in pudding molds and serve it as a classic spoon dessert.
