Maja Blanca Recipe – Easy No-Fail Recipe

Try this maja blanca recipe for the smoothest, creamiest maja blanca. A popular Filipino dessert, maja blanca is topped with shredded cheese or toasted coconut and perfect for special occasions like Christmas, fiestas and more. 

(Homemade ube halaya and crema de fruta are also popular during the holiday season and special occasions. Try them! And if you love sweet corn treats, you’ll love ginataang mais and mais con yelo.)

Maja blanca is a Filipino dessert made of coconut milk and corn. Also sometimes called coconut pudding, it’s light, creamy and refreshing.

Like many Filipino recipes, maja blanca recipes have many variations. Every region, province, and family have their own way of making maja.

Some recipes include sweetened condensed milk while others only use fresh milk or evaporated milk. Some people like to cook fresh sweet corn themselves while others use canned sweet corn kernels.

What’s common is maja blanca’s appearance on many Filipino tables at Christmastime and special occasions like birthdays and fiestas. It’s also a popular merienda or snack.

This simple maja blanca recipe has very few ingredients and so easy to make, you’ll want to make it all year and make every day special.

Maja blanca ingredients

To make this delicious maja blanca recipe, you only need 6 ingredients and water is one of them!

• Evaporated milk
• Coconut milk (not cream)
• Canned whole kernel corn (not creamed corn)
• Granulated sugar
• Cornstarch dissolved in water

How to make maja blanca recipe

1 BRING TO A BOIL. To make maja blanca, first you’ll want to combine evaporated milk, coconut milk and sugar in a pot on medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. The amount of sugar you put depends on how sweet you want your maja so start with ½ cup, taste, and adjust from there. I put between ¾ and 1 cup of sugar.

2 SIMMER. Lower heat and gradually add cornstarch mixture, stirring so you can ensure it incorporates and doesn’t form into lumps. Then add your corn.

3 STIR. Continuously stir your maja mixture until thick like pudding or until you get the consistency you want. This usually takes me 5-6 minutes. Just remember that the maja will continue to set as it cools.

4 CHILL. Immediately transfer the maja to a baking dish or container that’s been lightly oiled (I use baking spray; you can also use coconut oil) and allow to cool. Once it comes down to room temperature, chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours so it can continue to set.

5 SERVE AND ENJOY. To serve, sprinkle the top with shredded cheese (whatever kind you like), coconut flakes or toasted coconut (latik). Best served cold. 

Tips for making the best maja blanca dessert

This delicious maja recipe is so easy to make and super simple — the hardest part is waiting! Here are more tips so your maja blanca is perfect every time.

How to make sure maja sets

The most common issue when making maja is the mixture doesn’t set properly. To avoid this, make sure to:

• Fully dissolve the cornstarch in water before adding it into your milk mixture.
• When adding the cornstarch mixture into your milk mixture, do so gradually and while stirring to avoid lumps and to make sure the cornstarch is incorporated properly.
• Stir until the mixture is thick. This also ensures you don’t get burnt patches at the bottom of the pot.
• Allow the maja to cool down to room temperature then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. For good measure, I always chill mine overnight.

How to store maja blanca

Maja needs to be stored in the fridge where it should last up to 3 days. 

After that, while it might still be okay to eat, you’ll notice liquid forming at the bottom of your baking dish so try to consume the maja before then.

Maja is such a simple but delicious Filipino dessert. Whether you serve it to company or eat it for merienda with your family, enjoy!

Happy cooking!

Did you make this maja blanca recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

Recipes for other Filipino native delicacies 

If you love making homemade Filipino delicacies, you’ll love these:

Cassava cake with macapuno is a traditional Filipino dessert made of grated cassava, coconut milk, condensed milk and macapuno. No mixer needed and I only use 1 bowl. Make’s for easy clean-up!

This homemade taho recipe will transport you back to the Philippines – early mornings just before school, enjoying a warm mug of taho, with extra arnibal and sago!

Make this suman recipe for a delicious Filipino merienda of glutinous rice and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed to sticky perfection. Eat it with mangoes in the summer or dip it in tsokolate in the winter. Delicious!

Filipino egg pie is a rich, creamy custard baked in a buttery pie crust. A childhood favourite of many Filipinos, this egg pie will transport you back to the Philippines at first bite.