Tapioca pudding is a great dessert and a great snack in between meals. In this recipe, you get a luscious, creamy, no-bake dessert with fresh mango and guava to cut through the creaminess but also to provide a lovely contrast. Creamy, fruity with a hint of spices and rum, and you have the perfect tapioca dessert.
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Ingredients
In Ghana, cassava is widely used for food including agbeli kaklo, gari, fufu, banku, and akple. If you have ever had bubble tea then you have definitely had tapioca. Tapioca is made from cassava and more specifically, cassava starch. The chewy balls in boba tea are typically made from tapioca.
Tapioca is found in local markets and it's usually sold packed in clusters but you can also find them sold as tapioca pearls.
For this dessert, the tapioca is ground to get a coarse consistency. You can do this by processing carefully in a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder. The tapioca should not and will not be as fine as flour.
Apart from the main ingredient this recipe also calls for
- mango - where possible get ripe and fragrant mangoes.
- orange juice - this adds a lovely slightly acidic balance to the very ripe and sweet mangoes.
- guava - apart from smelling fantastic, this pairs incredibly well with mango.
- star anise - this along with cloves brings a warm aromatic note to the dessert.
- cinnamon - you can't really go wrong with cinnamon in a dessert
- cloves
Instructions
The mangoes and guavas are chopped into bits and simmered over low heat with orange juice, star anise, cloves, and rum (optional). They will have a soft but not jammy consistency when done. The tapioca granules are then dissolved in warm water in preparation for the pudding.
The tapioca pudding is then cooked with milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Care must be taken so that the bottom of the pan doesn't burn.
Once the pudding has thickened pour into heat-resistant serving glasses about a third way full. Then scoop the fruit on top of the filled glasses. Lastly, top the glasses with the rest of the pudding and chill in the fridge.
Tapioca Pudding Variations
- Berries - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, or a mix of all are a good substitute for mangoes and guavas. I would recommend using fruit that is in season and local to you.
- Frozen mangoes - these are a great substitute for fresh mangoes.
- Alternative dairy milk options - if you are lactose intolerant, you can replace the milk with your favourite non-dairy milk. The resulting pudding will not be as creamy but it will still taste very good.
- Vanilla - whether vanilla essence or vanilla extract, this is a great addition.
Tips
- Leaving the tapioca clumps whole and using them for this dessert is not a good idea and I highly recommend grinding them a bit finer. If you can get tapioca pearls, then that is even better.
- The milk and tapioca mixture has a high tendency to burn and therefore make sure to watch the pot as you cook and stir occasionally. Also, ensure that the heat is low to medium
Tapioca is starch processed from cassava into granules or pearls. In its uncooked raw form, tapioca is hard but in liquid, it transforms into a jelly-like consistency. Some common uses of tapioca are in tapioca pudding, boba, or bubble tea and as a thickener.
Tapioca has a very bland or neutral taste but made into desserts it is incredibly delicious.
In its dry state, tapioca is hard and crunchy. Put in liquid however it transforms into a jelly-like consistency.
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Tapioca Pudding with Mango and Guava
Ingredients
- 1 large mango
- 2 small guavas
- orange juice from 1 orange
- 1 small star anise
- 2 cloves
- rum optional
- 50 grams tapioca coarsely ground
- 400 milliliters milk
- 100 milliliters warm water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut mango into little pieces and remove seeds from guava. Put the fruits in a pan with orange juice.
- Add a small piece of star anise and 2 cloves, rum and simmer on very low heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to ensure that the bottom is not burning.
- Leave to cool.
- Add some warm water to the tapioca so that all the granules dissolve properly. See note 1.
- Pour the tapioca into a pot and add milk, water, sugar, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes and in 3 dessert glasses, pour some of the tapioca mixture into the glasses. Fill the glasses about ⅓ way full.
- Gently, add the fruit mixture on top of the tapioca in the glasses.
- Pour the rest of the tapioca on top to cover the fruit mixture.
- Cover with cling film and chill before serving.
Video
Notes
- If you can get tapioca pearls for this recipe, you can use that.
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